Abstract:

Gesture is an important nonverbal medium of communication. Gesture can not only assist language communication but also has independent communication attribute. As a nonverbal medium co occurring with language media, gesture communication can help to reduce communication cognitive load. This paper mainly summarizes and reviews the theory of communicative gesture based on the expression relationship between gesture and language, the theory of communicative gesture activation, and the cognitive saving theory of communicative gesture. The future research should explore the balance between naturalness and control rigor of the experimental situation, the relationship between gesture and other nonverbal factors, and the practical significance of gesture cognition research.

Key words: communication, gesture, cognition