gesture

(noun)

A motion of the limbs or body, especially one made to emphasize speech.

Related Terms

Examples of gesture in the following topics:

  • Gestures

    • Gestures are culturally specific.
    • In China, however, the gesture is made differently.
    • The most familiar categories of gestures are the so-called emblems or quotable gestures.
    • These gestures are closely coordinated with speech.
    • Gesturing is probably universal; there have been no reports of communities that do not gesture.

  • Nonverbal Communication

    • This type of communication includes gestures, touch, body language, posture, facial expressions, and eye contact.
    • Gestures are movements with one's hands, arms, or face that communicate a particular message.
    • The most common gestures are emblem gestures or quotable gestures that are learned within a particular cultural to communicate a particular message.
    • For example, in the Western world, waving one's hand back and forth communicates "hello" or "goodbye. " Emblem gestures can vary by cultural space so widely that a common gesture in one context is offensive in another.
    • Facial gestures, or facial expressions, are a particularly communicative form of gesture.

  • Sociological Theories of the Self

    • As gestures are taken in by the individual organism, the individual organism also takes in the collective attitudes of others, in the form of gestures, and reacts accordingly with other organized attitudes.

  • Symbols and Nature

    • Signs can consist of sounds, gestures, letters, or symbols, depending on whether the language is spoken, signed, or written.

  • Eye Contact

    • As adults, Japanese tend to lower their eyes when speaking to a superior as a gesture of respect.

  • Social Context and Sexual Behavior

    • In a different context, the same gesture could have very different connotations.

  • The Origins of Language

    • Those who see language as being mostly innate, such as Steven Pinker, hold the precedents to be animal cognition, whereas those who see language as a socially learned tool of communication, such as Michael Tomasello, see it as having developed from animal communication, either primate gestural or vocal communication.

  • Subcultures

    • The hand gesture meaning 'live long and prosper' has spread beyond the subculture of Star Trek fans and is often recognized in mainstream culture.

  • Virtual Worlds

    • Social interaction between users can range from communication via text, graphical icons, visual gesture, sound, touch, voice command, and balance senses.

  • Role Theory

    • Social interaction between users can range from communication via text, graphical icons, visual gesture, sound, touch, voice command, and balance senses.