Gesture is nonverbal communication through arms, hands, and head movements. It often occurs concomitantly with verbal communication and supports the characteristics of speech.
What is gesture?
Gesture is nonverbal communication through arms, hands, and head movements. Gestures have tremendous importance in human evolution and contributed to the development of language. They were even influential to the development of upright walking man (Homo erectus) and later the development of creative man, Homo Faber. He used the hand as a tool from then on. Man used the hand for communication by means of gestures, from which the speech organs and the acoustic communication could develop. By gestures most scientists understand the semiotic expression potential of the human body with the help of head, arms and hands. Body posture and body movements are therefore not meant by it. Some scientists understand the term more broadly and add the unconscious body movements. Others understand by gestures the entire body action of non-linguistic kind, with which someone would like to express something intentionally. Ritual gestures, facial expressions and sign language are also integrated in this definition.
Function and task
Language and gesture have developed in parallel throughout human history. To this day, there is a close connection between linguistic and gestural communication. Gestures play a major role in religious and social rites, but are used in a different function than everyday gestures. Gestures in interpersonal communication are intended to establish, confirm, change or restore relationships. Already in the 17th century books with lists of illustrative gestures were written. Beginning in the 19th century, there were extensive instructions on how to use nonverbal gestures to emphasize communication in public speeches. Gestures are divided into two groups, autonomous and speech-accompanying gestures. Autonomous gestures can replace speech, for example, when pointing to an available seat, i.e., using a pointing gesture. Gestures in conjunction with speech are intended to emphasize what is being said. These so-called illustrators have the goal of communicating something even more clearly to the environment. With the help of the gesture, a clear picture of the scene is conveyed in the mind, which is not always given by speech alone. Gesture is often a simplified form of language, but just like language, it conveys an image, a thought, or a memory of the narrator. The commonality of gestures and language: they have the same function at the same time, but express it in different ways. With the help of gesture, a clear picture of the scene is conveyed in the mind, which is not always the case with speech.
Diseases and ailments
A limited ability to express gestures primarily occurs after accidents, when hands no longer function properly. However, abnormalities in gestures also show up in psychosomatic disorders. Then it can come to drive reductions or drive increases. Often there are stereotypical movement sequences. Gestures are also disturbed in the course of aphasia. The speech disorder occurs as a result of a disease of the left hemisphere of the brain, mainly after a stroke. Depending on its severity, aphasia affects not only speech and comprehension, but also reading, writing and arithmetic. Facial expressions and gestures are also often disturbed. After accidents or brain diseases, affected persons have to cope with the loss of speech or language. Gesture is then used to compensate, but does not perform what spoken language would. The more severe the speech disorder, the more diverse gestures the affected person produces. The gestures are then compensation and substitute for the limited verbal communication. In a healthy person, the set of rules for gestures is generally understandable and follows social norms. Already under psychological stress changes occur, which show themselves quite differently. One person reduces his communication considerably, thus also limiting gestures, the other shows increased nervousness with exaggerated gestures and inappropriate remarks. A severe disease in which gestures change conspicuously is Tourette’s syndrome. The misbehavior is perceived by the environment as highly peculiar, but the ill person does not use it consciously. Nasal grumbling, grimacing, eye-blinking and obscene gestures are noted.Confronted for the first time, the unsuspecting environment reacts disturbed. The affected person is often stigmatized and withdraws more and more into isolation.
