Talk by dr. Aleksandra Cwiek

Rethinking transparency in multimodal communication

Abstract

How do humans understand new pantomimes they have never seen before?

This talk outlines a cross-linguistic project that investigates what makes some newly created whole-body gestures transparent across languages and cultures. Using pantomimic actions as a testing ground, the project aims to quantify degrees of transparency – from clearly embodied depictions to abstract or conventionalized forms – and to model how cultural and perceptual factors shape shared understanding. The goal is to move beyond claims of “universally iconic” gestures toward a testable model of whole-body gesture transparency.

In the second part, Aleksandra will extend a perspective of multimodality beyond vision. If transparency and meaning can emerge from bodily depiction, what happens when communication engages other senses – touch, smell, taste, or proprioception? She will argue that understanding language as a multisensory system opens new ways to studying multimodality in its real sense.