21st century
A01=David McNeill
A01=G. David McNeill
advertising
aesthetics
alphabet
anthropology
assertiveness
Author_David McNeill
Author_G. David McNeill
body language
business
career
Category=CF
classic
collection
communication
communication skills
conflict resolution
creativity
critical thinking
culture
eco
economics
education
eq_bestseller
eq_dictionaries-language-reference
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
essay
essays
grammar
history
history books
how to
internet
interpersonal communication
interpersonal relationships
journalism
language
languages
linguistics
management
marketing
math
philosophy
philosophy books
psychology
reference
school
self help
self improvement
social skills
society
sociology
sociology books
technology
translation
work
writing
Product details
- ISBN 9780262552912
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 05 Aug 2025
- Publisher: MIT Press Ltd
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
Secure
checkout
Fast Shipping
Easy returns
A new way of viewing language, as a dynamic mode of meaning-making of which gesture is a fundamental part.
When David McNeill began his work on gesture more than forty years ago, language and the action of speaking were regarded as separate realms. But language, says McNeill in Language Is Gesture, is dynamic and gesture is fundamental to speaking. Central to his conception of language, and distinct from linguistic analysis, is what McNeill calls the “growth point,” the starting point of making thought and speech one. He uses the term “gesture–speech unity” to refer to the dynamic dimension of adding gesture to speaking. It is the growth point that achieves this unity, whereby thought is embedded in gesture and speech at the same time.
Gesture is the engine of language. It is foundational to speaking, language acquisition, the origin of language, animal communication, thought, and consciousness. Gesture is global and synthetic and brings energy; speech is linear and segmented and brings cultural standards. The growth point is a snapshot of an utterance at its beginning psychological stage, the starting point of unifying thought and speech. Growth points create gesture–speech unity by synchronizing a bundle of linguistic features with a gesture that carries the same meaning. This gesture–speech unity is a form of thought, a unique form of cognition.
When David McNeill began his work on gesture more than forty years ago, language and the action of speaking were regarded as separate realms. But language, says McNeill in Language Is Gesture, is dynamic and gesture is fundamental to speaking. Central to his conception of language, and distinct from linguistic analysis, is what McNeill calls the “growth point,” the starting point of making thought and speech one. He uses the term “gesture–speech unity” to refer to the dynamic dimension of adding gesture to speaking. It is the growth point that achieves this unity, whereby thought is embedded in gesture and speech at the same time.
Gesture is the engine of language. It is foundational to speaking, language acquisition, the origin of language, animal communication, thought, and consciousness. Gesture is global and synthetic and brings energy; speech is linear and segmented and brings cultural standards. The growth point is a snapshot of an utterance at its beginning psychological stage, the starting point of unifying thought and speech. Growth points create gesture–speech unity by synchronizing a bundle of linguistic features with a gesture that carries the same meaning. This gesture–speech unity is a form of thought, a unique form of cognition.
David McNeill is Professor Emeritus, Departments of Psychology and Linguistics, the University of Chicago. His many books include How Language Began and Hand and Mind.
