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Why Gesture?: How the hands function in speaking, thinking and communicating
Edited by Ruth Breckinridge Church, Martha W. Alibali and Spencer D. Kelly
[Gesture Studies 7] 2017
► pp. 15–37

Chapter 2
Representational gestures help speakers package information for speaking

The Information Packaging Hypothesis (IPH; Kita, 2000) holds that gesture helps speakers package information into units appropriate for verbalization. When information packaging is more difficult, speakers produce more gestures. Further, manipulations of gesture can affect information packaging. The IPH can also account for gestures that are not redundant with speech; such gestures manifest speakers’ exploration of possibilities for verbalization, and they may indicate unsuccessful or incomplete packaging of perceptual or motoric information in speech. Qualitative analyses of the microgenesis of utterances illustrate how gesture plays a role in conceptualization and packaging of information. The IPH is supported by a large body of evidence and it aligns with contemporary theoretical accounts of the cognitive processes that give rise to gestures.

Article outline
  • Introduction
  • The Information Packaging Hypothesis
  • Evidence for the Information Packaging Hypothesis
    • Conceptualization difficulty influences gesture production
    • Prohibiting gesture influences information packaging
    • Imposed gestures influence speech production
  • The Information Packaging Hypothesis and non-redundant gestures
  • How does gesture explore conceptualization possibilities for speaking?
  • The Information Packaging Hypothesis and the source of gesture
  • Conclusions
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 26 April 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/gs.7.02ali
References

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