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Establishment and application of gesture-pragmatic corpus of chinese kindergarten teachers (G-PCCKT)

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Abstract
This study develops the Gesture-Pragmatic Corpus of Chinese Kindergarten Teachers (G-PCCKT) using ELAN to investigate teachers’ gesture-pragmatic functions. The corpus construction involves transcribing speech, annotating multifunctional gestures through a custom Functional Annotation Scheme based on an Integrated Functional Categorization of Gesture, and coding three pragmatic aspects: demonstratives, illocutionary forces, and question-initiated sequences. As a reliable tool for data retrieval and analysis, the G-PCCKT enables multifaceted investigation into the pragmatic functions of gestures used by Chinese kindergarten teachers, including: (i) clarifying deictic references, (ii) reinforcing illocutionary force, and (iii) facilitating question formulation and sequence organization. Preliminary results indicate that: (i) teachers’ gesture use varies with different types of demonstratives to aid children’s comprehension; (ii) gestures previously regarded as “meaningless” reveal performative significance when examined in pragmatic context; and (iii) gestures support teachers in managing classroom pacing by smoothly transitioning between question-initiated sequences.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Defining pragmatics: Linguistic and gestural perspectives
      • 1.1.1Linguistic definition of pragmatics
      • 1.1.2Gestural definition of pragmatics
    • 1.2Studies of teachers’ gestures from pragmatic perspectives
    • 1.3Gesture-pragmatic corpus: A new method to explore gesture function
  • 2.Gesture-pragmatic corpus of Chinese kindergarten teachers (G-PCCKT)
    • 2.1The G-PCCKT dataset
    • 2.2ELAN and annotation scheme
  • 3.An integrated functional categorization of gesture and gesture annotation scheme
    • 3.1Referential gestures
    • 3.2Pragmatic gestures
    • 3.3Speech transcription and gesture annotation scheme
      • 3.3.1Speech transcription
      • 3.3.2Gesture annotation scheme
  • 4.Preliminary applications, results and findings
    • 4.1Gestures clarifying deictic demonstratives
    • 4.2Gestures reinforcing illocutionary forces
    • 4.3Gestures facilitating the organization of question-initiated sequences
      • 4.3.1Gestures assisting question posing
      • 4.3.2Gestures facilitating sequence organization
  • 5.Discussion and conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Note
  • References
References (79)
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