Indicates the category and name of the gesture being coded
entry ::= offcamera | code [op code]* offcamera ::= "$" code ::= <Any code from the table below other than offcamera>[continued] continued ::= "~" op ::= "+" | "-" | "/" | "."
Codes have the following interpretation:
| Form Code | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Off Camera | ||
| $ | Gesture occurred off camera and is indeterminate | |
| Deictics | ||
| point | One or more fingers are extended to indicate an object or set of objects | |
| cont point | One or more fingers are used to indicate multiple members of a set or group of objects | |
| drag | A point with a trace along a present object | Deprecated |
| palm | Entire palm used to identify or indicate an entity or set of objects | |
| cont palm | Entire palm used to indicate multiple members of a set or group of objects | |
| hold | Holding an object in to explicitly indicate or draw attention to it, can also hold a body part by raising it | |
| Conventionals | ||
| beat | Any sharp motion corresponding with the prosody of speech | |
| come | Beckoning to another entity | Holding out palms of hands toward the entity being beckoned Extending one or more fingers and bending fingers back toward palm with palm up |
| dismiss | Brushed hand(s) away from body (can look very similar to a flip but accompanies a different context established by speech | |
| flip | Turning up palm(s) of hand(s) by rotating wrist or arm | |
| got it | Both hands spread in front of body with palms facing down or inwards and pressing down once or repeatedly | |
| listing | Fingers move through a sequence of numbers while verbally listing items | |
| naughties | Shaking or waving the index finger | |
| nod | Moving the head up and down by bending the neck | |
| number | Indicates a number being referenced by holding up the corresponding number of fingers | |
| oh my | Raising one or both hands to the mouth | |
| pick me | Hand raised above head, optionally waving | |
| pick up | Holding limb(s), usually the arm(s), outstretched toward an adult to indicate the desire to be picked up | |
| shake | Turning head left and right | |
| shh | Hold index finger vertically against lips | |
| shrug | Raising one or both shoulders up towards the head | |
| shrug with flip | Simultaneous flip and shrug | |
| sweep | Holding arm(s) and hand(s) parallel to the ground with palms down and moving from center of body to respective side(s) of body | |
| tada | Opening of arms and hands up and/or out | |
| thinking | Putting a finger to the head or face and holding it there or tapping it in place | |
| wait | Index finger pointing up, other fingertips curled under, palm out | Traditional “one moment” gesture |
| wave | Moves hand side to side with palm out or moves hand up and down | A traditional greeting wave |
| <aha> | Raising hand with index finger pointed up | |
| <back off> | Holds hand(s) out with palm out | The quintisential “STOP!” gesture |
| <darn it> | Holds hand in fist with are bent at elbow and pulls arm toward center of body | |
| <hero fist> | Raising arm(s) up with hand(s) in fist(s) | |
| <listening> | Cupping hand(s) to ear(s) | |
| <oh man> | Holding hand(s) to head | |
| <pray you> | Holding palms together in a prayer position | |
| <thumbs up> | Raising one or both thumbs up from the rest of the fingers in a fist | |
| <score> | Holding hand in fist with arm bent at elbow and pulling it toward body | |
| <so so> | Holding hand out with palm down and alternately tilting hand from side to side | |
| <whew> | Wiping brow with the palm or back of hand(s) | |
| x | Ambigous gestures that do not fall into these categories or for which an accurate meaning cannot be described | |
| Representationals | ||
| iconic | A gesture which represents a thing or idea | Action: flapping arms in the air to convey ‘flying’ Direction: moving the index finger downward to indicate ‘downward path’ Attribute: holding cupped hands in the air to convey the size or shape of a ball Shape: tracing the shape of a square with fingers on a drawing or in the air |
| metaphoric | A gesture which represents a conceptual relationship without directly mapping to a tangible property of the relationship or entity befing referenced | Cupping hands in air as if holding an idea for the purpose of referencing an idea or concept of an idea |
| demo | A gesture which represents a procedure using at least one object involved in that procedure without actually completing or carrying out the action | Holding a spoon and moving in a stirring motion in the air without actually stirring anything to show how to stir |
| Sign | ||
| sign | Baby sign or ASL sign | |
Note
Any code except $ may be suffixed with a tilde (~) to indicate continuation from the speaker’s immediately preceding communicative act in the transcript.
Ops have the following interpretations:
| Op | Meaning |
|---|---|
| + | Simultaneous gestures |
| - | Sequential gestures without return to neutral position |
| / | Gestures morph into one another |
| . | Sequential gestures with return to neutral position - DEPRECATED |
If a Form code is suffixed with the continuation operator (~), it must have an antecedent that is either the base form or the continued form of the code in the immediately preceding transcribed communicative act for the given speaker. I.e., if the child says something and uses a point, the parent talks for 30 lines in the transcript, and then the child, still holding the point, says something else, the second point could be continued from the first because there is no intervening utterance or gesture on the part of the child.
None