Pragmatic functions of gestures
Some observations on the history of their study and their nature
Published online: 12 January 2018
https://doi.org/10.1075/gest.16.2.01ken
https://doi.org/10.1075/gest.16.2.01ken
Abstract
In the eighteenth century and before, gesture was considered from the point of view of how it should be used in oratory, as a part
of the art of engaging in persuasive discourse. This contrasts with the interest pursued in modern gesture studies where, for the
most part, the hand movements that people make when they speak have been studied as representations of the substantive or
propositional content of the utterance, seen as providing clues about the mental or cognitive processes governing speaking.
Speaking is also a form of social action, however, and gestures play an important role in this. An historical perspective on the
study of gesture from a pragmatic point of view is provided, followed by a summary of the main features of the pragmatic
functioning of gesture.
Keywords: rhetoric, oratory, pragmatics, gesture, communication, discourse
Article outline
- Introduction
- Historical considerations
- Interest in gesture pragmatics from the twentieth century onwards
- Pragmatic functions of gestures and their nature and significance
- Four pragmatic functions
- Discussion and conclusion
- Notes
References
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