Functional similarities between bimanual coordination and topic/comment structure

Human manual action exhibits a differential use of a non-dominant (typically, left) and a dominant (typically, right) hand. Human communication exhibits a pervasive structuring of utterances into topic and comment. I will point out striking similarities between the coordination of hands in bimanual actions, and the structuring of utterances in topics and comments. I will also show how principles of bimanual coordination influence the expression of topic/comment structure in sign languages and in gestures accompanying spoken language, and suggest that bimanual coordination might have been a preadaptation of the development of information structure in human communication.

Metadaten
Author details:	Manfred Krifka ORCiD GND
URN:	urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-19416
Publication type:	Article
Language:	English
Publication year:	2007
Publishing institution:	Universität Potsdam
Release date:	2008/07/18
Tag:	Evolution of Language; Handedness; Topic/Comment
Organizational units:	Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Strukturbereich Kognitionswissenschaften / Department Linguistik
DDC classification:	4 Sprache / 40 Sprache / 400 Sprache
Collection(s):	Universität Potsdam / Schriftenreihen / Interdisciplinary studies on information structure : ISIS ; working papers of the SFB 632, ISSN 1866-4725 / ISIS (2007) 08
Institution name at the time of the publication:	Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Linguistik / Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft
License (German):	Keine öffentliche Lizenz: Unter Urheberrechtsschutz
External remark:	erschienen in: Interdisciplinary studies on information structure : Working papers of the SFB 632. - Potsdam : Univ.-Verl., 2007 - 230 S. : graph. Darst.(Interdisciplinary studies on information structure ; 8)ISSN 1614-4708ISBN 978-3-939469-72-8 URN: urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-14359 --> bestellen