The framework of depicting put forward by Clark (2016) offers a schematic vantage point from which to examine iconic language use. Confronting the framework with empirical data, we consider some of its key theoretical notions. Crucially, by reconceptualizing the typology of depictions, we identify an overlooked domain in the literature: “speech-embedded nonverbal depictions,” namely cases where meaning is communicated iconically, nonverbally, and without simultaneously co-occurring speech. In addition to contextualizing the phenomenon in relation to existing research, we demonstrate, with examples from American TV talk shows, how such depictions function in real-life language use, offering a brief sketch of their complexities and arguing also for their theoretical significance.

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In this contribution, we investigate the transfer of embodied procedural knowledge in two cello master classes, zooming in on what we identify as speech-embedded nonverbal depictions — cases where meaning is communicated nonverbally, iconically, and without temporally co-occurring speech — an overlooked domain in the literature foregrounded by a critical reconceptualization of Clark’s (2016) framework of depicting. Examining such depictions in the cello classes, the curious pattern of multimodal iteration emerges, where the “same” meaning is communicated multiple times, but in multiple different combinations of modality and signaling method, and with different aspects of the meaning profiled. A brief discussion of such cases in relation to dialogic syntax then underlines the relevance of semiotic properties and dialogic resonance, revealing the rich communicative affordances of multimodal iteration in contexts of instruction.