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Updated: May 25, 2026

Examining Gesture Production in the Presence of Communication Challenges
Published on: January 26, 2024
Early action and gesture "vocabulary" and its relation with word comprehension and production
Maria Cristina Caselli1, Pasquale Rinaldi, Silvia Stefanini
1Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council, Rome, Italy. cristina.caselli@istc.cnr.it
Abstract:
Data from 492 Italian infants (8-18 months) were collected with the parental questionnaire MacArthur Bates Communicative Development Inventories to describe early actions and gestures (A-G) "vocabulary" and its relation with spoken vocabulary in both comprehension and production. A-G were more strongly correlated with word comprehension than word production. A clear developmental pattern for the different types of A-G was found. These findings are similar to those of different Western languages, indicating a common biological and cultural basis. The analysis of individual A-G and their relations with early words with a related meaning showed interesting similarities between the production of A-G with and without object manipulation and the comprehension and production of corresponding words. Results indicate that the transition from A-G to spoken language is mediated by word comprehension.
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