Why Do We Move Our Hands When We Talk?

Gestures are a really important part of language. But how do we use them, and why? MORE LANGUAGE FILES: Tom's Language Files


Written with Gretchen McCulloch and Molly Ruhl, with an assist from Lauren Gawne.

Gretchen's podcast Lingthusiasm is at http://lingthusiasm.com/ - and Gretchen's new book, BECAUSE INTERNET, is available:

🇺🇸 US: https://amzn.to/30tLpjT
🇨🇦 CA: https://amzn.to/2JsTYWH
🇬🇧 UK: https://amzn.to/31K8eRD

(Those are affiliate links that give a commission to me or Gretchen, depending on country!)

REFERENCES:

Kendon, A. (2004). Gesture: Visible action as utterance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bernard, J. A., B Millman, Z., & Mittal, V. A. (2015).
Lederer, J. (2019). Gesturing the source domain: The role of co-speech gesture in the metaphorical models of gender transition. Metaphor and the Social World, 9(1), 32-58.
Gawne, L. & McCulloch, G. (2019). Emoji as digital gestures. Language@Internet. 17(2). http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:00...
Kendon, A. (2004). Gesture: Visible action as utterance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lederer, J. (2019). Gesturing the source domain: The role of co-speech gesture in the metaphorical models of gender transition. Metaphor and the Social World, 9(1), 32-58.
McNeill, D. Gesture: a Psycholinguistic Approach.
Kendon, A. (2000). Language and gesture: Unity or duality? In D. McNeill (Ed.), Language and gesture: Window into thought and action (pp. 47-63). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kendon, A. (2004). Gesture: Visible action as utterance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Iverson, J., & Goldin-Meadow, S. (1998). Why people gesture when they speak. Nature, 396(6708), 228-228.
McNeill, D. (1985). So you think gestures are nonverbal? Psychological Review, 92(3), 350-371.

🟥 MORE FROM TOM: https://www.tomscott.com/
(you can find contact details and social links there too)

📰 WEEKLY NEWSLETTER with good stuff from the rest of the internet: https://www.tomscott.com/newsletter/
❓ LATERAL, free weekly podcast: https://lateralcast.com/ lateralcast
➕ TOM SCOTT PLUS: tomscottplus
👥 THE TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES: techdif