How Pantomime Works: Implications for Theories of Language Origin

Abstract

Pantomime refers to iconic gesturing that is done for communicative purposes in the absence of speech. Gestural theories of the origins of language claim that a stage of pantomime preceded speech as an initial form of referential communication. However, gestural theories conceive of pantomime as a unitary process, and do not distinguish among the various means by which it can be produced. We attempt here to develop a scheme for classifying …