UC San Diego

While many researchers working in spoken languages have used modality to distinguish language and gesture, this is not possible for sign language researchers. We argue that co-sign gestures must be considered alongside co-speech gestures in theories of language acquisition. Focusing on how the same function is served in embodied communication in speech and embodied communication in sign promotes a truly multimodal view of language acquisition. An embodied multi-articulatory multimodal framework is needed to make broader claims about language acquisition.