During communication, speakers commonly rotate their forearms so that palms turn upward. Yet despite more than a century of observations such palm-up gestures, meanings and origins have proven difficult to pin down. We distinguish two gestures within the form family: presentational epistemic. The latter is term we introduce refer variant prototypically involves lateral separation hands. This gesture—our focus—is used in speaking communities around world express recurring set epistemic...

Abstract Reasoning about bedrock abstract concepts such as time, number, and valence relies on spatial metaphor often multiple metaphors for a single concept. Previous research has documented, instance, both future‐in‐front future‐to‐right time in English speakers. It is assumed that these metaphors, which appear to have distinct experiential bases, remain online temporal reasoning. In two studies we demonstrate that, contra this assumption, people systematically combine metaphors. Evidence...

Emblems—the THUMBS UP, the HEAD SHAKE, PEACE SIGN, SHHH—are communicative gestures that have a conventional form and meaning within particular community. This makes them more “word-like” than other gives distinctive position at interface between language gesture. Here we provide an overview of emblems as recurring feature human toolkit. We first discuss major defining features these gestures, their points commonality difference with neighbouring...

Talk about time is commonly accompanied by co-speech gesture. Though much recent work has looked at how construed as space in the languages of world, few studies have examined temporal gestures any detail. Our focus on a particular pattern among American English speakers — transversal which conceptualized moving from left to right across body. Based numerous examples elicited controlled observational paradigm, we suggest classification speakers’ into five types placing , pointing...

Humans communicate using language, but they also gesture - spontaneous movements of the hands and body that universally accompany speech. Gestures can be distinguished from other movements, segmented, assigned meaning based on their forms functions. Moreover, gestures systematically integrate with language at all levels linguistic structure, as evidenced in both production perception. Viewed typologically, is universal, nevertheless exhibits constrained variation across communities (as does...

Abstract Pointing is a cornerstone of human communication, but does it take the same form in all cultures? Manual pointing with index finger appears to be used universally, and often assumed universally preferred over other forms. Non‐manual head face has also been widely attested, usually considered marginal significance, both empirically theoretically. Here, we challenge this marginality. Using novel communication task, investigated preferences Yupno Papua New Guinea U.S. undergraduates....

How do the signs of sign language differ from gestures that speakers produce when they talk? We address this question by focusing on pointing. Pointing play an important role in languages, with some types functioning like pronouns spoken (e.g., Sandler & Lillo-Martin 2006). gestures, contrast, are not usually described linguistic terms even though everyday communication. Researchers have focused similarities between pointing signers and Cormier et al. 2013), but no studies to date...

Abstract Do speakers intend their gestures to communicate? Central as this question is the study of gesture, researchers cannot seem agree on answer. According one common framing, are an “unwitting” window into mind ( McNeill, 1992 ); but, according another they designed along with speech form “composite utterances” Enfield, 2009 ). These two framings correspond cultures within gesture studies – first cognitive and second interactive in orientation appear make incompatible claims. In article...

Background The generic concept of number line, which maps numbers to unidimensional space, is a fundamental in mathematics, but its cognitive origins are uncertain. Two defining criteria the line that (i) there mapping each individual (or numerosity) under consideration onto specific location on and (ii) defines space representing with metric — distance function. It has been proposed based spontaneous universal human intuition, rooted directly brain evolution, magnitude linear metric. To...

Demonstratives and pointing gestures are universal, early emerging, ubiquitous, it has long been claimed that there is a special relationship between them. But what exactly the nature of this relationship? The present study investigates question using referential communication task. Speakers referred to targets were near or far pointed with hand (more ambiguous) laser pointer (less ambiguous). frequently co-occurred but also related in less obvious ways: speakers (1) used fewer...

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This article describes a previously undocumented deictic facial gesture of Papua New Guinea, which we call nose-pointing . Based on video corpus examples produced by speakers Yupno, an indigenous language Guinea’s Finisterre Range, characterize the gesture’s morphology — involves effortful scrunching together face, or S-action , in combination with head movement and illustrate its use different interactive contexts. Yupno produce alternation more familiar pointing morphologies, such as index...

The human pointing gesture may be viewed from many angles. On a basic description, it is an intentional movement, often of the hand, by which one person tries to direct another’s attention toward something; is, in short, bodily command look. But this definition only start. Pointing also seen as semiotic primitive, philosophical puzzle, communicative workhorse, protean universal, social tool, widespread taboo, partner language, part fixture art, graphical icon, cognitive prop, developmental...

When people speak or sign, they not only describe using words but also depict and indicate. How are these different methods of communication integrated? Here, we focus on pointing and, in particular, commonalities differences how is integrated into language by speakers signers. One aspect this integration semantic —how with the meaning conveyed surrounding language. Another structural as a manual signal other signals, vocal speech, sign. We investigated both aspects novel elicitation task....

Number lines, calendars, and measuring sticks all represent order along some dimension (e.g., magnitude) as position on a line. In high-literacy, industrialized societies, this principle of spatial organization— linear order—is fixture visual culture everyday cognition. But what are the principle’s origins, how did it become such fixture? Three studies investigated intuitions about in Yupno, members Papua New Guinea that lacks conventional representations involving ordered U.S....

Previous discussions of pointing have largely evaded a central question: How is an act even recognized as communicative in the first place? Here I argue—building on classic and recent work pragmatics—that designed to deviate minimally from mere attending. This basic design found throughout diverse universe human pointing¬—from most familiar, conventional forms exotic ad hoc—and may extend cases non-human animals. Further, show that this framework lights up promising avenues for further...

Abstract At the dawn of anthropology, gesture was widely considered a “universal language”. In 20th century, however, this framing fell out favor as anthropologists rejected universalism in relativism. These polemical positions were largely fueled by high-flying rhetoric and second-hand report; researchers had neither data nor conceptual frameworks to stake substantive positions. Today we have much more data, but our remain underdeveloped often implicit. Here, I outline several emerging...

How do people think about complex phenomena like the behavior of ecosystems? Here we hypothesize that reason such relational systems in part by creating spatial analogies, and explore this possibility examining spontaneous gestures. In two studies, participants read a written lesson describing positive negative feedback then explained differences between them. Though was highly abstract were not instructed to gesture, produced gestures abundance during their explanations. These used space...

Abstract Speakers of many languages around the world rely on body‐based contrasts (e.g., left/right ) for spatial communication and cognition. Yupno, a language Papua New Guinea's mountainous interior, instead an environment‐based uphill/downhill contrast. Body‐based are as easy to use indoors outdoors, but may not be. Do Yupno speakers still and, if so, how? We report three studies within house. Even in this flat world, pervasive. However, terms used according slopes beyond house's walls,...

The human pointing gesture may be viewed from many angles. On a basic description, it is an intentional movement, often of the hand, by which one person tries to direct another’s attention toward something; is, in short, bodily command look. But this definition only start. Pointing also seen as semiotic primitive, philosophical puzzle, communicative workhorse, protean universal, social tool, widespread taboo, partner language, part fixture art, graphical icon, cognitive prop, developmental...