Functional similarities between bimanual coordination and topic/comment structure
- Human manual action exhibits a differential use of a non-dominant (typically, left) and a dominant (typically, right) hand. Human communication exhibits a pervasive structuring of utterances into topic and comment. I will point out striking similarities between the coordination of hands in bimanual actions, and the structuring of utterances in topics and comments. I will also show how principles of bimanual coordination influence the expression of topic/comment structure in sign languages and in gestures accompanying spoken language, and suggest that bimanual coordination might have been a preadaptation of the development of information structure in human communication.
Author details: | Manfred KrifkaORCiDGND |
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URN: | urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-19416 |
Publication type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Publication year: | 2007 |
Publishing institution: | Universität Potsdam |
Release date: | 2008/07/18 |
Tag: | Evolution of Language; Handedness; Topic/Comment |
Organizational units: | Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Strukturbereich Kognitionswissenschaften / Department Linguistik |
DDC classification: | 4 Sprache / 40 Sprache / 400 Sprache |
Collection(s): | Universität Potsdam / Schriftenreihen / Interdisciplinary studies on information structure : ISIS ; working papers of the SFB 632, ISSN 1866-4725 / ISIS (2007) 08 |
Institution name at the time of the publication: | Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Linguistik / Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft |
License (German): | Keine öffentliche Lizenz: Unter Urheberrechtsschutz |
External remark: | erschienen in: Interdisciplinary studies on information structure : Working papers of the SFB 632. - Potsdam : Univ.-Verl., 2007 - 230 S. : graph. Darst.(Interdisciplinary studies on information structure ; 8)ISSN 1614-4708ISBN 978-3-939469-72-8 URN: urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-14359 --> bestellen |