Este estudo analisa a relação entre perceção tátil, simulação de uso de instrumento e palavra em crianças de 2 a 5 anos. Mostraram-se à criança 11 instrumentos do seu quotidiano, perguntou-se-lhe (i) o que era (palavra), (ii) que fingisse usá-los (gesto) e (iii) que os identificasse tatilmente. As crianças de 2 anos apresentaram mais desvios morfológicos. Com o avanço da idade, as crianças fizeram mais identificações táteis. Crianças com mais desvios por subextensão e morfológico realizaram menos gestos e fizeram menos identificações táteis. Crianças com mais identificações orais foram as com mais identificações táteis. Crianças com mais identificações táteis foram as com mais gestos do tipo “incorporação”. Ocorre uma transição abrupta dos 2 para os 3 anos em qualidade e quantidade de palavras. A identificação tátil e gestualização estão associadas a melhor dicção e maior léxico verbal. Ambas estão associadas, principalmente, com a gestualização de “incorporação”. Os resultados sustentam a hipótese de uma interação entre perceção tátil, gesto e aquisição da palavra.

This study analysed the differences in gestural communication between age groups (non-adult vs. adult) and sexes (male vs. female) of a sample of 16 chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) from Lisbon Zoo, in five parameters: communication frequency, functional context, gestural repertoire size, behavioural response obtainment, and communication success. Initially, data were collected through an ad libitum sampling to set up the gestural repertoire and, subsquently, a focal sampling was applied to collect data about the performance of each individual. Overall, 326 interactions were recorded which produced 27 different gestures. While no differences were found between sexes in any of the analysed parameters (p > 0.05), communication frequencies, the functional context, and the communication success differed between the age groups (p < 0.05). Differences between age groups probably reflect different social pressures affecting young and adults, and suggest flexibility in how they use the gestures, since they communicate with the most appropriate partners according to the functional context. Although adults are the most successful chimpanzees, the obtained results did not support some of the evidences predicted by the tunning repertoire hypothesis, because no differences were found in the gestural repertoire’s size or the use of the most effective gestures between non-adult and adultsIt is proposed that methodological mismatches and the influence of the captivity’s environment may be responsible for the differences highlighted.

Abstract The present article intends to articulate the notion of letter as littoral, as forged by Jacques Lacan in his textLituraterre, with the German artist and coreographer Pina Bausch’s dances and plays. We go from the signifier to the letter in Lacan's teachings and proceed with an analysis of the creative process of Pina Bausch's works, aiming to that which seems to present itself as having no sense, as something out of language’s reach; out of what one can say and tell within a field of multiple meanings. Thus, we intend to sew those psychoanalytic concepts to the fragments appearing in Bausch’s productions in order to achieve a further grasping and understanding of the concept of letter in Lacan.

This production had the intention to monitor the emergence of language as a multimodal instance in contexts of joint attention occurred in naturalistic situations of two motherbaby dyads, from seven to seventeen months of the child. Thus we work with the multimodal envelope perspective, i.e., the fusion of three components of the dialogism look, gestures and vocal production that emerge simultaneously. We consider the concept of multimodality proposed by McNeill (1985) as a mixture of the gesture-vocal actions. The studies in language acquisition and in nonverbal communication postulate theoretical assumptions about linguistic, paralinguistic and extralinguistic elements in a dissociated way. The first ones had as primacy the observation of interlocutors speech and writing in various contexts. The second type was justified as a complement to the linguistic and the extralinguistic elements were considered as accessories used as aids to the speech. Our results show that the mother uses the multimodal composition to address herself to the child who interacts as she acquires the three basic components of the dialogism.

Os gestos que realizamos podem auxiliar no processo de ensino e aprendizagem? O presente artigo resume o estado da arte sobre o assunto no campo da educação, com um olhar específico para a comunicação gestual. Pesquisas foram encontradas em praticamente todos os níveis de ensino sobre o uso de gestos como forma de auxiliar os alunos na aprendizagem de uma segunda língua, educação inclusiva e educação em ciências e matemática. Em geral, há evidências sólidas de que a comunicação gestual auxilia na avaliação e introdução de uma nova palavra no ensino de uma segunda língua; como recurso adicional para professores e alunos com deficiência e como ferramenta para contribuir com o ensino de conceitos considerados abstratos e complexos no campo do ensino de ciências e matemática.

This text is the product of a communication delivered in the “Journée d’études Les linguistes et leurs graphiques” at Chicago University Center in October 2007. It is developed some reflections on the notions of scheme, diagram, schematic form, mental gesture, language and gestures.