“Of thee I sing”: An opening to Dominique Boutet’s kinesiological approach to gesture

Abstract

In this tribute to Dominique Boutet and the kinesiological approach he founded, the authors have tried to make their memories of the scientific collective projects they worked on together resonate with the written work of this extraordinary scientific partner, gathered in his published articles and his habilitation document (Boutet 2018). His approach based on an intimate knowledge of the biomechanics of the human body is centered on the structuring role of the body in gestures (and signed languages). It is form-based: the form of gestures shapes their meaning or function. Gestural units are described on the basis of their formal characteristics and physiological constraints rather than their imagistic iconicity. The article presents the foundations of the approach, a synoptic description and some examples of its application. The originality of the kinesiological approach lies in the double revolution that it allows us to operate: on the one hand, gesture is not simply an appendix of speech; on the other hand; it is shaped by bodily physiology. The approach is based on the movements of the human body analyzed from a biomechanical point of view. The meaning of our gestural productions is the produce of our body, as it is naturally articulated, imprinted as it is by our past experiences.