We speak not only with our mouths, but also with our hands. And that is not all: this book advances the argument that the gestures which accompany speech are also part of the material to be considered in a grammatical description of German. Using exemplars from the field of syntax, the study demonstrates firstly that gestures can be typologised and semanticised, secondly that, independently of spoken language, constituent structures can be assigned to them which display the quality of recursivity, and thirdly that they can function as attributes in nominal groups in spoken language.

The book deals with the fundamental question of how language comprehension and situational comprehension interact with one another. Using an oral description of a tour of Potsdam Square in Berlin as an example, the author shows how pointing gestures interact with deictic expressions or pointing words such as "here" or "there," enabling objects to be localized distinctly. The resulting theory on verbal and physical pointing lies within and between the contexts of linguistics, semiotics and gesture studies.

Volume II of the handbook offers a unique collection of exemplary case studies. In five chapters and 99 articles it presents the state of the art on how body movements are used for communication around the world. Topics include the functions of body movements, their contexts of occurrence, their forms and meanings, their integration with speech, and how bodily motion can function as language. By including an interdisciplinary chapter on 'embodiment', volume II explores the body and its role in the grounding of language and communication from one of the most widely discussed current theoretical perspectives. Volume II of the handbook thus entails the following chapters: VI. Gestures across cultures, VII. Body movements: functions, contexts and interactions, VIII. Gesture and language, IX. Embodiment: the body and its role for cognition, emotion, and communication, X. Sign Language: Visible body movements as language. Authors include: Mats Andren, Richard Asheley, Benjamin Bergen, Ulrike Bohle, Dominique Boutet, Heather Brookes, Penelope Brown, Kensy Cooperrider, Onno Crasborn, Seana Coulson, James Essegby, Maria Graziano, Marianne Gullberg, Simon Harrison, Hermann Kappelhoff, Mardi Kidwell, Irene Kimbara, Stefan Kopp, Grigoriy Kreidlin, Dan Loehr, Irene Mittelberg, Aliyah Morgenstern, Rafael Nunez, Isabella Poggi, David Quinto-Pozos, Monica Rector, Pio Enrico Ricci-Bitti, Goeran Sonesson, Timo Sowa, Gale Stam, Eve Sweetser, Mark Tutton, Ipke Wachsmuth, Linda Waugh, Sherman Wilcox.