The Language of Asian Gestures

The Language of Asian Gestures explores Asian gestures as a non-verbal language within the context of films and dramas.

Jieun Kiaer holds the YBMK KF Professorship in Korean Linguistics at the University of Oxford. As a linguist, pragmatist, and specialist in Asian studies, she has published extensively in the fields of theoretical and applied linguistics as well as translation studies. Her research goes beyond the traditionally Western and text-focused approaches to language, embracing non-European and multi-modal perspectives to offer a more nuanced understanding of human communication. Loli Kim is a postdoctoral researcher on the Leverhulme project "Sea, Song and Survival: The Language and Folklore of the Haenyeo Women" at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Oxford. As a multimodalist, semiotician, and specialist in Asian studies, semantics, and film, she publishes across fields of multimodality, semiotics, translation, semantics, pragmatics, and film and media studies-all drawn together by cross-cultural perspectives that seek to contextualise Asian discourses in their own cultures and to develop the methodological tools needed for doing so.

List of Figures Acknowledgements Preface Part I. Gestures - Moving Words or Words in Action? Gestures - A Bird's Eye View Prosody as Gesture Understanding Facial Expressions Cultural Gestures Diversity in Asian Language and Culture Asian Gestures Multimodal Modulation Hypothesis (MMH) Hierarchy Through Gesture Diversity in Asian Gestures Bowing Gesturing Properly Verbal - Gestural Languages: Division of Labour Border-Crossing Gestures Part II. Gesture in Asia - Mapped Though Film Head Smile Kiss Open Mouth, Sticking Out Tongue, and Lip Pointing Nodding Head to Hand Scratching the Head Ear Pulling and Ear Holding Rolling Both Hands Behind Ears Eye Gaze Lowering the Head Closing Eyes and Blinking Winking Raised Eyebrows Voice Whistling Slurping Laughter Hissing Silence Soft Speaking Upper body Shoulders Arms Crossed Arms Bowing Handshake Hand Over Mouth Beckoning Fist Waving Pointing Touching the Heart Hands Held Together in Lap Wrist Twisting Cutting Through Pouring for Someone One or Two Hands Drinking Gestures Food Gestures Giving and Receiving Items and Gifts Left or Right Hand Touch No Touching of the Head Patting and Hitting Chin Grabbing/Shaking Brushing and Washing Lower body Crossing Legs and Kneeling Covering Bare Legs When Sitting Feet Exposing the Feet Touching Someone Else's Feet Touching Things or Gesturing Using Feet Part III. Future Gestures in an Asian Context The Evolution of Gestures Smartphone Gestures Gestures in a Digital Age Emoji and Acronym Ambiguity: Interpreting Generational Disparities in Digital Communication Decoding Gestures: The Complexities in an Increasingly Mobile World 'Translingual, Transcultural, and Transmedial': Individual Differences Transnational Gestures Fandom Gestures: Transcending Borders and Cultures Sharing Memes and Emojis: An Act of Solidarity Gesture Diversity Gesture Conflicts Future Gestures: Less Hierarchical? Online Gestures Matter AI Gestures in Films Future of Human Language Filmography Interviewees Bibliography Index