The Tool Noun and Tool Verb Alternation in Gesture

Abstract

AbstractIn recent years, increasing attention has been devoted to investigating what aspects of grammar in spoken language are coordinated with gesture. However, previous studies have focused on gesture use in relation to other grammatical categories rather than the basic grammatical categories of nouns and verbs. Against this background, this study, taking the tool noun and tool verb alternation as a starting point, considers to what extent gesture relates to the tool frame and to what extent it relates to the choice of nouns or verbs and accordingly the means of construal afforded by nouns and verbs. It is found that the number of gestures produced and the dominant gesture mode are largely dependent on the tool frame, but some other aspects in gesture do vary depending on the choice of nouns or verbs in speech, and these differences in gesture seem to correlate with the difference between how speakers conceptualize nouns and verbs, as hypothesized in the theory of cognitive grammar: nouns profile THINGS while verbs profile PROCESSES. This finding adds to previous studies about which aspects of grammar relate to gesture and how they do so, thereby furthering our understanding of the integrated nature of speech and gesture.