Hand gestures linked to language, memory

Science Daily reported last week on a couple of fascinating University of Alberta studies that have revealed a connection between language, memory and hand gestures. In one, bilingual children were observed to employ significantly more gesturing when relating a story in their stronger language. In another, Chinese women who spoke English better than Chinese men were observed to use more hand gestures when doing so. "What we think is going on here," says Dr. Elena Nicoladis, "is that the very fact of moving your hands helps you... access memory and language." (I'm feeling a deep sense of metaphysical validation right now...)