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Gesture: A Slim Guide
This book provides a short and accessible introduction to how we use gesture in communication. Gestures are those actions made with the human body that accompany spoken or signed language; they are found in every human community that has language, but are far more heavily context dependent than the linguistic elements of communication. In this book, Lauren Gawne explores the different categories of gesture, showing that their use varies across cultures and languages, and even across specific interactions. Further chapters cover the acquisition of gesture, where it lives in the brain, and its role in both the origins of language and the future of communication. Written in an engaging style and compact format, and suitable for readers for all backgrounds, the book demonstrates the importance of gesture in understanding how we communicate.
- GenresLinguisticsNonfiction
208 pages, Paperback
Published June 20, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 27, 2025
I heard about this book through a blog post of another author I've read, Gretchen McCulloch, who has done some work with Gawne. Glad I did, because this book is such a great introduction to the field of gesture. I learned so much...largely that I have so much more to learn! I may read up on this topic some more, as it would be a great complement to my studies in linguistics. For what it's worth, I recommend this book! And thank you, Nappanee Public Library, for adding this to your collection at my request! 📚
Following are just some of my notes from the book.
I love that in English, we think of the future as being in front of us, spatially speaking. Consider "I look forward to...". But in some languages, the past is in front of the speaker. They view it that way because they can see what happened in the past, but they can't see the future (so it's behind them).
I also love that there are different reasons or influences for why these concepts are formed: culture, cognition, and language. So cool and interesting!
Gestures are both for our audience and ourselves. I like the Lexical Retrieval Hypothesis, which proposes that "people use gesture to navigate word retrieval issues" in times of 'disfluency'.
"Multilingual individuals are not multiple monolinguals inhabiting one brain. The multiple languages in a person's repertoire exert influence on each other, as do the social and cultural context in which each of those languages is used." (p. 96)
Following are just some of my notes from the book.
I love that in English, we think of the future as being in front of us, spatially speaking. Consider "I look forward to...". But in some languages, the past is in front of the speaker. They view it that way because they can see what happened in the past, but they can't see the future (so it's behind them).
I also love that there are different reasons or influences for why these concepts are formed: culture, cognition, and language. So cool and interesting!
Gestures are both for our audience and ourselves. I like the Lexical Retrieval Hypothesis, which proposes that "people use gesture to navigate word retrieval issues" in times of 'disfluency'.
"Multilingual individuals are not multiple monolinguals inhabiting one brain. The multiple languages in a person's repertoire exert influence on each other, as do the social and cultural context in which each of those languages is used." (p. 96)
June 30, 2025
As a non-academic casual fan of languages and linguistics, and as someone who’d never given any thought to the role gestures play in communication, I found this book to be accessible and informative.
The info about use of gesture in sign languages was something I had never even considered before, and I enjoyed reading about that. I found one tidbit to be particularly interesting: about how facial expressions in sign language that serve grammatical functions were affected by people with Broca’s aphasia, but their use of those facial expressions otherwise was unaffected.
I suspect I’ll be paying more attention to the gestures people use around me in my day-to-day life after reading this!
The info about use of gesture in sign languages was something I had never even considered before, and I enjoyed reading about that. I found one tidbit to be particularly interesting: about how facial expressions in sign language that serve grammatical functions were affected by people with Broca’s aphasia, but their use of those facial expressions otherwise was unaffected.
I suspect I’ll be paying more attention to the gestures people use around me in my day-to-day life after reading this!
November 20, 2025
I'll preface this by saying I am not a linguist, but I am a huge fan of Gawne's podcast Lingthusiasm which she hosts with Canadian linguist and author Gretchen McCulloch. And, as someone who gestures A LOT and is fascinated by gesture, I knew I had to purchase this book.
Gesture: A Slim Guide is a an excellent overview of all elements of gesture, including the expansive (and still growing) literature and work that has been undertaken by academia on this topic so far. Gawne is scratching the surface but provides enough detail and a variety of references in each category to make it interesting. She is not overly technical and explains things very well–there is also a glossary at the back.
After reading this book, I pick up on people's gestures a lot more and take notice of my own, and have a better understanding of what kinds of gestures are being used and further insight into why they are being used. The link between language and gesture feels very intrinsic, and I thought it was fun to notice when my mother-in-law was trying to find the words for a kitchen household object and mimed the way we use the object to compensate. She said something like, "Use the .... " and mimed collecting food using a spatula by the swing of her closed fist. She eventually found the word 'utensil', but she had used the gesture first, which showed she knew what she wanted to say, but instead of saying spatula or utensil, mimed the action to describe it which made her understood. I told her what she had done and what I had read in the book which related, and she thought it was fascinating.
Gesture: A Slim Guide is a an excellent overview of all elements of gesture, including the expansive (and still growing) literature and work that has been undertaken by academia on this topic so far. Gawne is scratching the surface but provides enough detail and a variety of references in each category to make it interesting. She is not overly technical and explains things very well–there is also a glossary at the back.
After reading this book, I pick up on people's gestures a lot more and take notice of my own, and have a better understanding of what kinds of gestures are being used and further insight into why they are being used. The link between language and gesture feels very intrinsic, and I thought it was fun to notice when my mother-in-law was trying to find the words for a kitchen household object and mimed the way we use the object to compensate. She said something like, "Use the .... " and mimed collecting food using a spatula by the swing of her closed fist. She eventually found the word 'utensil', but she had used the gesture first, which showed she knew what she wanted to say, but instead of saying spatula or utensil, mimed the action to describe it which made her understood. I told her what she had done and what I had read in the book which related, and she thought it was fascinating.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews