From ‘ontological metaphor’ to semiotic make-believe: giving shape and substance to fictive objects of conception with the ‘globe gesture’

Abstract

From ontological metaphor to semiotic make-believe: giving shape and substance to fictive objects of conception with the "globe gesture"Da 'metáfora ontológica' à semiótica do faz de conta: dando forma e substância a objetos fictícios da concepção com o 'gesto do globo' J e a n -R é m i L a p a i r eUniversité Bordeaux Montaigne -Bordeaux -FrançaAbstract: Speakers are moving cognizers who engage in bodily acts of conceptualization. The "globe gesture" is among the most spectacular forms of "manual thinking" (Streeck 2009) used in formal talk. A characterization of the kinesic action typical of the "globe gesture" is first provided that shows how "the image of a bounded, supportable object" is created (McNeill 1992) and set up in gesture space. As conceptual objects are created and masses of semantic substance fashioned, visible shape is given to shapeless mental representations. A powerful semiotic trick is performed with a simple cognitive artifact. Interestingly, a willing suspension of disbelief is required of speakers and listeners who must temporarily give up their rational conceptions of visibility, materiality and palpability to watch the symbolic manipulation of invisible objects. The basic expressive properties of the "globe gesture" are next characterized: outlining and isolating objects of conception; neutralizing semantic specification; establishing a joint focus of attention and imagination; shaping, displaying and unifying content; creating a sense of reality and existence through physical presence. Iconic modifications of the standard metaphoric hand configuration, virtuosic elaborations and creative blends are finally examined before reporting the results of an experimental study of the globe gesture's heuristic properties in a controlled environment. 14 students attending a multimodal "kineflective" seminar used the hand configuration to engage in "choreographic thinking" (Forsythe 2013) and develop a haptic understanding of derivation, nominalization, substantivation, conceptual reification. The globe gesture acted as a facilitator so long as a high degree of generality was maintained but was promptly discarded when words with a strong emotional appeal were introduced (e.g. sadness, madness). Emblems and iconic gestures were spontaneously performed instead.Keywords: Multimodality. Embodiment. Metaphoric gestures. Ontological metaphor. Conceptual reification. Nouns. Substantives.Resumo: Falantes são seres cognoscitivos em movimento que se engajam em atos corpóreos de conceptualização. O "gesto do globo" está entre as formas mais impressionantes do "pensamento manual" (Streeck 2009) usados no discurso formal. Uma caracterização da ação gestual típica do "gesto do globo" primeiramente fornecida mostra como "a imagem de um objeto delimitado e suportável " é criado (McNeill 1992) e estabelecida no espaço do gesto. À medida que objetos conceptuais são criados e massas de substância semântica são moldadas, um formato visível é concedido a representações mentais originalmente sem formato. Um artifício ...

The study of gesture in cognitive linguistics: How it could inform and inspire other research in cognitive science

“…Such gestures, McNeill argued, reflect the objectification of an idea as if it were something that could be held in one's hand(s). See also Lapaire ( 2016 ) on this use of an ontological metaphor, as Lakoff and Johnson ( 1980 ) called it, in gesture, whereby the fact that an abstract idea is being thought of as a physical object is revealed in the form and position of the hands as if holding something. However, subsequent research [starting with Calbris ( 1990 ), Cienki ( 1998 ), and Sweetser (1998)] demonstrated that the range of types of metaphor that are possible in gesture is much broader.…”

Testben értett gondolat – színházi módszerek az oktatásban

“…Fontos, hogy felismerjük: a narratív vagy argumentatív diskurzusban előforduló összes kézmozdulat -és általában a mozgásesemények -nemcsak kísérnek, hanem önmagukban is megvalósítanak (véghez visznek, beteljesítenek) alapvető kognitív műveleteket, például amikor megszámláljuk, hány tételünk van összesen és miből mennyi, térben és időben elhelyezünk eseményeket, meggyőződünk fogalmak vagy jelenségek valódiságáról, rangsorolunk, mérünk, összekapcsolunk, behatárolunk, befoglalunk vagy kizárunk, kötünk vagy oldunk, nyitunk vagy zárunk, összehasonlítunk vagy szembeállítunk, nagyítunk vagy kicsinyítünk, abbahagyunk vagy folytatunk, egyesítünk vagy elválasztunk, kibontunk vagy tömörítünk, felcserélünk (Calbris, 2011). Ennek során a fogalmakat, eseményeket és jelenségeket reifikáljuk és entifikáljuk: "dolgokra" váltjuk, amelyek megfoghatók, amelyekre rámutathatunk, és amelyek a diskurzustérben fiktíven manipulálhatók (McNeill, 1992;Lapaire, 2016a). Így a beszélő keze elméjének kiterjesztése Magyar Tudomány 180 (2019)7lesz, a kognitív feldolgozás pedig szimbolikus térben, a tárgyalkotás és -manipuláció folyamataként jelenik meg.…”

“…A műhelyfoglalkozásokat módszeresen -közvetlen megfigyeléssel, online kérdőívek és a diákok tanulási naplói révén -értékeljük (Lapaire, 2016a(Lapaire, , 2016b. Az eredmények azt mutatják, hogy az efféle testi tapasztalatra épülő stratégiák erősítik a csoportkohéziót és a tanár-tanuló interakciót, csökkentik a csoporttársak közötti távolságtartást, serkentik a koncentrációt és az önreflexiót, ugyanakkor felébresztik a diákok kíváncsiságát és kreativitását.…”

Why content matters. Zuckerberg, Vox Media and the Cambridge Analytica data leak

“…The gestural reification that occurs when virtual objects are formed, makes conceptual reification visible: abstract concepts are "entified" and treated as "a mass of some kind" that can be "supported in the speaker's hands" (MCNEILL, 1992, p. 154). Confirmation is given that ontological metaphors (LAKOFF; JOHNSON, p. 1980) exist and are powerful cognitive tools, that analogies are created between abstractions and physical objects or substances (Arnheim 1969), that reasoning is tied to physical action and symbolically enacted as a form of object manipulation, in short that both our hands and things "help us think" (GOLDIN MEADOW, 2003;LAPAIRE, 2018).…”

“…Streeck (2008) has produced a remarkable monograph on "gestural conceptualization" and the "manu-facture" of meaning in speech, which is truly insightful. Specific hand configurations like "the frame" (CALBRIS, 2011) and the "globe gesture" (LAPAIRE, 2016(LAPAIRE, , 2018 are also worth exploring. not used without explicit permission from the parents of the kids?"…”