Eye closure (EC) is a facial gesture in the eye region that involves the complete and temporary closure of the eyelids. While the communicative potential of other gestures in the eye region — notably gaze direction (Kendon 1967; Goodwin 1981; Rossano 2012) and the eyebrow raise (Ekman 1979; Chovil 1991/1992; Ambrazaitis and House 2017; Dix and Groß 2024) — has received robust corroboration, the communicative capacity of EC is relatively understudied. Closing one’s eyes for a period longer than a blink is a physiological reflex triggered by, and simultaneously reflecting, various physiological, cognitive, and psychological states that are not necessarily related to interaction. While at their core, ECs serve as a protective reflex triggered by rapidly approaching objects or bright light (Darwin 1872/1998; Fridlund 1994; Hunyor 1994), ECs have also been associated with performing complex cognitive activities (Glenberg et al. 1998; Doherty-Sneddon et al. 2002; Markson and Paterson 2009; Vredeveldt et al. 2014), with expression of drowsiness and fatigue (Schleicher et al. 2008), and with pain display (Kunz et al. 2019). In addition, prior linguistic research has proposed that ECs can also hold communicative value, such as conveying the concepts affirmation/negation (Grishina 2013, 2017) and high quantity/commitment (Vincze and Poggi 2011, 2022). Building on this prior research, the present paper aims to examine the conversational functions performed by ECs, and pays particular attention to their intra-personal coordination with other verbal, prosodic, and embodied resources. In addition, the present paper aims to discuss potential transition routes from the physiological-cognitive uses of EC to their communicative functions.

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