Gesture viewpoint in Japanese and English

Abstract

Abundant evidence across languages, structures, proficiencies, and modalities shows that properties of first languages influence performance in second languages. This paper presents an alternative perspective on the interaction between established and emerging languages within second language speakers by arguing that an L2 can influence an L1, even at relatively low proficiency levels. Analyses of the gesture viewpoint employed in English and Japanese descriptions of motion events revealed systematic between-language and within-language differences. Monolingual Japanese speakers used significantly more Character Viewpoint than monolingual English speakers, who predominantly employed Observer Viewpoint. In their L1 and their L2, however, native Japanese speakers with intermediate knowledge of English patterned more like the monolingual English speakers than their monolingual Japanese counterparts. After controlling for effects of cultural exposure, these results offer valuable insights into both the nature of cross-linguistic interactions within individuals and potential factors underlying gesture viewpoint

Verbal memory resources predict iconic gesture use among monolinguals and bilinguals

“…Participants were considered to be monolingual even if they had studied a foreign language for a year or if they had non-fluent knowledge of another language. Though non-fluent knowledge of another language has been shown to have effects on gesture viewpoint (Brown, 2008), no evidence has shown that this influences gesture frequency.…”

Second language acquisition of American Sign Language influences co-speech gesture production

“…Whether a second language affects gesture patterns in a first language has not been widely studied. However, research with one group of unimodal bilinguals showed that, when speaking Japanese, native speakers with intermediate knowledge of English patterned more like monolingual English speakers than monolingual Japanese speakers, with respect to the use of character viewpoint (Brown, 2008) and the use of manner of motion gestures (Brown and Gullberg, 2008). Conversely, most studies have shown that L2 learners display traces of their L1 gesture patterns when speaking their L2 (e.g., Choi & Lantolf, 2008; Kellerman & van Hoof, 2003; Negueruela, Lantolf, Rehn Jordan & Gelabert, 2004; Özçalişkan, 2016).…”