Functional Similarities between Bimanual Coordination and Topic/Comment Structure


Συγγραφέας: Manfred Krifka


Manfred Krifka: Functional Similarities between Bimanual Coordination and Topic/Comment Structure (pdf, 384K)
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.