Body, Language and Meaning in Conflict Situations

A semiotic analysis of gesture-word mismatches in Israeli-Jewish and Arab discourse

Orit Sônia Waisman

Hardbound – Available

ISBN 9789027215727 | EUR 99.00 | USD 149.00

e-Book –

ISBN 9789027287557 | EUR 99.00 | USD 149.00

This original research applies semiotics to linguistic and non-linguistic segments in a text in search of potential correlations between them. The resultant mapping is applied to cases of gesture-word mismatches that are evident in conflict situations. The current study adopts the word systems approach, a sign-based theory that is naturally designed for the analysis of linguistic signs, and extends it to non-linguistic units, borrowing analytical tools from the field of dance movement therapy. The variety of interdisciplinary metaphorical and literal interpretations of the analyzed signs enriches the theoretical framework and facilitates examination of the instances of mismatches. Hence, this study makes a meaningful contribution to the understanding of linguistic/non-linguistic mismatches in situations of conflict. Further, it makes more general claims: the semiotic system underlying this study paves the way for further research of correlations (or lack thereof) between a range of phenomena cutting across sociology, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics and political science.

[Studies in Functional and Structural Linguistics, 62] 2010. xi, 191 pp.

Publishing status: Available

https://doi.org/10.1075/sfsl.62

Table of Contents

Acknowledgment | p. xi

1. Introduction | pp. 1–6

2. A presentation of the field | pp. 7–28

3. Methodological issues | pp. 29–44

4. The beten word system | pp. 45–88

5. The medina-adama word system | pp. 89–132

6. The Shoa-Nakba word system | pp. 133–168

7. Conclusions | pp. 169–178

Appendix | pp. 187–188

Name index | p. 189

Subject index | p. 191

“The implications of Waisman's work are far-reaching, as she offers ample evidence of the power of bodily communication in expression and negotiation of meaning in the most weighty and volatile of conversations. It is tempting to imagine an embodied discourse ethics arising from this sort of empirical study, and it is exciting to see contemporary interdisciplinary work in gesture being so deployed.”

Elena Cuffari, in Gesture, Vol. 11:2 (2011)

“ Body, Language and Meaning in Conflict Situations makes a valuable read for several reasons. To the best of my knowledge, Waisman's book is the first study that takes the word systems approach to Jeweish–Arab conflict. Although she does not explicitly use the term, it is also among the very few publications that incorporate a multimodal perspective to conflict situations in general. It also offers a rare insight into a more personal and emotional dimension of an ethnic, religious and political conflict usually accessed via mass media.”

Eric Hauser, University of Electro-Communications, Tokyo, and University of Hawai'i, USA, in Discourse Studies, 14:807 (2012)

Cited by (5)

Cited by five other publications

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Gintsburg, Sarali & Orit Sônia Waisman

2024. Many Faces of Omar: Integrative Multimodal Analysis of a Story of Migration Found on YouTube: Focus on Positioning. Journal of International Migration and Integration 25:2 ► pp. 695 ff.

Wagner, Dee & Orit Sônia Waisman

2023. Stirring up health: polyvagal theory and the dance of mismatch in multi-generational trauma healing. Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy 18:2 ► pp. 122 ff.

Wilson, Anna, Seb Wilkes, Yayoi Teramoto & Scott Hale

2023. Multimodal analysis of disinformation and misinformation. Royal Society Open Science 10:12

Waisman, Orit Sônia

2014. Mismatches as milestones in dance movement therapy. Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy 9:4 ► pp. 224 ff.

Cuffari, Elena

2012. Gestural sense-making: hand gestures as intersubjective linguistic enactments. Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences 11:4 ► pp. 599 ff.

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 23 september 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

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