13 - Two gesture families of the open hand

Summary

In this chapter we continue our exploration of gestures with pragmatic functions with a consideration of two further gesture families: the Open Hand Prone (OHP) family and the Open Hand Supine (OHS) family. In both of these families the hand shape is ‘open’. That is, the hand is held with all digits extended and more or less adducted (they are not ‘spread’). In the Open Hand Prone family (informally the ‘palm down’ family) the forearm is always in a prone position so that the palm of the hand faces either toward the ground or away from the speaker, depending upon how the elbow is bent. In the Open Hand Supine family (informally the ‘palm up’ family), in contrast, the forearm is always supine, so that the palm of the hand faces upwards. Within each family different gestural expressions are distinguished in terms of the movement employed in the expression.

In terms of contexts of use, the two families are quite different. Gestures of the Open Hand Prone or ‘palm down’ family are used in contexts where something is being denied, negated, interrupted or stopped, whether explicitly or by implication. Open Hand Supine (or ‘palm up’) family gestures, on the other hand, are used in contexts where the speaker is offering, giving or showing something or requesting the reception of something.