Gesture and the Nature of Language by David F. Armstrong, William C. Stokoe and Sherman E. Wilcox (review)

REVIEW Gesture and the Nature of Language, David F.Armstrong, William C. Stokoe & Sherman E. Wilcox. Cambridge, New York, Melbourne : Cambridge University Press. 1995. x &260pp. ISBN 0 521 46213 hard cover, ISBN 0 521 46772 paperback. The central theme, which appears in different wordings and behind the statements throughout the book Gestureandthe Nature ofLanguage(GNL), can be abstractly summarized in five words: Language comes from the body. Or in American Sign Language, three signs: BODY (hands-from-head-to-hip) GIVE LANGUAGE, literally translated a 'Body as a whole gives language.' This might appear strange to those who have been taught or are accustomed to the idea that language comes from (modules in) the brain. To be sure, without brain, there is no language. While the role of brain in the development of language is undeniably prominent, it may get more attention than it deserves. Language could not exist without concerted action of other parts of the body-nerves and muscles responsible for the expressive activities . With them, the production of gestures is made possible and the gesture, as the book argues, is the seed or fertilized egg of language . The term "gesture" as used in the book cannot be interpreted in the way that lay people usually understand it. A gesture is defined as a functional unit of neuromuscular movements that are synergistically coordinated by brain to accomplish an end. There are visible and invisible gestures. Visible gestures are well known among all the peoples in the world. Some examples of visible gestures are the signs made by deaf people and the gestures used by referees in sports. An example of invisible gesture is speech itself. When a person is talking, inside the mouth a set of nerves and muscles are coordinated to produce the desired sounds. The set of these coordinated movements in the vocal tract is a functional unit-it accomplishes an end, the production of the sounds. Hence, it agrees with the definition ofa gesture. Before I continue, a few words about my background are needed here. My interest in the area ofsemiotics, which linguistics forms part of,is entirely amateur with no systemic and formal education in either of the two fields. This review, therefore, is writ- @1995, Linstok Press, Inc. ISSN 0302-1475 SLS 89 ten from the perspective of an amateur who finds the phenomenon of language (or signs in the semiotic sense) intriguing. Semiotics, unlike other sciences, which focus on dyadic events (how one thing, however small it is such as a proton or however large it is such as an universe, interacts with some other thing), treats events as triadic. And semiotics informs this book, packed as it is with ideas supported by 323 references and presented in a framework to support the gestural approach that the authors believe will challenge other approaches to understanding the nature of language.. To illustrate some points as discussed in the book, it is fitting to start with two examples that are common in social activities. The first example involves a parent, a child who is between 2 and 3 years old, and an apple. The parent and the child are sitting at a table across from each other. The apple is at the center ofthe table. Using American Sign Language, the parent points to the apple with his right hand. Then, still with the right hand, he makes the sign that stands for apple. The second example likewise involves a parent and a child who is between 2 and 3 years old and they are sitting at a table across from each other. Pointing to the apple at the center of the table with his right hand, the parent makes sounds that say in the English language, "This is an apple." A common way to study the languages that are being used in the two examples is to use the formal or structural approach. With this approach, the sounds as produced in the second example are analyzed to find the phonetics, phonology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. The two signs in the first example (pointing to the apple is called indexing and is a conventional sign) are likewise analyzed to find the phonetics and so...