Routes from gesture to language
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In this paper I explore the role of gesture in the development of signed languages. Using data from American Sign Language, Catalan Sign Language, French Sign Language, and Italian Sign Language, as well as historical sources describing gesture in the Mediterranean region, I demonstrate that gesture enters the linguistic system via at least two distinct routes. In one, gesture serves as a source of lexical and grammatical morphemes in signed languages. In the second, gesture enters the linguistic system through prosody and intonation, bypassing the lexical stage entirely, and then develop into morphological forms. Finally, I propose further research that could contribute to our understanding of these two routes.
En: Pizzuto, E. et al. (eds.), Verbal and signed languages. Comparing structures, constructs, and methodologies, pp. 107-131.