Action depiction in gestures and signs
A comparative semiotic approach
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21703175 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Chiara Bonsignori (0000-0002-0631-2238, Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies), Elena Tomasuolo (0000-0002-4545-2807, Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies), Pasquale Rinaldi (0000-0002-6544-7941, Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies), Virginia Volterra (0000-0003-3018-9951, Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Publication date | 2025-11-11 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Sign Language & Linguistics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1387-9316 • E-ISSN: 1569-996X |
| Publisher | John Benjamins Publishing Company (PUBLISHER • NL) |
| DOI | 10.1075/sll.24003.bon |
| OpenAlex | W4416098212 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 39 |
The relation between gestures and signs is highly debated both in gestures and sign language studies. Addressing the common symbolic ground from which both gestures and signs arise could improve our general knowledge about the body’s role in meaning construction and in shaping communication. To effectively compare how signers and speakers employ their bodies to convey meanings, we investigated how actions are depicted in gestures and signs by collecting and comparing data from 15 hearing Italian speakers and 10 Deaf LIS signers. Specifically, the present study addresses the use of representational strategies (i.e., own body, hand-as-hand, hand-as-object) in co-speech gestures and signs in different action domains (i.e., to break, to take, to attach, to open, to turn). We aim to look at how different action domains affect the distribution of representational strategies in gestures and signs. Our results showed that action domains influenced the use of representational strategies similarly among signers and speakers, suggesting that action events are conceptualized alike. Nevertheless, there are qualitative differences in action depiction, discussed throughout the paper, as well as in the combination of different representational strategies, used less by Italian speakers, compared to LIS signers
Depiction · Gesture · Iconicity · Sign language · Action Observation and Synchronization · Hand Gesture Recognition Systems · Hearing Impairment and Communication
Gesture, sign, and language
Visible embodiment
Gesture as simulated action
The Measurement of Observer Agreement for Categorical Data
The role of iconicity and simultaneity for efficient communication
How bilinguals refer to Mandarin throwing actions in English
A Coefficient of Agreement for Nominal Scales
Cognitive iconicity
Searching for the roots of signs in children’s early gestures
Gesture and language
Patterned iconicity in sign language lexicons
From action to language through gesture
The semantic categories of cutting and breaking events
The representation of action in Italian Sign Language (LIS)
Iconicity as a General Property of Language
Some reflections on the relationship between 'gesture' and 'sign
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |