Multimodality in aphasic conversation: Why gestures sometimes do not help

摘要: The use of gestures is one the reasons for which some aphasics communicate better than they speak. For these as well their partners, multimodality becomes a resource for successful management interaction. However, employment of gesture implies multiple practices adaptation, since there are important differences between gesture in non-impaired and impaired aphasic In faceto- face interaction, mostly accompany language support influence its interpretation various ways. Only rarely do gestures, body movements the manipulation artifacts take lead, even more they replace language entirely (Goodwin 1986, Heath 1982, 1992, Melinger & Levelt 2004). Under conditions of severe non-fluent aphasia (as described here), therefore used functions which cannot easily fulfill. absence language, become substitute (Goodwin 2000, 2003 2006a, b). This uncoupling gestural communication from language usually results complex often lengthy collaborative sequences the participants set out to co-construct what “gesturer” means, with non-impaired speakers providing, way, missing speech linguistically speaker (cf. Damico et al. 2008, Goodwin 2003, 2006). As we will show, processes coconstruction are encumbered not by aphasics’ deficient but rather semiotic nature gesturing itself. We discuss examples unsuccessful gestural communication suggest why fails sometimes, it helps other cases. Our observations lend idea that therapy has respect semiotic characteristics interactional practices necessary order enhance of the visual modality.