Gesture and Thought.

Both a synopsis and extension of Gesture and Thought (the book), the present essay explores how gestures and language work together in a dialectic. In this analysis the ‘purpose’ of gesture is to fuel and propel thought and speech. A case study illustrates the dependence of verbal thought on context and how it functions. Problems for computational modeling, the presence and absence of gesture ‘morphemes, and speculation on how an imagery-language dialectic evolved are also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]