Love. Fury. Passion. Italians are known to express themselves through body language and hand movements, as if the feelings bubbling within them could not be expressed in mere words, but required an accusing finger, a call to heaven, a shake of the fist. The Scandinavians, on the other hand, are quite the opposite. According to traditional stereotypes, people from Northern Europe are more reasoned and reserved. This doesn’t mean they don’t feel extreme emotions, but they are less likely to express them physically. Yes, these are cultural clichés, although few would argue that Italians speak with their hands to express themselves. But what if there is a biological imperative behind it? What if gestures helped brain development? What if there is a connection between the way we use our hands and the way we solve problems?
Southern Passion vs. Northern Reserve
Let’s first discuss some stereotypes. The idea that southern countries are warmer, both meteorologically and temperamentally, is rarely questioned, but is a difficult assumption to assess. If we accept that there is some truth to it, should we conclude that the Germanic languagesare more cerebral and Romance languages more, uh, romantic? It’s colder in Norway so people keep their hands in their pockets? Does the complexity of German grammar and related languages help to have a more analytical view of the world? It’s the classic chicken and egg, language and culture question, and there’s no simple answer. However, what we are learning is that the relationship between gesture and language is critical to the development of the human brain.
There must be eel under rock
A study carried out last year showed that there is a clear link between the vocalization circuits and the pectoral and gestural circuits in a certain part of the brain of the fish: there is a link between the sounds they emit and the how they use their fins. Andrew Bass, who conducted the study at Cornell University, believes it’s all part of “the even larger story of language evolution.” In Barcelona, at the Pompeu Fabra University, two researchers have studied the gesticulation of babies, between the end of “babbling” and when they begin to produce words. Their research, published in February 2014, claims that infants coordinate speech and gesture before they can even speak. “The study of language and human communication cannot be done solely through speech analysis,” Núria Esteve Gibert, one of the researchers, told SINC. The most common gesture of babies? Point. Researchers in San Francisco State took it a step further and investigated the link between gestures and problem solving. They found that children who used gestures more often in everyday life were better at performing certain tasks. This goes for any age, says psychologist Patricia Miller, one of the study’s authors: “Even adults sometimes gesturing when trying to organize their tax receipts or closets. When our minds are overwhelmed, we let our hands take on some of the cognitive load. » one of the researchers, at SINC. The most common gesture of babies? Point. Researchers in San Francisco State took it a step further and investigated the link between gestures and problem solving. They found that children who used gestures more often in everyday life were better at performing certain tasks. This goes for any age, says psychologist Patricia Miller, one of the study’s authors: “Even adults sometimes gesturing when trying to organize their tax receipts or closets. When our minds are overwhelmed, we let our hands take on some of the cognitive load. » one of the researchers, at SINC. The most common gesture of babies? Point. Researchers in San Francisco State took it a step further and investigated the link between gestures and problem solving. They found that children who used gestures more often in everyday life were better at performing certain tasks. This goes for any age, says psychologist Patricia Miller, one of the study’s authors: “Even adults sometimes gesturing when trying to organize their tax receipts or closets. When our minds are overwhelmed, we let our hands take on some of the cognitive load. » Researchers in San Francisco State took it a step further and investigated the link between gestures and problem solving. They found that children who used gestures more often in everyday life were better at performing certain tasks. This goes for any age, says psychologist Patricia Miller, one of the study’s authors: “Even adults sometimes gesturing when trying to organize their tax receipts or closets. When our minds are overwhelmed, we let our hands take on some of the cognitive load. » Researchers in San Francisco State took it a step further and investigated the link between gestures and problem solving. They found that children who used gestures more often in everyday life were better at performing certain tasks. This goes for any age, says psychologist Patricia Miller, one of the study’s authors: “Even adults sometimes gesturing when trying to organize their tax receipts or closets. When our minds are overwhelmed, we let our hands take on some of the cognitive load. » “Even adults sometimes gesture when trying to organize their tax receipts or closets. When our minds are overwhelmed, we let our hands take on some of the cognitive load. » “Even adults sometimes gesture when trying to organize their tax receipts or closets. When our minds are overwhelmed, we let our hands take on some of the cognitive load. »
Towards a theory of “embodied” learning
This has important consequences for how we can learn languages. It supports the idea that learning is an “embodied” activity, which involves a complex interaction between the brain and the body.Gestures are not only located in the body, any more than thoughts are only located in the brain. (If you want to test this idea, think of someone you really like or hate and observe what your body is doing.) This view of language learning gave rise to Total Physical Response, a way of teaching languages through movement. It’s not just for kids. Adult learners often do these kinds of things unconsciously when learning a new language; our memory loves physical associations. Some people like to use hand movements to practice tones in languages like Vietnamese or Mandarin. Granted, that doesn’t really explain why Italians like to use their hands to talk. But maybe,