The role of gestures in language and discourse

Sandra Debreslioska, PhD, came back to her alma mater for her lecture on Gestures in Discourse. She did her Bachelor’s degree at Viadrina and continued her studies in Nijmegen (Netherlands) and Lund (Sweden). The lecture tackled intruiging questions about why we use gestures in certain moments of discourse but not in others. Building on the observation that speakers use richer referring expressions for less accessible information in verbal speech, she asked how gestures function in these contexts.
Through findings from three different studies, Sandra demonstrated the multifunctionality of gestures. They can highlight new or less accessible information, structure discourse, and exhibit a parallel or complementary relationship to speech. Importantly, her research reveals that the discursive functions of gestures differ across modalities, comparing spoken and signed languages.
Her key takeaway: gestures are tightly integrated with language at the discourse level and should be a crucial consideration when theorizing about communication.
The extremely inspiring discussion between Sandra and the team continued the next day in an informal workshop. We thank her for visiting our center and hope that the exchange will continue in one form or another.