Silent Gesture as a Complementary Methodology in (Sign‐Language) Linguistics: Interpretive Possibilities and Limits

ABSTRACT

Silent gesture is increasingly used in linguistics to investigate questions that are difficult or impossible to address using natural language data alone, including issues of language emergence, word order, grammatical categorisation, and iconicity. However, the interpretation of silent‐gesture findings remains methodologically complex. This paper critically examines the interpretive possibilities and limits of the silent‐gesture paradigm, focusing especially on its use in sign‐language linguistics. After discussing the assumptions underlying silent‐gesture research and the types of comparisons it enables, I review three major areas where the paradigm has been widely employed: word‐order preferences, the emergence of noun–verb distinctions, and iconicity in formational and grammatical structure. I argue that silent gesture should not be treated as direct evidence of ‘pure’ communicative or cognitive biases, nor as a proxy for language emergence itself. Rather, silent gesture is a complementary methodological tool that allows researchers to experimentally isolate communicative pressures interacting with linguistic structure under controlled conditions. Its findings can therefore only be adequately interpreted when situated within and evaluated against evidence from spoken languages, sign languages, homesign systems, and other natural communicative settings. The paper concludes with methodological recommendations for designing and interpreting silent‐gesture studies in relation to spoken languages, sign languages, and other signing varieties.