Editing Gesture (section)

{{Short description|Form of non-verbal/non-vocal communication}}
{{About||gestures in computing|Gesture recognition|and|Pointing device gesture|other uses|Gesture (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect2|Gestures|Talking with your hands|the rock group|The Gestures|the form of language|Sign language}}
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[[File:Madonna @ Berlinale (1) cropped.jpg|thumb|Example of [[waving]] in a greeting]]
A '''gesture''' is a form of [[nonverbal communication]] or non-vocal [[communication]] in which visible bodily actions communicate particular messages, either in place of, or in conjunction with, [[speech]]. Gestures include movement of the [[hand]]s, [[face]], or other parts of the [[Human body|body]]. Gestures differ from physical non-verbal communication that does not communicate specific messages, such as purely [[Emotional expression|expressive]] displays, [[proxemics]], or displays of [[joint attention]].<ref name="Kendon">Kendon, Adam. (2024) ''Gesture: Visible Action as Utterance''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|0521835259}}</ref> Gestures allow individuals to communicate a variety of feelings and thoughts, from contempt and hostility to approval and affection, often together with [[body language]] in addition to [[word]]s when they speak. Gesticulation and speech work independently of each other, but join to provide emphasis and meaning.

Gesture processing takes place in areas of the brain such as [[Broca's area|Broca's]] and [[Wernicke's area]]s, which are used by [[speech]] and [[sign language]].<ref name="Xu">{{cite journal | last1 = Xu | first1 = J | last2 = Gannon | first2 = PJ | last3 = Emmorey | first3 = K | last4 = Smith | first4 = JF | last5 = Braun | first5 = AR | year = 2009 | title = Symbolic gestures and spoken language are processed by a common neural system | journal = Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A | volume = 106 | issue = 49| pages = 20664–20669 | doi = 10.1073/pnas.0909197106 | pmid = 19923436 | pmc = 2779203 | bibcode = 2009PNAS..10620664X | doi-access = free }}</ref> In fact, language is thought by some scholars to have evolved in ''Homo sapiens'' from an earlier system consisting of manual gestures.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Corballis|first=Michael|title=The gestural origins of language|journal=WIREs Cognitive Science|date=January–February 2005|volume=1|issue=1|pages=2–7|doi=10.1002/wcs.2|pmid=26272832|s2cid=22492422 }}</ref> The theory that language evolved from manual gestures, termed [[Origin of language#Gestural theory|Gestural Theory]], dates back to the work of 18th-century philosopher and priest [[Étienne Bonnot de Condillac|Abbé de Condillac]], and has been revived by contemporary anthropologist Gordon W. Hewes, in 1973, as part of a discussion on the [[origin of language]].<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Corballis | first1 = Michael | year = 2010 | title = "The gestural origins of language." © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd | journal = WIREs Cogn Sci | volume = 1 | issue = 1| pages = 2–7 | doi = 10.1002/wcs.2 | pmid = 26272832 | s2cid = 22492422 }}</ref>