In communication theory and especially in relevance theory, ostensive behaviour or ostension is a behaviour that signals the intention to communicate something. This can be a gesture, such as pointing, or shifting position to draw an addressee's attention to something,[1]: 29, 49 or eye contact.[2]
Verbal communication (the act of speaking or writing something) is also ostensive behaviour, as it draws the addressee's attention to the fact that the communicator intends to convey some information. This is called the communicative intention. By contrast, the informative intention is the intention to convey said information, i.e. the actual content of the message.[1]: 29, 49
In 1970s, semiotician Umberto Eco was the first[citation needed] to use the term "ostension" to describe the way in which people communicate messages through miming actions, as by holding up a pack of cigarettes to say, "Would you like one?"[3]: 224–26
The 2014 book Ostension: Word Learning and the Embodied Mind by Chad Engelland provides a philosophical introduction to ostension and its significance in word learning.[4][5]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Sperber, Wilson (1995)
- ^ Senju, A.; Csibra, G. (2008). "Gaze following in human infants depends on communicative signals". Current Biology. 18 (9): 668–671. Bibcode:2008CBio...18..668S. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2008.03.059. PMID 18439827.
- ^ Eco (1976) A Theory of Semiotics
- ^ Macarthur, David (1 June 2016). "Review of Ostension: Word Learning and the Embodied Mind". Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews. ISSN 1538-1617.
- ^ "Chad Engelland: Ostension: Word Learning and the Embodied Mind". Phenomenological Reviews. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
Literature
[edit]- Eco, Umberto (1976). A Theory of Semiotics. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-20217-5.
- Sperber, Dan; Wilson, Deirdre (1995). Relevance: Communication and Cognition. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 978-0631198789.