Dear all,

See Bruce's embedded answers below.
I sent the inquiry to him because I remembered
that he had discussed these terms concerning
gestures in one of his lectures.

-Charlie R.

<blockquote style="border-left: #5555EE solid 0.2em; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0.85em">Dear Charlie,

I haven't seen you for a long time.  I didn't
see you at RESNA this year.  That makes me
wonderful about how things are going with your
family.  I think of you guys often.

Let me answer below the questions asked.  The
answers I'm giving, I think, are fairly
standard.  I didn't make them up!  And, I have
used them for years in seminars.

<blockquote style="border-left: #5555EE solid 0.2em; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0.85em">Hi-

I1m writing a section on gesture for my website. 

I1m trying to locate a particular term, and I 

haven1t been able to find it.

I1m trying to convey two of the main types of 

categories of gesture that our clients use for 

communication-

1.       Natural / Informal gesture -  Gestures 

which arise naturally, are transparent, and 

could easily be understood by the casual 

observerS (For example, if I mime wiping my 

nose, it means 3bring me a Kleenex2, or if I 

wave it means 3hello2.)

</blockquote>
These gestures are usually
called "autological" -- from Greek it means "self+reason," signs that carry their own logic. 

<blockquote style="border-left: #5555EE solid 0.2em; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0.85em">
2.       Constructed/ Formal gestures-  This is 

when a person/family assigns a meaning to a 

particular gestureS (For example, when I look up 

at the ceiling, that means please tilt my chair 

back.)

</blockquote>These gestures are
called "conventional" -- meaning by pre-arrangement the communicator and the receiver both know what the sign means. 

<blockquote style="border-left: #5555EE solid 0.2em; margin: 0em; padding-left: 0.85em">

I1ve been using the terms above, but I don1t 

know what the real technical terms are.  I1ve 

been hunting on the internet, and through my 

text books, but I haven1t been able to find an 

answer.

Thanks for any ideas on this!

Margaret Cotts

</blockquote>
Let me know how things are going for you and yours.

Sincerely,

Bruce
</blockquote>