School of Languages and Linguistics - Research Publications

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    Synchrony as the underlying structure of gesture: the relationship between speech sound and body movement at the micro level
    Wiltshire, Anne (School of Languages and Linguistics, The University of Melbourne, 2007)
    In pursuit of the nature of gesture, Condon observed synchrony of the body with speech sound within speakers and between speaker and listener. His work aroused interest on first publication in the ‘60s and ‘70s, but most researchers failed to replicate the results and interest waned. This paper presents a successful replication of the original research with updated methodology. A review of the original research is also presented as context for the replication.
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    A speech/gesture interface: encoding static, locative relationships in verbal discourse
    Tutton, Mark (School of Languages and Linguistics, The University of Melbourne, 2007)
    When speakers communicate, both verbal and non-verbal aspects of behaviour create and influence discourse. This paper looks at a PhD in progress, which examines how native speakers of Australian English and French use both language and gesture to describe static, locative relationships in everyday spatial scenes. The major hypotheses of the study stem from two theoretical concepts which are central to the lexical expression of spatial relationships: the degree of granularity (Narasimhan and Gullberg) in individual English and French prepositions, and the frames of reference (Levinson) adopted by speakers to encode locative relationships. A link between language and gesture is proposed by examining the ramifications these concepts may have for a speaker’s gestural behaviour.