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'{{for|gestures in computing|Gesture recognition}} {{redirect|Gestures|the rock group|The Gestures}} {{Multiple issues|citations missing = February 2008|refimprove = June 2009|original research = June 2009}} [[Image:Us navy helicopter landing signals illustration.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Military [[aircraft marshalling|air marshallers]] use hand and body gestures to direct flight operations aboard [[aircraft carrier]]s.]] A '''gesture''' is a form of [[non-verbal communication]] in which visible bodily actions communicate particular messages, either in place of [[speech]] or together and in parallel with spoken words. Gestures include movement of the [[hand]]s, [[face]], or other parts of the [[Human body|body]]. Gestures differ from physical non-verbal communication that does not communicate specific messages, such as purely [[Emotional expression|expressive]] displays, [[proxemics]], or displays of [[joint attention]].<ref name=Kendon>Kendon, Adam. (2004) ''Gesture: Visible Action as Utterance''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-83525-9</ref> Gestures allow individuals to communicate a variety of feelings and thoughts, from contempt and hostility to approval and affection, often together with [[body language]] in addition to [[word]]s when they speak. Gesture processing takes place in areas of the brain such as [[Broca's area|Broca's]] and [[Wernicke's area]]s, which are used by [[speech]] and [[sign language]].<ref name="Xu">Xu J, Gannon PJ, Emmorey K, Smith JF, Braun AR. (2009). [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2779203/pdf/pnas.0909197106.pdf Symbolic gestures and spoken language are processed by a common neural system.] Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 106:20664–20669. {{doi|10.1073/pnas.0909197106}} PMID 19923436</ref> hii gr gr ge gr gg eg f fg v vv vvv fv vfvvffg dfvd vdvv vc hnmhm ae qw erqw rew r ==Studies of gesture== Gestures have been studied throughout the centuries from different view points.<ref>Kendon, A. (1982). The study of gesture: Some observations on its history. Recherches Sémiotiques/Semiotic Inquiry 2 (1)</ref> Quintillian in the antiquity studied in his Institution Oratoria how gesture may be used in rhetorical discourse. Another broad study of gesture was published by [[John Bulwer]] in 1644.<ref>Bulwer, John (1644). "Chirologia: or the Naturall Language of the Hand" (London,1644)</ref> Bulwer analyzed dozens of gestures and provided a guide on how to use gestures to increase eloquence and clarity for public speaking. [[Andrea De Jorio]] published an extensive account of gestural expression in 1832.<ref>de Jorio, Andrea, Gesture in Naples and Gesture in Classical Antiquity. Indiana University Press</ref> Today, one of the most prominent researchers in the field of gesture research is [[Adam Kendon]]. He has investigated many aspects of gestures, including their role in communication, conventionalization of gesture, integration of gesture and speech, and the evolution of language.<ref>Kendon (2004). Gesture: Visible Action as Utterance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press</ref> Other prominent researchers in this field include [[Susan Goldin-Meadow]] and [[David McNeill (Chicago psychologist)|David McNeill]]. Susan Goldin-Meadow (2003) has intensively investigated the role of gesture in problem solving in children.<ref>Goldin-Meadow, Susan (2003). Hearing gesture: How our hands help us think. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press</ref> David McNeill (1992, 2006)<ref># McNeill, David (1992). Hand and Mind. What Gestures Reveal about Thought. Chicago: Chicago University Press. McNeill, David (2005). Gesture and Thought. Chicago: Chicago University Press</ref> has developed a broad theory about how gesture and speech are part of a single thought process. ==Categories of gestures== [[Image:Unclesamwantyou.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Pointing at another person with an extended finger is considered rude in many cultures.]] {{main|List of gestures}} Although the study of gesture is still in its infancy, some broad categories of gestures have been identified by researchers. The most familiar are the so-called emblems or quotable gestures. These are conventional, culture-specific gestures that can be used as replacement for words, such as the handwave used in the US for "hello" and "goodbye". A single emblematic gesture can a have very different significance in different cultural contexts, ranging from complimentary to highly offensive <ref>Morris, Desmond, Collett, Peter, Marsh, Peter, O'Shaughnessy, Marie. 1979. Gestures, their origins and distribution. London. Cape</ref> The page [[List of gestures]] discusses emblematic gestures made with one hand, two hands, hand and other body parts, and body and facial gestures. Another broad category of gestures comprises those gestures used spontaneously when we speak. These gestures are closely coordinated with speech. The so-called beat gestures are used in conjunction with speech and keep time with the rhythm of speech to emphasize certain words or phrases. These types of gestures are integrally connected to [[Speech communication|speech]] and thought processes.<ref name=McNeill/> Other spontaneous gestures used when we speak are more contentful and may echo or elaborate the meaning of the co-occurring speech. For example, a gesture that depicts the act of throwing may be synchronous with the utterance, "He threw the ball right into the window." <ref name=McNeill>McNeill (1992). Hand and Mind. Chicago: University of Chicago Press</ref> Gestural languages such as [[American Sign Language]] and its regional siblings operate as complete natural languages that are gestural in modality. They should not be confused with [[finger spelling]], in which a set of emblematic gestures are used to represent a written alphabet. ==Social significance== [[Image:VitarkaMudra.JPG|thumb|right|200px|Vitarka [[mudra]], [[Tarim Basin]], 9th century.]] Many animals, including humans, use gestures to initiate a [[Courtship|mating ritual]]. This may include elaborate [[dance]]s and other movements. Gestures play a major role in many aspects of human life. Gesturing is probably a universal; there has been no report of a community that does not gesture. Gestures are a crucial part of everyday conversation such as chatting, describing a route, negotiating prices on a market; they are ubiquitous. Gestures have been documented in the arts such as in Greek vase paintings, Indian Miniatures or European paintings. Gestures play a central role in religious or spiritual rituals such as the [[Christianity|Christian]] [[sign of the cross]]. In [[Hinduism]] and [[Buddhism]], a ''[[mudra]]'' ([[Sanskrit]], literally "seal") is a symbolic gesture made with the hand or fingers. Each mudra has a specific meaning, playing a central role in Hindu and Buddhist [[iconography]]. An example is the Vitarka mudra, the gesture of discussion and transmission of Buddhist teaching. It is done by joining the tips of the thumb and the index together, while keeping the other fingers straight. ==Neurology== Gestures are processed in the same areas of the brain as [[speech]] and [[sign language]] such as the left [[inferior frontal gyrus]] ([[Broca's area]]) and the posterior [[middle temporal gyrus]], posterior [[superior temporal sulcus]] and [[superior temporal gyrus]] ([[Wernicke's area]]).<ref name="Xu"/> It has been suggested that these parts of the brain originally supporting the pairing of gesture and meaning and then were adapted in [[human evolution]] "for the comparable pairing of sound and meaning as voluntary control over the vocal apparatus was established and spoken language evolved".<ref name="Xu"/> As a result, it underlies both symbolic gesture and spoken language in the present [[human brain]]. Their common neurological basis also supports the idea that symbolic gesture and spoken language are two parts of a single fundamental semiotic system that underlies human discourse.<ref name=McNeill/> ==Electronic interface== {{main|Gesture recognition}} The movement of gestures can be used to interact with technology, using [[Touch user interface|touch]] or [[multi-touch]] popularised by the [[iPhone]], physical [[Motion detection|movement detection]] and visual [[motion capture]], used in [[video game console]]s. ==See also== * [[Chironomia]] * [[Kinesics]] * [[List of gestures]] * [[Musical Gestures]] * [[Posture (psychology)]] * [[Rock, Paper, Scissors]], a game played with hand gestures * [[Sign language]] * [[Taunt]] ==References==<!-- CurrBiol16:R191. --> {{reflist}} ==Further reading== * Bulwer, John (1644). "Chirologia: or the Naturall Language of the Hand" (London,1644) * Goldin-Meadow, Susan (2003). The resilience of language: What gesture creation in deaf children can tell us about how all children learn language. In the Essays in Developmental Psychologyseries (J. Werker & H. Wellman, Eds.). New York: Psychology Press. * Goldin-Meadow, Susan (2003). Hearing gesture: How our hands help us think. Cambridge, MA: [[Harvard University Press]]. * Johns, C. (1982). ''Sex or Symbol. Erotic Images of Greece and Rome.'' London: British Museum Publications. * Kendon, Adam (ed.) (1981). ''Nonverbal Communication, Interaction and Gesture: Selections from Semiotica (Vol.41, Approaches to Semiotics).'' The Hague: Mouton and Co. [Includes as an Introduction by Kendon an extended critical survey of methodological and theoretical issues in the field]. * Kendon, Adam (1997). ''Annual Review of Anthropology''. 26: 109-128. * Kendon, Adam (2000). ''Gesture in Naples and Gesture in Classical Antiquity.'' An English translation, with an Introductory Essay and Notes of ''La mimica degli antichi investigata nel gestire Napoletano'' ('Gestural expression of the ancients in the light of neapolitan gesturing') by Andrea de Jorio (1832). Bloomington, Indiana: [[Indiana University Press]]. * Kendon, Adam (2004). ''Gesture: Visible Action as Utterance.'' Cambridge: [[Cambridge University Press]]. * Kita, S. (ed.) (2003). ''Pointing: Where Language, Culture and Cognition Meet.'' Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, ISBN 0-8058-4014-1. * McNeill, David (1992). ''Hand and Mind. What Gestures Reveal about Thought.'' Chicago: [[Chicago University Press]]. * McNeill, David (2005). ''Gesture and Thought.'' Chicago: Chicago University Press. ==External links== {{Wiktionarypar|gesture}} {{Commons category|gestures}} * [http://www.gesturestudies.com International Society for Gesture Studies] (ISGS) is an international scholarly association devoted to the study of human gesture. The ISGS organizes conferences and supports the Journal GESTURE. *[http://mcneilllab.uchicago.edu/ McNeill Lab Center for Gesture and Speech Research] David McNeill's Lab homepage: The Center for Gesture and Speech Research at the University of Chicago studies speech and gesture from a psycholinguistic perspective. The page provides lots of useful information about gesture analysis. * [http://goldin-meadow-lab.uchicago.edu/ The Goldin-Meadow Lab] at the University of Chicago studies non-verbal communication and gestures. /Gesture.html The Nijmegen Gesture Center] (NGC) at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics studies the role of gestures in psycholinguistic processing, communication and interaction, acquisition, cognition, and neurocognition. * [http://www.ciolek.com/SPEC/kendon.html Publications by Adam Kendon] (field data, research techniques and theory of gesture and sign languages) * [http://www.jeroenarendsen.nl/ A Nice Gesture] Many stories and anecdotes on gestures. * [http://www.aaanet.org/sla/jla/jla14_2_brookes.htm A Repertoire of South African Quotable Gestures], Journal of Linguistic Anthropology. * [http://www.handspeak.com/ Handspeak] Sign languages, gestures, body languages, Baby Sign, International Sign, and more. Paid site with limited content for free. {{Gestures}} [[Category:Gestures| ]] [[ar:حركات اليد]] [[bg:Жест]] [[ca:Gest]] [[cs:Gesto]] [[da:Gestik]] [[de:Gebärde]] [[fr:Gestuelle des doigts et des mains]] [[gl:Aceno]] [[ko:몸짓언어]] [[id:Gerak isyarat]] [[it:Gesto]] [[he:מחווה גופנית]] [[ka:ჟესტიკულაცია]] [[lv:Žesti]] [[nl:Gebaar]] [[ja:ジェスチャー]] [[ml:ആംഗ്യഭാഷ]] [[pl:Gest]] [[pt:Gesto]] [[ru:Жест]] [[simple:Gesture]] [[sk:Gesto]] [[fi:Ele]] [[sv:Gest]] [[te:సంజ్ఞ]] [[uk:Жест]] [[zh:手势]]'