Recognizing English: Intonation and Gestures as Cues
In this presentation the focus will be on language profiling, i.e. characteristics of a language that play a role in recognizing it. Two aspects will be discussed in more detail: intonation and gestures. In language production models like the Levelt ‘Speaking’model (1992) there is a link between the two, but how they are coordinated is not clear. In addition to a discussion of some theoretical psycholinguistic aspects, data will be presented on an experiment in which we tried to find out whether language users can recognize languages on the basis of intonational and gestural information alone. In the experiment French, German British English, American English and Dutch native speakers had to guess the language of speakers who were retelling a Tweety cartoon to another person. To prevent recognition on the basis of mouthing, visible articulation, the faces were covered in the recognition experiment. In addition data are presented of an experiment in which advanced learners of English are compared with near natives in their use of gestures. In the last part the need to teach intonation and gesture will be addressed briefly. In the debate on the critical period and ultimate attainment the role of gestures is rarely taken into account while there is general agreement on their relevance.
Cornelis L J (Kees) de Bot is Chair of Applied linguistics at the University of Groningen, Netherlands, and professor of linguistics at the University of Pannonia, Veszprém, Hungary. He is known for his work on second language development and the use of dynamical systems theory to study second language development. De Bot obtained his PhD degree in General Linguistics and Applied Linguistics in 1982 at the University of Nijmegen. His PhD research concerned the use of visualizations of intonation as a teaching aid. In May 1994 he became Chair of Applied Linguistics and head of department at the University of Nijmegen. In November 2002 he became Chair of Applied Linguistics at the University of Groningen. He is a trustee of the TESOL International Research Foundation and a member of the Program Committee of the Department of Modern Languages of Carnegie Mellon University. He is co-editor of a series “Studies in Bilingualism” from John Benjamins Publishing Company. He is one of the editors of the new Linguistic Minorities in Europe series with Mouton de Gruyter. He is part of the editorial board of the journals Applied Linguistics, Bilingualism: Language & Cognition, International Journal of Bilingualism, International Journal of Multilingualism, Journal in Multilingual and Multicultural Development, Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, Interpreting, Studies in Second Language learning and Teaching and Linguistic Approached to Bilingualism. He was guest editor of a special issue on language attrition of the journal Studies in Bilingualism. He is an Associate Editor of The Modern Language Journal. He is a member of the advisory board of the institute for Multilingualism across the life-span in Oslo, Norway and the Institute for multilingualism in Reading, UK. He has published books and articles on various topics in the field of Applied Linguistics. He has published books and articles in the field of applied Linguistics. He is Chair of the Board of the School of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurosciences in Groningen.
De Bot, K. (2015). A history of Applied Linguistics 1980-2010. New York: Routledge
De Bot, K., Lowie, W., & Verspoor, M. (2005). Second language acquisition, an advanced resource book. London: Routledge.
Verspoor, M., Lowie, W., & de Bot, K. (2011). A dynamic approach to second language development: Methods and techniques. Amsterdam/Philadelphia, John Benjamins