Gestural semantics refers to the study of the meaning conveyed through gestures, body movements, and non-verbal communication. It explores how gestures and bodily actions contribute to communication and how they convey meaning alongside spoken language.

1. Functions of Gestural Semantics in
Contemporary Communication
Dr.VMS

2. Gestural semantics
 Gestural semantics refers to the study of the meaning conveyed through gestures,
body movements, and non-verbal communication. It explores how gestures and
bodily actions contribute to communication and how they convey meaning
alongside spoken language.
 Gestural semantics examines how gestures are used to complement, reinforce, or
even substitute verbal communication in various contexts, including everyday
conversation, storytelling, presentations, and theatrical performances.
 Understanding gestural semantics is crucial for comprehending the nuances of
communication and interpreting the full spectrum of meaning conveyed by
individuals in social interactions. This includes understanding the cultural, social,
and contextual factors that influence the interpretation of gestures.

3. Gestural semantics and Semiotics
 Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols and their use and interpretation
in communication. It encompasses various forms of signs, including linguistic
signs (words), visual signs (images, icons), and gestural signs (gestures, body
language).
 In the larger framework of semiotics, gestural semantics contributes to our
understanding of how non-verbal communication systems, such as gestures,
operate as part of the overall semiotic landscape. It highlights the role of
gestures as a form of symbolic communication and their significance in
human interaction and expression.

4. Gestural Semantics
 Current formal semantic theories aim at capturing gestural semantic
contributions and in particular their interplay with the semantics that
stems from cooccurring speech. To grasp how gesture contributes
meaning and interacts with speech, the information status of
gesture is of prime importance.
 Three areas have particularly been explored in GS viz,
 the definition of an iconic semantics (e.g. Giorgolo 2010);
 the integration of gestures into discourse representations (e.g. Lascarides and
Stone 2009); and
 co-speech gesture projection as pioneered by Ebert and Ebert 2014.

5. Iconic semantics
 Iconic semantics refers to the study of meaning conveyed through iconic
signs or symbols that resemble or represent the objects, actions, or
concepts they signify.
 In other words, iconic semantics focuses on understanding how symbols
or signs evoke meaning through visual resemblance to the things they
represent.

6. Co-speech gesture projection
Co-speech gesture projection refers to the phenomenon where speakers use
hand gestures that visually depict or represent elements of their speech
content. These gestures are synchronized with the spoken words and serve to
enhance or complement the verbal message.
key aspects of co-speech gesture projection
1. Synchronization with Speech- synchronized with specific words, phrases,
or concepts being expressed verbally, often serving to emphasize or clarify
the spoken message
2. Visual Representation- co-speech gestures visually represent or illustrate
elements of the speech

7. Co-speech gesture projection
3. Semantic Alignment- semantically aligned with the content of the speech-congruent
with or supportive of the verbal message, helping to convey the speaker's intentions
more effectively.
4. Complementarity- spoken words, providing additional information or enhancing the
listener's understanding of the message
5. Gesture-Speech Coupling- Co-speech gesture projection reflects the close coupling
between gesture and speech production processes
6. Cognitive and Communicative Functions- serve various cognitive and
communicative functions, including aiding memory retrieval, structuring discourse,
facilitating comprehension, and fostering engagement between speakers and listeners.
7. Cross-Cultural Variation- the specific forms and functions of gestures may vary
depending on cultural norms, linguistic conventions, and communicative contexts.

8. Semantic congruence
 Comprehension accuracy and speed are bolstered by viewing semantically-
congruent representational gestures accompanying speech (Drijvers and
Özyürek, 2017, 2020).
 Moreover, words learned with semantically-congruent representational gestures
are remembered more accurately than words learned without gestures (Kelly et
al., 2009; So et al., 2012).
 In addition to supporting the Integrated Systems Hypothesis, these findings are
consistent with Dual Coding Theory (Clark and Paivio, 1991), which posits that
representational gesture splits the cognitive load between the visual
and verbal representational systems, freeing up cognitive resources
and thereby enhancing comprehension. These findings suggest that when
novel vocabulary is learned, it should ideally be accompanied by semantically-
congruent representational gesture.

9. Multimodality of Language
 Semantics is not just related to meaning as expressed by language. In
recent years, linguistics has taken a multimodal turn: a number of scholars
now take it for granted that language needs to be studied from a
multimodal perspective (e.g. Holler and Levinson, 2019; Müller et al.,
2013) or even that language itself is multimodal (e.g. Özyürek, 2014;
Perniss, 2018; Vigliocco et al., 2014).

10. Gestural semantics pragmatics Semiotics
Gestural semantics primarily focuses on
the meaning conveyed through
gestures, body movements, facial
expressions, and other non-verbal cues.
Pragmatics, on the other hand, is
the study of how context influences
the interpretation of language and
how language users convey
meaning beyond the literal words
they use.
It investigates how meaning is
created, conveyed, and interpreted
through various sign systems,
including language, visual images,
gestures, and cultural artifacts.
It examines how these non-verbal
signals contribute to the overall message
being communicated and how they
interact with verbal language.
It encompasses various aspects of
communication, including speech
acts, implicature, presupposition,
and conversational implicature.
Semiotics encompasses the study of
signs at different levels, including
semiotics of language (semantics,
syntax, and pragmatics), semiotics of
visual communication (visual
semiotics), and semiotics of culture
(cultural semiotics).
Gestural semantics is concerned with the
specific meanings and interpretations
associated with different types of
gestures and non-verbal behaviors.
Pragmatics explores how speakers
use language in specific social and
cultural contexts to achieve
communicative goals, such as
making requests, giving advice, or
expressing politeness.
Semiotics examines not only the
meaning of individual signs but also
the relationships between signs, their
contexts, and the cultural
conventions that shape their
interpretation.

11. Gestural Studies Focus
Typology
Research may involve categorizing and analyzing different types of gestures based
on their form, function, and cultural significance.
Language Processing
Studies examine how gestures interact with spoken language during communication.
This research investigates how gestures contribute to the comprehension and
production of language, including their role in disambiguating meaning, providing
emphasis, or conveying emotions.

12. Focus of Gestural Studies
Inter- culture
Research in gestural semantics often involves cross-cultural comparisons to understand
how gestures vary across different linguistic and cultural contexts. This includes
examining culturally specific gestures, gestures' cultural meanings, and how cultural
differences influence gesture use and interpretation.
Cognitive Processes
Some research explores the cognitive processes underlying gesture production and
comprehension. This includes investigating the relationship between gestures and
mental imagery, memory, problem-solving, and conceptualization.

13. Focus of Gestural Studies
Specific Contexts
Education, therapy, and in professional settings. For example, research may examine how
teachers use gestures to facilitate learning, how therapists use gestures in communication
with clients, or how professionals use gestures in public speaking or negotiation.
Technology orientation
With the advancement of technology, researchers also explore how gestures can be
incorporated into human-computer interaction (HCI) and augmented reality (AR) systems.
This includes studying gesture-based interfaces, gesture recognition algorithms, and the
design of interactive systems that leverage gestural communication.

14. Gesture Analysis and Inference Tools
 1. Deep Gesture is a deep learning-based gestural semantic model that uses
convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to recognize and understand human
gestures. It can interpret gestures in real-time and has applications in human-
computer interaction, sign language recognition, and gesture-based control
systems.
 2. Gesture Recognition Toolkit (GRT): GRT is an open-source library for gesture
recognition that provides algorithms and tools for building gestural semantic
models. It offers various machine learning techniques, including hidden Markov
models (HMMs), support vector machines (SVMs), and dynamic time warping
(DTW), for recognizing and interpreting gestures.

15. Gesture Analysis and Inference Tools
3. Microsoft Kinect SDK(software development kit): The Microsoft Kinect SDK
includes gesture recognition capabilities that enable developers to create
applications that respond to users' gestures. The SDK provides pre-trained models
for recognizing common gestures like swipes, waves, and hand poses, as well as
tools for training custom gesture models.
4. Google MediaPipe: Google MediaPipe is a framework for building machine
learning pipelines for various multimedia tasks, including gesture recognition. It
offers pre-trained models and tools for training custom gesture recognition
models using deep learning techniques such as convolutional neural networks
(CNNs) and recurrent neural networks (RNNs).

16. Hidden Markov Models (HMMs)
 Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) are statistical models used to describe sequences of observable events,
where the underlying processes generating these events are assumed to be Markov processes. In an
HMM, the states of the system are not directly observable (hence "hidden"), but they influence the
observable events probabilistically.
 Probabilities associated with each hidden state emitting a particular observation. These emission
probabilities represent the likelihood of observing each symbol given the current hidden state and are
typically represented by an emission matrix.
 Speech Recognition: Modeling the sequence of phonemes or words in speech signals.
 Part-of-Speech Tagging: Assigning grammatical categories (e.g., noun, verb) to words in a sentence.
 Gesture Recognition: Analyzing sequences of observed gestures to recognize specific actions or
behaviors.
 Natural Language Processing: Modeling language generation, text generation, or language translation.

17. Support Vector Machine (SVM)
 A Support Vector Machine (SVM) is a supervised machine learning algorithm used for
classification and regression tasks. SVMs are particularly effective in high-dimensional spaces
and are capable of finding complex decision boundaries that separate different classes or
predict continuous outcomes.
 Text and document classification
 Image classification and recognition
 Handwritten digit recognition

18. Dynamic Time Warping (DTW)
 Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) is a technique used for measuring the similarity between two
sequences that may vary in time or speed. It is particularly useful when comparing sequences
that have similar patterns but are out of phase, stretched, or compressed in time.
 Speech recognition: Comparing spoken utterances that may vary in length or tempo.
 Gesture recognition: Analyzing hand movements captured by sensors or cameras.
 Time series analysis: Comparing temporal patterns in data from various domains such as finance,
healthcare, and environmental monitoring.
 Music information retrieval: Matching musical melodies or rhythms that may be played at
different speeds or with variations.
 Pattern recognition: Finding similarities in sequences of symbols or events.

19. Dravidian hand gestures
 Dravidian hand gestures, are symbolic gestures used in various cultural and
religious contexts within Dravidian-speaking regions of South India, including
Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, etc.
 These hand gestures are deeply rooted in ancient traditions, particularly in
classical dance forms such as Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathakali, and
Mohiniyattam, Oyilattam, Kummi, Parai, etc. as well as in rituals, ceremonies, and
storytelling.

20. Classification of Gestures
Emblematic
Deictic
Semaphoric
pantomimic
Iconic
Metaphoric
Beat
Regulatory
Adaptor
Facial Expressions

21. Emblematic Gestures are culturally specific gestures that have conventionalized
meanings.

22. Deictic gestures are used to point to or refer to objects, locations, or people
in the immediate environment. Pointing at something or someone is a
common deictic gesture
A semaphoric gesture is a form of non-verbal communication that conveys meaning
through the use of hand signals
Pantomimic gestures are non-verbal communicative actions or movements that
convey meaning through imitation or representation of objects, actions, or
emotions without the use of spoken language.

23. Iconic gestures are those that mimic or represent the shape, movement, or characteristics of
objects, actions, or concepts. For instance, making a circular motion with the hand to indicate
the idea of "round" or "whole" is an iconic gesture

24. Metaphoric gestures involve using bodily movements to convey abstract concepts or
ideas metaphorically. For example, spreading the arms wide apart can
metaphorically represent the idea of openness or expansiveness

25. Beat gestures are rhythmic hand movements that accompany speech and
help emphasize or reinforce the spoken message. These gestures often align
with the rhythm and intonation of speech.

26. Regulatory gestures are used to regulate conversational interactions, such as
signaling to indicate turn-taking or indicating that someone should stop
speaking.

27. Adaptor gestures are unconscious or involuntary movements that serve a self-
regulatory function, such as scratching an itch or adjusting clothing. While not always
intentional, adaptor gestures can still convey meaning in certain contexts

28. Facial Expressions: While not strictly gestures of the hands or body, facial expressions
also play a significant role in gestural semantics. Expressions like smiling, frowning, or
raising an eyebrow can convey a range of emotions and attitudes