Gesture and embodiment in Chinese discourse

Abstract

Embodied cognition has been supported by a wide body of evidence from different areas of research, including language. However, despite the fact that the spontaneous use of hands and arms along with speech is indispensable and prevalent in daily communication, and the neural connection between speech and gesture is supported by numerous studies, little evidence from gesture has been provided in support of the embodiment of conceptual knowledge. The present study provides visible and empirical evidence to show that gestures in conversational interaction not only bear out embodiment in language, but also embodiment in gesture. The knowledge embodied in gesture is grounded in bodily and perceptual experiences situated in people`s habitual interaction in recurrent socio-cultural activities or in personal incidences. Among the various perspectives to incorporating the body, a situation, the world, and interaction in the study of the mind, the independent evidence from the gestural modality can reveal the situated and dynamic aspects of cognition. 以身體、感知、情境、活動、互動爲本之認知觀點獲得許多研宄證據的支持，包括語言的證據。在日常的語言使用中，人們說話時會自然的使用手勢來表達意義；很多研宄證據也顯示語言和手勢有著緊密的腦神經連結。 因此，除了語言，手勢同樣能表達以身體、感知、情境、活動、互動爲本的認知概念。本研宄提供日常會話中自然又看得到的手勢使用，支持認知概念是來自于人們在日常的社會/文化活動或個人活動中的身體、感知、情境、和互動經驗。手勢的證據也能顯示認知的情境性和動態性。