2025/05/08 by Judith Holler · 1 voice · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Psychology · #Hearing Impairment and Communication #Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies #Language, Metaphor, and Cognition
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2025.03.006
openalex publication_date 2025/05/08 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
It has long been known that we use words to perform speech acts foundational to everyday conversation, such as requesting, informing, proposing, or complaining. However, the natural environment of human language is face-to-face interaction where we use words and an abundance of visual signals to communicate. The multimodal nature of human language is increasingly recognised in the language and cognitive sciences. In line with this turn of the tide, findings demonstrate that facial signals significantly contribute to communicating intentions and that they may facilitate pragmatically appropriate responding in the fast-paced environment of conversation. In light of this, the notion of speech acts no longer seems appropriate, highlighting the need for a modality-neutral conception, such as social action.