R E S E A R C H A T G A L L A U D E T
Gesture as a Mediating Factor in Speech
and Sign Language Storytelling
By: Talibah E. Buchanan*
There are many hearing individuals who do not
know sign language but move their hands when
speaking. Chances are these people would have a hard
time telling the same story if asked not to use their hands.
Additionally, the story told without the assistance of
gesture would likely seem lackluster by comparison. The
question becomes, to what degree is gesture an integral
part of effective storytelling and how much does it add
to the complexity and richness of a story? How does
the gesture used in oral storytelling compare to that
used in American Sign Language (ASL) storytelling? If
gesture is taken into consideration, will the complexity of
information conveyed be equivalent between languages?
These are questions that Drs. Sarah Taub, Dennis Galvan,
and Pilar Piņar sought to answer in their recent study
on the contribution of hand......
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