Co-speech gestures in the process of meaning coordination

This study uses a classical referential communication task to investigate the role of co-speech gestures in the process of coordination. The study manipulates both the common ground between the interlocutors, as well as the visibility of the gestures they use. The findings show that co-speech gestures are an integral part of the referential utterances speakers produced with regard to both initial references as well as repeated references, and that the availability of gestures appears to impact on interlocutors ’ referential coordination. The results are discussed with regard to past research on common ground as well as theories of gesture production