The main results of the project are:
- It has been established that “gestures” (broadly construed) can encode any type of meaning “words” can.
- It has been established that the channel of a given expression is not relevant for the fundamental architectural differences (namely, whether a given piece of meaning has to interact semantically with its syntactic surroundings and whether a given piece of meaning can be ignored in elliptical environments), but rather the type of meaning is. In particular, the distinction between truth-based meaning (e.g. asserting things like ‘I am angry’) vs. performative non-truth-based meaning (e.g. expressing one’s anger by yelling things like ‘Damn!’) has proved to be instrumental for these differences.
- It has been established that syntax and compositional semantics are modality-blind while the various levels involved during the mapping from syntax to the surface form can have modality-specific constraints; pragmatics can be sensitive to various surface distinctions, as well.
In addition, the project has explored and improved our understanding of:
- various properties of grammaticalized expression of different types of affect through means other than “words” (with focus on Russian data);
- how some of the same meaning-related phenomena emerge in non-linguistic action/output, both communicative in nature (information signs) and non-communicative (athletic movement), with direct comparison drawn across spoken communication, visual linguistic and near-linguistic communication (sign and gesture), and non-linguistic action/output.
In terms of communication/dissemination, the project has yielded:
- 2 publications in peer-reviewed journals, with 1 more manuscript currently in revision;
- 1 paper in the proceedings volume of an international peer-reviewed conference;
- 4 invited talks at various international seminars or research groups in linguistics;
- 7 presentations (5 talks and 2 posters/short presentations) at major international conferences.
In addition, the results of the project have been disseminated in the following ways:
- 2 invited public/semi-public lectures aimed at the general audience;
- 4 seminars at international summer/winter schools for audiences with highly varied backgrounds;
- 1 interview at an online magazine for linguistics enthusiasts managed by linguistics students;
- 1 introductory presentation at the international, interdisciplinary workshop ‘PerForum: Forum on Performativity in Language and Beyond’ organized by the researcher at the host institution.
- All the project activities and output (publications; presentation materials; (pre-)recorded talks, when available; teaching materials; experimental materials, raw data, and code; etc.) have been reported/linked on:
- the researcher’s personal website (
https://esipova.net/)(öffnet in neuem Fenster);
- the webpage for the project on the host institution’s website (
https://www.hf.uio.no/iln/english/research/projects/gestural-meanings/)(öffnet in neuem Fenster);
- the researcher’s personal social media accounts (on Facebook and Twitter).
- The international, interdisciplinary workshop organized by the researcher at the host institution as part of the project also has its own dedicated website (
https://perforum.github.io/(öffnet in neuem Fenster)).
