(Amphithéâtre)

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  Yoshioka, Keiko (Leiden University, Leiden)

Linguistic and gestural introduction of inanimate referents in L2 narrative In this presentation, we discuss the inter-relationship between speech and co-speech gesture in the introduction of inanimate referents in narrative by learners whose native and the target languages differ typologically, in this case Dutch and Japanese. In narrative, inanimate referents are usually introduced as reference points to describe the orientation of an animate character. In Dutch, this typically occurs in prepositional phrase in VPs, where the contrast between a character’s static location and his/her direction of movement is indicated by the choice of preposition. Furthermore, some introductions of inanimate referents are accompanied by gestures depicting an entity, particularly when an animate character is contained in an object. Alternatively, mention of new inanimate referents may synchronize with Figure-oriented deictic gestures or poststroke holds of gestures depicting direction of movement. On the other hand, while Japanese speakers may introduce inanimate referents in postpositional phrases in VPs, they also use existential and presentative constructions. The contrast between location and direction is not clearly made by the choice of particles. In Japanese, the introductions of inanimate referents are accompanied by gestures which depict or trace the outline of objects. They are Ground-based. Gestures depicting a direction of a movement hardly ever occur. Comparison of native and non-native narratives reveals a tendency for Dutch learners to map their source-language-based knowledge onto narrative production in Japanese. However, the grammatical constraints of the target language force learners to adjust straight mapping from the source to the target language. This subtle adjustment is reflected in gesture behaviour, suggesting the integrated nature of speech and gesture.