Items related to Gesture and Thought
Gesturing is such an integral yet unconscious part of communication that we are mostly oblivious to it. But if you observe anyone in conversation, you are likely to see his or her fingers, hands, and arms in some form of spontaneous motion. Why? David McNeill, a pioneer in the ongoing study of the relationship between gesture and language, set about answering this question in "Gesture and Thought" with an unlikely accomplice - Tweety Bird. McNeill argues that gestures are active participants in both speaking and thinking. He posits that gestures are key ingredients in an "imagery-language dialectic" that fuels speech and thought; gestures are the "imagery" and also the components of "language," rather than mere consequences. The smallest unit of this dialectic is the "growth point," a snapshot of an utterance at its beginning psychological stage. Enter Tweety Bird. In "Gesture and Thought", the central growth point comes from a cartoon. In his quest to eat Tweety Bird, Sylvester the cat first scales the outside of a rain gutter to reach his prey. Unsuccessful, he makes a second attempt by climbing up the inside of the gutter. Tweety, however, drops a bowling ball down the gutter; Sylvester swallows the ball. Over the course of twenty-five years, McNeill showed this cartoon to numerous subjects who spoke a variety of languages. A fascinating pattern emerged. Those who remembered the exact sequence of the cartoon while retelling it all used the same gesture to describe Sylvester's position inside the gutter. Those who forgot, in the retelling, that Sylvester had first climbed the outside of the gutter did not use this gesture at all. Thus that gesture becomes part of the "growth point" - the building block of language and thought. An ambitious project in the ongoing study of the relationship of how we communicate and its connection to thought, "Gesture and Thought" is a work of such consequence that it will influence all subsequent linguistic and evolutionary theory on the subject.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review:
0;Expanding the field he helped create more than twenty years ago, David McNeill gives us, in "Gesture and Thought," a deep and insightful account of how the mind is intrinsically embodied. Gestures2;pervasive and dramatically ignored2;are in themselves thoughts. If you still think that human minds can be emulated or even surpassed by computers, read this book! A must for anybody interested in language, thought, and the elusive intricacies of the mind-body problem.1; -- Rafael Nunez "Rafael Nunez" (06/21/2005)
0;With "Gesture and Thought, "David McNeill again demonstrates his status as a pioneer in the field of cognitive psychology and linguistics. Here he has developed a new theory of language and gesture in which gesture is seen as integral to language. In doing so, he has not merely grafted gesture onto language, but has reexamined and redefined our understanding of language, thought, and gesture. "Gesture and Thought" is a book of profound importance, destined to change the way we think about human language, gesture, and thought.1;2;Sherman Wilcox, University of New Mexico
-- Sherman Wilcox "Sherman Wilcox" (05/16/2005)
0;In this eagerly awaited book, David McNeill presents a unified theory of language, speech, gesture, and thought. Until this book, no one had ever attempted to formulate a theoretical framework to explain why gesture and speech appear so tightly linked, nor had anyone considered how an integration of gesture and speech might affect linguistic theory. Here, McNeill challenges traditional concepts in psychology and linguistics by arguing for the integration of body and mind and of dynamic and static aspects of language and thought2;as opposed to separating them. This is a radically innovative work that will become a classic in psychology, cognitive science, linguistics, and anthropology. After having read it nobody will ever be able to think that the body and the mind are separate things again.1; -- Cornelia Muller "Cornelia Muller" (06/21/2005)
"With Gesture and Thought, David McNeill again demonstrates his status as a pioneer in the field of cognitive psychology and linguistics. Here he has developed a new theory of language and gesture in which gesture is seen as integral to language. In doing so, he has not merely grafted gesture onto language, but has reexamined and redefined our understanding of language, thought, and gesture. Gesture and Thought is a book of profound importance, destined to change the way we think about human language, gesture, and thought." -- Sherman Wilcox "Sherman Wilcox" (05/16/2005)
“With "Gesture and Thought, "David McNeill again demonstrates his status as a pioneer in the field of cognitive psychology and linguistics. Here he has developed a new theory of language and gesture in which gesture is seen as integral to language. In doing so, he has not merely grafted gesture onto language, but has reexamined and redefined our understanding of language, thought, and gesture. "Gesture and Thought" is a book of profound importance, destined to change the way we think about human language, gesture, and thought.”—Sherman Wilcox, University of New Mexico
--Sherman Wilcox"Sherman Wilcox" (05/16/2005)
“David McNeill’s book is a momentous contribution to our understanding of kinetic and visual expression. . . . McNeill’s detailed descriptions of how gestures represent ideas contribute greatly to our understanding of images as carriers of abstractions.”—Rudolf Arnheim, "Leonardo"""
--Rudolf Arnheim "Leonardo "
“Expanding the field he helped create more than twenty years ago, David McNeill gives us, in "Gesture and Thought", a deep and insightful account of how the mind is intrinsically embodied. Gestures—pervasive and dramatically ignored—are in themselves thoughts. If you still think that human minds can be emulated or even surpassed by computers, read this book! A must for anybody interested in language, thought, and the elusive intricacies of the mind-body problem.”--Rafael Núñez, University of California, San Diego
--Rafael Nunez"Rafael Nunez" (06/21/2005)
“In this eagerly awaited book, David McNeill presents a unified theory of language, speech, gesture, and thought. Until this book, no one had ever attempted to formulate a theoretical framework to explain why gesture and speech appear so tightly linked, nor had anyone considered how an integration of gesture and speech might affect linguistic theory. Here, McNeill challenges traditional concepts in psychology and linguistics by arguing for the integration of body and mind and of dynamic and static aspects of language and thought—as opposed to separating them. This is a radically innovative work that will become a classic in psychology, cognitive science, linguistics, and anthropology. After having read it nobody will ever be able to think that the body and the mind are separate things again.”--Cornelia Müller, Free University of Berlin
--Cornelia Muller"Cornelia Muller" (06/21/2005)
"With "Gesture and Thought, "David McNeill again demonstrates his status as a pioneer in the field of cognitive psychology and linguistics. Here he has developed a new theory of language and gesture in which gesture is seen as integral to language. In doing so, he has not merely grafted gesture onto language, but has reexamined and redefined our understanding of language, thought, and gesture. "Gesture and Thought" is a book of profound importance, destined to change the way we think about human language, gesture, and thought."--Sherman Wilcox, University of New Mexico
--Sherman Wilcox"Sherman Wilcox" (05/16/2005)
"By defending his reasons for studying gesture, offering a wide range of evidence to support conclusions about the imagery-language dialect, and illustrating how language is inextricably connected to social contexts, McNeill helps readers see why many scholars are no longer interested in parsing out the effects of nature and nurture on human functioning."--Theresa A. Thorkildsen "PsycCritiques "
About the Author:
0;With "Gesture and Thought, "David McNeill again demonstrates his status as a pioneer in the field of cognitive psychology and linguistics. Here he has developed a new theory of language and gesture in which gesture is seen as integral to language. In doing so, he has not merely grafted gesture onto language, but has reexamined and redefined our understanding of language, thought, and gesture. "Gesture and Thought" is a book of profound importance, destined to change the way we think about human language, gesture, and thought.1;2;Sherman Wilcox, University of New Mexico
-- Sherman Wilcox "Sherman Wilcox" (05/16/2005)
0;In this eagerly awaited book, David McNeill presents a unified theory of language, speech, gesture, and thought. Until this book, no one had ever attempted to formulate a theoretical framework to explain why gesture and speech appear so tightly linked, nor had anyone considered how an integration of gesture and speech might affect linguistic theory. Here, McNeill challenges traditional concepts in psychology and linguistics by arguing for the integration of body and mind and of dynamic and static aspects of language and thought2;as opposed to separating them. This is a radically innovative work that will become a classic in psychology, cognitive science, linguistics, and anthropology. After having read it nobody will ever be able to think that the body and the mind are separate things again.1; -- Cornelia Muller "Cornelia Muller" (06/21/2005)
"With Gesture and Thought, David McNeill again demonstrates his status as a pioneer in the field of cognitive psychology and linguistics. Here he has developed a new theory of language and gesture in which gesture is seen as integral to language. In doing so, he has not merely grafted gesture onto language, but has reexamined and redefined our understanding of language, thought, and gesture. Gesture and Thought is a book of profound importance, destined to change the way we think about human language, gesture, and thought." -- Sherman Wilcox "Sherman Wilcox" (05/16/2005)
“With "Gesture and Thought, "David McNeill again demonstrates his status as a pioneer in the field of cognitive psychology and linguistics. Here he has developed a new theory of language and gesture in which gesture is seen as integral to language. In doing so, he has not merely grafted gesture onto language, but has reexamined and redefined our understanding of language, thought, and gesture. "Gesture and Thought" is a book of profound importance, destined to change the way we think about human language, gesture, and thought.”—Sherman Wilcox, University of New Mexico
--Sherman Wilcox"Sherman Wilcox" (05/16/2005)
“David McNeill’s book is a momentous contribution to our understanding of kinetic and visual expression. . . . McNeill’s detailed descriptions of how gestures represent ideas contribute greatly to our understanding of images as carriers of abstractions.”—Rudolf Arnheim, "Leonardo"""
--Rudolf Arnheim "Leonardo "
“Expanding the field he helped create more than twenty years ago, David McNeill gives us, in "Gesture and Thought", a deep and insightful account of how the mind is intrinsically embodied. Gestures—pervasive and dramatically ignored—are in themselves thoughts. If you still think that human minds can be emulated or even surpassed by computers, read this book! A must for anybody interested in language, thought, and the elusive intricacies of the mind-body problem.”--Rafael Núñez, University of California, San Diego
--Rafael Nunez"Rafael Nunez" (06/21/2005)
“In this eagerly awaited book, David McNeill presents a unified theory of language, speech, gesture, and thought. Until this book, no one had ever attempted to formulate a theoretical framework to explain why gesture and speech appear so tightly linked, nor had anyone considered how an integration of gesture and speech might affect linguistic theory. Here, McNeill challenges traditional concepts in psychology and linguistics by arguing for the integration of body and mind and of dynamic and static aspects of language and thought—as opposed to separating them. This is a radically innovative work that will become a classic in psychology, cognitive science, linguistics, and anthropology. After having read it nobody will ever be able to think that the body and the mind are separate things again.”--Cornelia Müller, Free University of Berlin
--Cornelia Muller"Cornelia Muller" (06/21/2005)
"With "Gesture and Thought, "David McNeill again demonstrates his status as a pioneer in the field of cognitive psychology and linguistics. Here he has developed a new theory of language and gesture in which gesture is seen as integral to language. In doing so, he has not merely grafted gesture onto language, but has reexamined and redefined our understanding of language, thought, and gesture. "Gesture and Thought" is a book of profound importance, destined to change the way we think about human language, gesture, and thought."--Sherman Wilcox, University of New Mexico
--Sherman Wilcox"Sherman Wilcox" (05/16/2005)
"By defending his reasons for studying gesture, offering a wide range of evidence to support conclusions about the imagery-language dialect, and illustrating how language is inextricably connected to social contexts, McNeill helps readers see why many scholars are no longer interested in parsing out the effects of nature and nurture on human functioning."--Theresa A. Thorkildsen "PsycCritiques "
David McNeill is professor emeritus of linguistics and psychology at the University of Chicago and director of the Center for Gesture and Speech. He is the author of four previous books, including Hand and Mind, also published by the University of Chicago Press, and the editor of Language and Gesture.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press
- Publication date2014
- ISBN 10 0226514641
- ISBN 13 9780226514642
- BindingUnknown Binding
- Number of pages332
- Rating
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