{"title":"The development of speech and gesture in Sesotho narratives","authors":"Heather Brookes, Dorothy Agyepong, Michelle White, Sefela Yalala","doi":"10.1075/gest.21006.bro","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"\n Studies show that speech and gesture develop together with age, and the nature of gestures changes with increasing\n cognitive and discursive abilities. While there are common developmental trends, cultural differences may also impact development.\n We examined gesture development in narratives of Sesotho speaking children aged 5 to 6 years (n = 12), 9 to 10\n years (n = 12) and adults (n = 12), who watched a wordless cartoon and narrated the story back\n to an interlocutor. Our results show that narrative ability develops with age. Speech and gesture become more complex.\n Representational and pragmatic gestures increase, but the proportion of these gesture types changes. Gestures become semiotically\n more complex and integrated with spoken discourse. Narrative development in Sesotho speakers shows similar developmental trends to\n those found in other studies. However, cultural factors influence some aspects with Sesotho speakers exhibiting similar narrative\n patterns in spoken and gestural behaviour to speakers of isiZulu, a closely related language and cultural group.","PeriodicalId":35125,"journal":{"name":"Gesture","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7000,"publicationDate":"2024-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Gesture","FirstCategoryId":"98","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1075/gest.21006.bro","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Studies show that speech and gesture develop together with age, and the nature of gestures changes with increasing
cognitive and discursive abilities. While there are common developmental trends, cultural differences may also impact development.
We examined gesture development in narratives of Sesotho speaking children aged 5 to 6 years (n = 12), 9 to 10
years (n = 12) and adults (n = 12), who watched a wordless cartoon and narrated the story back
to an interlocutor. Our results show that narrative ability develops with age. Speech and gesture become more complex.
Representational and pragmatic gestures increase, but the proportion of these gesture types changes. Gestures become semiotically
more complex and integrated with spoken discourse. Narrative development in Sesotho speakers shows similar developmental trends to
those found in other studies. However, cultural factors influence some aspects with Sesotho speakers exhibiting similar narrative
patterns in spoken and gestural behaviour to speakers of isiZulu, a closely related language and cultural group.
期刊介绍:
Gesture publishes articles reporting original research, as well as survey and review articles, on all aspects of gesture. The journal aims to stimulate and facilitate scholarly communication between the different disciplines within which work on gesture is conducted. For this reason papers written in the spirit of cooperation between disciplines are especially encouraged. Topics may include, but are by no means limited to: the relationship between gesture and speech; the role gesture may play in communication in all the circumstances of social interaction, including conversations, the work-place or instructional settings; gesture and cognition; the development of gesture in children.