Cognitive characteristics of rhythmic and metaphoric-rhythmic gesture-verbal utterances (exemplified by American entertaining television interview)

Abstract

The article develops the hypothesis that gesture and speech constitute an integrated mechanism of generating of meaning in communicative processes. It also suggests that this phenomenon should be analysed in terms of gesture-verbal utterances containing gesture and speech components and functioning as a unit of the online communicative process.

Cognitive linguistics methodological assumptions prompt that gesture-verbal utterances should be classified according to the sphere of human consciousness / sub-consciousness which is basically ‘responsible’ for their production and interpretation (rational, emotional, suggestive) and in accordance with their communicative / meta-communicative functions (narrative, metanarrative). Rhythmic gesture-verbal utterances are addressed as suggestive / metanarrative and metaphoric ones – as rational / narrative.

The article is focused on the functioning of metaphoric-rhythmic gesture-verbal utterances which integrate the features of both rhythmic and metaphoric gestures. Due to their metaphoric nature, such gesture-verbal utterances represent abstract reference objects (events / situations) as physical objects – the speaker shapes them and positions them in space. This enables the speaker to bring them into the addressee’s focus of attention. Repetition of metaphoric gestures represents the described events / situations as fully expected ones and thus contributes to speech rhythmization and automatisation of perception. Rhythmization of metaphoric gestures is one of the means of addressee’s attention control.