Recurrent Gestures of Hausa Speakers

Izabela Will, Ph.D. (2005), University of Warsaw, is Associate Professor at the Department of African Languages and Cultures at that university. She has published articles on Hausa language and culture and co-edited monographs concerning West African languages and African Studies.

• PrefaceList of Figures and TablesNotational ConventionsIntroductionData and Method of AnalysisContent of the Book1 Function, Meaning and Form of Gestures1.1 What is a Gesture?1.2 Gesture Phase1.3 Form of the Gesture1.4 The Role of Context in Determining the Function and Meaning of Gestures in an Utterance1.5 Human Hands as a Tool of Performing Gestures1.6 Types of Gestures1.7 Formal Approach Towards Gestures2 Gestures, Language and Cognition2.1 Why Do We Gesture?2.2 Physical and Mental Integration of Language and Gestures2.3 Correlations between Lexicon and Gestures2.4 Correlations between Gestures and Grammar: Gesture-Grammar Nexus2.5 Schema—the Way to Understand Gesture and Language2.6 The Role of Metonymy in Language and Gestures2.7 Gestures and Metaphors3 Hausa Culture, Society and Conceptualization of the World Exposed in Gestures3.1 Overview of the Hausa Culture3.2 Face-to-Face Communication and Orality3.3 The Connection between Listening and Understanding3.4 Repetition3.5 Alternate Use of Two Scripts: Latin and Arabic3.6 Hierarchy and Social Stratification3.7 Religious Practices3.8 Summary4 The “Two-Finger Tap” Gesture4.1 The Form and Semantic Core of the “Two-Finger Tap” Gesture4.2 Friendship4.3 Marriage4.4 Meeting or Being in the Same Place4.5 Relationships between People4.6 Connection4.7 Equality and Comparison4.8 Introducing the Gesture Schema4.9 Cognitive Foundations of the “Two-Finger Tap” Gesture and the Hypothesis Concerning Its Origin4.10 Meanings of the “Two-Finger Tap” Gesture5 Grasping Power—the “Holding” Gesture5.1 Heterogeneity of “Holding” Gesture5.2 From the Mundane Action to Gesture5.3 Giving, Taking and Receiving5.4 Transfer5.5 Reinforcement and Increase5.6 Eagerness to Undertake an Action5.7 Control and Power5.8 Respect5.9 Intensity and Quality5.10 Linking the Notions Associated with the “Holding” Gesture5.11 The Gesture Schema CONTROL and Its Cognitive Foundations6 The “Washing” Gesture—a Member of the Family of “Away” Gestures6.1 Two Variants of the “Washing” Gesture6.2 Cleaning and Purification6.3 Improving6.4 Mental Dirt and Contamination6.5 Carelessness and Passive Acceptance6.6 Obviousness6.7 Rejection and Withdrawal6.8 Termination, Summary, Gist6.9 Totality, Completeness, Infinity6.10 Gesture Cluster6.11 Factors Affecting the Form of the “Washing” Gesture6.12 Gesture Schema REMOVAL7 The “Shaking” Gesture and the Process of Schematization7.1 Formal Variants of the “Shaking” Gesture7.2 Finger Shaking and Negation7.3 Termination and Nonexistence7.4 The Concept of Truth and Certainty7.5 Disagreement, Opposition, Rejection7.6 Generality and Specificity7.7 Linking the Notions Associated with the “Shaking” Gesture7.8 Words Concurrent with the “Shaking” Gesture7.9 Gesture Schema CORRECTION8 The “Snapping” Gesture, the Audible Gestures and the Sounds Accompanying Gestures8.1 Sounds in Gestures and Signs from the African Perspective8.2 Oral Gestures—a Link between Language and Gestures8.3 Audible Singular Gestures8.4 Audible Emblems8.5 The “Snapping” Gesture9 Form and Meaning of Recurrent Gestures and Their Link to Speech9.1 The Emergence of Recurrent Gestures9.2 Cultural Conventions Affecting Form of Gestures9.3 Common Conceptualization Patterns in Gestures and Language9.4 Verbo-gestural Collocations9.5 ConclusionReferencesIndex