Gesture and speech in variation sets directed to Spanish-learning toddlers in adult–child interactions

Abstract

The study adopts a multimodal perspective, looking at adults’ use of gestures in variation sets (VS; i.e. sequences of partial self-repetitions occurring in successive utterances of varying form) addressed to Spanish-learning toddlers in adult–child interactions. We seek to address the following question: Do adults make simultaneous use of VS and gestures to amplify their effect while interacting with toddlers? We consider the proportion of bimodal utterances, the types of gestures, the pragmatic function of the utterances, and the ongoing activity. Thirty 18-month-old children (17 Argentinian and 13 Spanish) and their principal caregivers were video recorded for 15 minutes in spontaneous reading and playing situations. Transcriptions and annotations were done with ELAN. Results showed that verbal utterances were more frequent than bimodal utterances in VS. Gestures were mostly used in VS with a regulatory function. Pointing was the type of gesture most frequently used, and its proportion increased in VS. Gestures were employed more frequently in book-sharing activities. Findings revealed that although VS are a bimodal (gesture and speech) phenomenon they are predominantly verbal and that regulatory pragmatic function explains adults’ use of gesture.