Syntax and the body: the structuring of language in multimodal sense-making

Publications emanating from the project will be listed here as soon as they are out.

The following publications served as inspiration for the present project:

Keevallik, L. (2013). The interdependence of bodily demonstrations and clausal syntax. Research on Language and Social Interaction 46(1), 1–21.

Yasui, E. (2013). Collaborative idea construction: Repetition of gestures and talk in joint brainstorming. Journal of Pragmatics, 46(1), 157–172.

Li, X. (2014). Multimodality, interaction and turn-taking in Mandarin conversation. John Benjamins.

Deppermann, A., & Streeck, J. (2018). The body in interaction: Its multiple modalities and temporalities. In: Deppermann, A., & J. Streeck (Eds.),  Time in embodied interaction (pp. 1–29). John Benjamins.

Deppermann, A., & Gubina, A. (2021). When the body belies the words: Embodied agency with darf/kann ich? (“May/Can I?”) in German. Frontiers in Communication 6.

Keevallik, L. (2018). What does embodied interaction tell us about grammar? Research on Language and Social Interaction 51(1), 1–23.

Li, X. & Ono, T. (Eds.) (2019). Multimodality in Chinese interaction. De Gruyter Mouton.

Deppermann, A. (2020). Lean syntax: How argument structure is adapted to ist interactive, material, and temporal ecology. Linguistische Berichte 263, 255–294.

Keevallik, L, Li, X., & Pekarek Doehler, S. (Eds.) (2021). The grammar-body interface in social interaction. Special Issue, Frontiers in Psychology, Frontiers in Communication.

Li, X. (2021). Multimodal practices for negative assessments as delicate matters: Incomplete syntax, facial expressions, and head movements. Open Linguistics, 7(1), 549–568.

Skogmyr Marian, K. (2021). Assessing without words: Verbally incomplete utterances in complaints. Frontiers in Psychology. 12:689443.

Malabarba, T., Mendes, A.C.O., & de Souza, J. (2022). Multimodal resolution of overlapping talk in video-mediated L2 instruction. Languages, 7(2), 154, 1–22.

Skogmyr Marian, K., & Pekarek Doehler, S. (2022). Multimodal word-search trajectories in L2 interaction: The use of gesture and how it changes over time. Social Interaction. Video-Based Studies, 5(2).

Yasui, E. (2023). Japanese onomatopoeia in bodily demonstrations in a traditional dance instruction: a resource for synchronizing body movements. Journal of Pragmatics 207, 45–61.

Skogmyr Marian, K. (2024). Longitudinal change in linguistic resources for interaction: The case of tu vois (‘you see’) in L2 French. Interactional Linguistics, 4(1), 3–37.

Yasui, E. (2025). Vocal resource of effort and force in interaction: Japanese yoisho/iyoisho in dance instructions. Interactional Linguistics, 5(1-2), 69–98.