Synergistic Effect Of Metaphoric Gestures On Rhetoric In Public Speaking

Psychologist Wilhelm Wundt(1922)first proposes that gestures can be used metaphorically.In the 1980 s and 1990 s,the transformation of gestures from rhetorical to cognitive field has set off a research upsurge of metaphoric gestures.There is a close relationship between metaphoric gestures and rhetorical appeals in the process of persuasion in public speaking.It is necessary to study the synergistic effect of the two in persuasion,but few scholars pay attention to it.Therefore,this thesis attempts to combine metaphoric gestures and Aristotle’s three rhetorical appeals(namely,logos,pathos and ethos)to explore the role of metaphoric gestures in rhetorical construction,and further compare the use of metaphoric gestures by native English speakers(NSs)and non-native speakers(NNSs).It builds a small comparable corpus of English speeches composed of intermediate-advanced English learners’ speeches(as the research group)and TED talks(as the reference group).And the thesis uses the multimodal annotation tool ELAN 5.5 to analyze data.The results show that: 1)There are three forms of metaphoric gestures manifested in NSs’ and NNSs’ speeches: metaphoric speech with iconic gesture,(MS+IG),metaphoric speech with metaphoric gesture(MS+MG)and literal speech with metaphoric gesture(LS+MG).And the distribution trend of the three metaphoric gestures is consistent.Among them,the frequency of LS+MG is the highest,while that of MS+IG is the lowest,which is inseparable from people’s common physical experience basis and cognitive patterns;2)There are three types of metaphoric gestures commonly used in NSs’ and NNSs’ speeches,including spatio-temporal metaphoric gestures,metaphoric gestures using spatial distance to represent length of time,and metaphoric gestures using spatial distance to represent quantity;3)Metaphoric gestures play an important role in the process of cooperating three appeals to achieve the purpose of speech.When the speaker describes the fact,the metaphoric gestures make the abstract concept concrete,endow the speech content dynamic,andfacilitate the audience to understand the speaker’s logic;when the speaker expresses his or her emotions,metaphoric gestures can trigger the audience’s visual stimulus,render the atmosphere,and awaken the audience’s various emotions;when the speaker tells personal experiences or other people’s stories,metaphoric gestures make the speech more vivid,leave a deep impression on the audience,and help him or her build a “good” personal image and “high” prestige.In NSs’ and NNSs’ speeches,the rates of metaphoric gestures mapped onto three appeals are different.And the biggest difference is the rate of pathos,which is closely related to the speaker’s status,the speech topic and so on.This research not only enriches and expands the theories of metaphor,rhetoric,communication and multimodality,but also provides a scientific basis for NNSs to improve their metaphorical abilities and oratory skills.