GESTURES

the unspoken words

Episode 30 of Lingthusiasm “Why do we gesture when we Have you

talk?” is a relaxed conversation between Lauren Gawne, an tried talking
Australian linguist researcher, and Gretchen McCulloch, a without
gesturing?
Canadian internet linguist. Lingthusiasm is a podcast that is
It's not as easy
enthusiastic about linguistics, however, the peculiarity of as it seems!
episode 30 is that besides being a podcast it is also a video.
Since the topic of the episode is gesture, they thought it
would be meaningless if it was not filmed. So, you can
choose whether listen to it or watch it. However, if you don’t
want to miss a thing, choose the filmed version.

On the episode they explain the relationship between language and gesture, the
benefits of gesturing while talking, and they also briefly describe some research that has
been conducted. The hosts inform the audience in a relaxed way, using vocabulary that
is easy to understand and simple grammatical structures. They also employ illustrative
examples to explain some concepts, making them easy to comprehend. It is worth
mentioning that Lauren Gawne has focused her research on gesture, so she knows first-
hand what she is talking about. She even tells a couple of anecdotes based on her
personal experience doing research on this field. If you want to go deep into this topic,
they provide links to interesting papers and websites that can be profitable. To make
things even easier for non-native speakers, there is also a transcript of the conversation.

This video is worth watching because its content can be

Did you know that
beneficial for anyone, but specifically for those whose jobs even if you have never
require communication skills. I think it is a must-see for any seen someone gesture,
Translation and Interpreting student, since it is an initial if you share the same
language, you’re likely
overview of the importance of gestures. Moreover, the
to do the same
conversation is also entertaining, and the speakers achieve movements?
a good balance between being rigorous and not tedious.
The discussion is extremely fluid and natural, their tone is
More
expressive and varies so that it is not monotonous at all; interesting
their pace is adequate, and their accents are easily facts on the
episode!
intelligible. Of course, their gestures are great and worth
paying attention to. “Why do we gesture when we talk” is
almost like watching two friends spend some time catching
up on each other’s work and research. Lauren and Gretchen
succeed in creating a casual and familiar atmosphere, from
which they spread their passion for gesture and language.

So, unless you have a linguist friend specialized in gesture to meet up

for coffee, what are you waiting for to watch the video?