Olga Capirci
Biographic Data
| ID | 4162741 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Olga Capirci |
| GIVEN NAMES | Olga |
| FAMILY NAME | Capirci |
| SIGNATURE | CAPIRCI O |
| AFFILIATIONS | National Research Council |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5207-0922 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 18 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 22 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 18 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1994 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Cognitive and functional explorations in sign language linguistics
The special issue "Cognitive and Functional Explorations in Sign Language Linguistics" brings together a selection of papers originally presented at the second edition of the Workshop on Cognitive and Functional Approaches to Sign Language Linguistics (Sign
The multimodal nature of development makes language multimodal
Multimodal visions of language acquisition have been present in the literature for many years, highlighting developmental continuity between infants’ early actions on objects, gestures, and words or signs. This framework has recently been expanded to include consideration of early object exploration and motor development and how the multimodal experiences they create for infants and infuse into social interactions support language development. Th…
The left side of gestures
The “Left Perceptual Bias” (LPB) is the effect for which the left side of a picture such as a face is used to a greater extent than its right side as shown in a wide variety of experimental tasks. This effect has been observed for faces, body parts and objects. The present work investigated the presence of a LPB in recognizing hand gestures in two experiments. The role of the side of stimuli presentation (left /right), stimuli orientation (palm/b…
The road to language through gesture
This study explores the role of gestures in Flemish Sign Language (VGT) development through a longitudinal observation of three deaf children’s early interactions. These children were followed over a period of one and a half year, at the ages of 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24 months. This research compares the communicative development of a deaf child growing up in a deaf family and two deaf children growing up in hearing families. The latter two children r…
Searching for the roots of signs in children’s early gestures
A consolidated tendency considers ‘gestures’ and ‘signs’ as distinct categories separated by a ‘cataclysmic break’. According to a different approach, gestures and signs have their common origin in actions, and are considered as part of language. The aim of this study was to compare the productions of preschool speaking hearing children and signing deaf children in response to the same visual stimuli. The execution parameters and representational…
Using depiction for efficient communication in LIS (Italian Sign Language)
Meanings communicated with depictions constitute an integral part of how speakers and signers actually use language (Clark, 2016). Recent studies have argued that, in sign languages, depicting strategy like constructed action (CA), in which a signer enacts the referent, is used for referential purposes in narratives. Here, we tested the referential function of CA in a more controlled experimental setting and outside narrative context. Given the i…
The role of iconicity and simultaneity for efficient communication
Effects of age and language on co-speech gesture production
The aim of this paper is to compare speech and co-speech gestures observed during a narrative retelling task in five- and ten-year-old children from three different linguistic groups, French, American, and Italian, in order to better understand the role of age and language in the development of multimodal monologue discourse abilities. We asked 98 five- and ten-year-old children to narrate a short, wordless cartoon. Results showed a common develo…
L’incidence de la culture et de la langue dans les récits parlés et les gestes d’enfants français, italiens et américains âgés de 6 et 10 ans
La culture, la langue et l'âge ont une incidence sur les conduites langagières en général. Dans le cas présent, nous avons voulu vérifier de quelle façon les conduites narratives multimodales (paroles et gestes) sont sensibles à ces trois facteurs, afin de mieux apprécier le rôle respectif des acquisitions linguistiques et du développement cognitif dans l'évolution des capacités discursives chez l'enfant. L'étude porte sur plus de 150 récits parl…
Learning to talk in a gesture-rich world
Italian children are immersed in a gesture-rich culture. Given the large gesture repertoire of Italian adults, young Italian children might be expected to develop a larger inventory of gestures than American children. If so, do these gestures impact the course of language learning? We examined gesture and speech production in Italian and US children between the onset of first words and the onset of two-word combinations. We found differences in t…
Gesture and speech
The present paper focuses on early stages of development exploring the emergence of the gesture language system in infancy and its evolution toward the adult system. Old and recent studies carried on mainly in our Laboratory are described and discussed. According to the perspective that emerged in the late 1970s the findings on the role of gesture in the acquisition and development of language did not raise any particular interest in a wider audi…
From action to language through gesture
The present study reports empirical longitudinal data on the early stages of language development. The main hypothesis is that the output systems of speech and gesture may draw on underlying brain mechanisms common to both language and motor functions. We analyze the spontaneous interaction with their parents of three typically-developing children (2 M, 1 F) videotaped monthly at home between 10 and 23 months of age. Data analyses focused on the …
From action to language through gesture
The present study reports empirical longitudinal data on the early stages of language development. The main hypothesis is that the output systems of speech and gesture may draw on underlying brain mechanisms common to both language and motor functions. We analyze the spontaneous interaction with their parents of three typically-developing children (2 M, 1 F) videotaped monthly at home between 10 and 23 months of age. Data analyses focused on the …
Gesturing in mother-child interactions
Gestures, signs, and words in early language development
Teaching Sign Language to Hearing Children as a Possible Factor in Cognitive Enhancement
We describe an educational experience designed to teach Italian Sign Language (LIS) to a group of hearing children. The hypothesis underlying this experience was that learning a visual-gestural language such as LIS may improve children's attentional abilities, visual discrimination, and spatial memory. To examine this hypothesis, we conducted two studies. The first involved an educational experience lasting two years with a group of hearing child…
Gestures and words during the transition to two-word speech
This study explores the communicative use of the gestural and vocal modalities by normally developing Italian children during the transition from one- to two-word speech. We analysed the spontaneous production of 12 children at 1;4 and at 1;8, focusing on the use of two-element combinations of words and/or gestures. Results indicated that use of gesture and gesture-word combinations during the transition to two-word speech is a robust feature of …
From communication to language in two modalities
Gesture and speech
The present paper focuses on early stages of development exploring the emergence of the gesture language system in infancy and its evolution toward the adult system. Old and recent studies carried on mainly in our Laboratory are described and discussed. According to the perspective that emerged in the late 1970s the findings on the role of gesture in the acquisition and development of language did not raise any particular interest in a wider audi…
From action to language through gesture
The present study reports empirical longitudinal data on the early stages of language development. The main hypothesis is that the output systems of speech and gesture may draw on underlying brain mechanisms common to both language and motor functions. We analyze the spontaneous interaction with their parents of three typically-developing children (2 M, 1 F) videotaped monthly at home between 10 and 23 months of age. Data analyses focused on the …
From communication to language in two modalities
Gestures and words during the transition to two-word speech
This study explores the communicative use of the gestural and vocal modalities by normally developing Italian children during the transition from one- to two-word speech. We analysed the spontaneous production of 12 children at 1;4 and at 1;8, focusing on the use of two-element combinations of words and/or gestures. Results indicated that use of gesture and gesture-word combinations during the transition to two-word speech is a robust feature of …
Gestures, signs, and words in early language development
Teaching Sign Language to Hearing Children as a Possible Factor in Cognitive Enhancement
We describe an educational experience designed to teach Italian Sign Language (LIS) to a group of hearing children. The hypothesis underlying this experience was that learning a visual-gestural language such as LIS may improve children's attentional abilities, visual discrimination, and spatial memory. To examine this hypothesis, we conducted two studies. The first involved an educational experience lasting two years with a group of hearing child…
Gesturing in mother-child interactions
From action to language through gesture
The present study reports empirical longitudinal data on the early stages of language development. The main hypothesis is that the output systems of speech and gesture may draw on underlying brain mechanisms common to both language and motor functions. We analyze the spontaneous interaction with their parents of three typically-developing children (2 M, 1 F) videotaped monthly at home between 10 and 23 months of age. Data analyses focused on the …
From action to language through gesture
The present study reports empirical longitudinal data on the early stages of language development. The main hypothesis is that the output systems of speech and gesture may draw on underlying brain mechanisms common to both language and motor functions. We analyze the spontaneous interaction with their parents of three typically-developing children (2 M, 1 F) videotaped monthly at home between 10 and 23 months of age. Data analyses focused on the …
Learning to talk in a gesture-rich world
Italian children are immersed in a gesture-rich culture. Given the large gesture repertoire of Italian adults, young Italian children might be expected to develop a larger inventory of gestures than American children. If so, do these gestures impact the course of language learning? We examined gesture and speech production in Italian and US children between the onset of first words and the onset of two-word combinations. We found differences in t…
Gesture and speech
The present paper focuses on early stages of development exploring the emergence of the gesture language system in infancy and its evolution toward the adult system. Old and recent studies carried on mainly in our Laboratory are described and discussed. According to the perspective that emerged in the late 1970s the findings on the role of gesture in the acquisition and development of language did not raise any particular interest in a wider audi…
L’incidence de la culture et de la langue dans les récits parlés et les gestes d’enfants français, italiens et américains âgés de 6 et 10 ans
La culture, la langue et l'âge ont une incidence sur les conduites langagières en général. Dans le cas présent, nous avons voulu vérifier de quelle façon les conduites narratives multimodales (paroles et gestes) sont sensibles à ces trois facteurs, afin de mieux apprécier le rôle respectif des acquisitions linguistiques et du développement cognitif dans l'évolution des capacités discursives chez l'enfant. L'étude porte sur plus de 150 récits parl…
Effects of age and language on co-speech gesture production
The aim of this paper is to compare speech and co-speech gestures observed during a narrative retelling task in five- and ten-year-old children from three different linguistic groups, French, American, and Italian, in order to better understand the role of age and language in the development of multimodal monologue discourse abilities. We asked 98 five- and ten-year-old children to narrate a short, wordless cartoon. Results showed a common develo…
The role of iconicity and simultaneity for efficient communication
Using depiction for efficient communication in LIS (Italian Sign Language)
Meanings communicated with depictions constitute an integral part of how speakers and signers actually use language (Clark, 2016). Recent studies have argued that, in sign languages, depicting strategy like constructed action (CA), in which a signer enacts the referent, is used for referential purposes in narratives. Here, we tested the referential function of CA in a more controlled experimental setting and outside narrative context. Given the i…
Searching for the roots of signs in children’s early gestures
A consolidated tendency considers ‘gestures’ and ‘signs’ as distinct categories separated by a ‘cataclysmic break’. According to a different approach, gestures and signs have their common origin in actions, and are considered as part of language. The aim of this study was to compare the productions of preschool speaking hearing children and signing deaf children in response to the same visual stimuli. The execution parameters and representational…
The road to language through gesture
This study explores the role of gestures in Flemish Sign Language (VGT) development through a longitudinal observation of three deaf children’s early interactions. These children were followed over a period of one and a half year, at the ages of 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24 months. This research compares the communicative development of a deaf child growing up in a deaf family and two deaf children growing up in hearing families. The latter two children r…
The left side of gestures
The “Left Perceptual Bias” (LPB) is the effect for which the left side of a picture such as a face is used to a greater extent than its right side as shown in a wide variety of experimental tasks. This effect has been observed for faces, body parts and objects. The present work investigated the presence of a LPB in recognizing hand gestures in two experiments. The role of the side of stimuli presentation (left /right), stimuli orientation (palm/b…
The multimodal nature of development makes language multimodal
Multimodal visions of language acquisition have been present in the literature for many years, highlighting developmental continuity between infants’ early actions on objects, gestures, and words or signs. This framework has recently been expanded to include consideration of early object exploration and motor development and how the multimodal experiences they create for infants and infuse into social interactions support language development. Th…
Cognitive and functional explorations in sign language linguistics
The special issue "Cognitive and Functional Explorations in Sign Language Linguistics" brings together a selection of papers originally presented at the second edition of the Workshop on Cognitive and Functional Approaches to Sign Language Linguistics (Sign
Hearing Impairment and Communication (17 works) · Psychology (16 works) · Linguistics (15 works) · Gesture (12 works) · Communication (10 works) · Computer Science (9 works) · Hand Gesture Recognition Systems (9 works) · Developmental psychology (8 works) · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies (8 works) · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition (7 works)