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Language, Interaction and Acquisition
Vol. 8:2 (2017) ► pp.288–310

The dual origin of gesture

Semiotic preconditions for the emergence of two kinds of symbolic gestures

| University of Rouen-Normandie

This article questions some aspects of McNeill’s (2014) “imagistic” conception of gesture and his theory of the origin of language. In their stead, the article presents a kinesiological approach, and advances a hypothesis for a dual origin of symbolic gesture. The significance of the human artifactual environment in this context allows us to give precedence to brachial articulation over image. In nonhuman apes, the dyadic brachial origins of gestures show striking similarities in form and meaning to human brachial gestures. Manual gestures linked to object manipulation appeared as humankind acquired manual skills. These gestures express triadic values. Before speech, humans most probably already used dyadic symbolic gestures.

Keywords: articulation, co-verbal gesture, kinesiology, origin of language, semiotics, nonhuman primates, Paleolithic
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.An imagistic semiotics of gesture?
    • 2.1The relative importance of the influence of vision and proprioception
    • 2.2From praxic to symbolic gestures
    • 2.3Does ontogeny support the imagistic approach to gesture?
  • 3.The evolution of gestures and neuroscience
    • 3.1Single or dual gestural origin?
      • 3.1.1Communicative gestural organization in nonhuman primates
      • 3.1.2Semantic proximities of brachial gestures between great apes and humans
    • 3.2A dual origin of gestures in evolution?
  • 4.Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References


This article is currently available as a sample article.

Published online: 2 March 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/lia.15041.bou
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