手勢是一種非言語交際或非言語交際的形式，在這種形式中，可見的身體動作傳達(dá)特定的信息，或代替言語，或與言語結(jié)合。手勢包括手、臉或身體其他部位的動作。手勢不同于身體上的非語言交流，而身體上的非語言交流并不傳達(dá)特定的信息，比如純粹的表達(dá)性表達(dá)、空間性表達(dá)或共同注意力的表達(dá)。[1]手勢可以讓人們交流各種各樣的感覺和想法，從輕蔑和敵意到贊同和喜愛，通常還可以在說話的時(shí)候加上肢體語言。手勢處理發(fā)生在大腦的某些區(qū)域，如布洛卡區(qū)和韋尼克區(qū)，這些區(qū)域用于語言和手語。事實(shí)上，一些學(xué)者認(rèn)為語言是從早期的手勢系統(tǒng)進(jìn)化而來的。[3]中國英語學(xué)習(xí)網(wǎng)語言是從手勢進(jìn)化而來的理論，稱為手勢理論，可以追溯到18世紀(jì)哲學(xué)家兼神父阿貝·德·康狄拉克的著作。1973年，當(dāng)代人類學(xué)家戈登·w·休斯(Gordon W. Hewes)在關(guān)于語言起源的討論中重新提出了這一理論

A gesture is a form of non-verbal communication or non-vocal communication in which visible bodily actions communicate particular messages, either in place of, or in conjunction with, speech. Gestures include movement of the hands, face, or other parts of the body. Gestures differ from physical non-verbal communication that does not communicate specific messages, such as purely expressive displays, proxemics, or displays of joint attention.[1] Gestures allow individuals to communicate a variety of feelings and thoughts, from contempt and hostility to approval and affection, often together with body language in addition to words when they speak.Gesture processing takes place in areas of the brain such as Broca's and Wernicke's areas, which are used by speech and sign language.[2] In fact, language is thought by some scholars to have evolved in Homo sapiens from an earlier system consisting of manual gestures.[3] The theory that language evolved from manual gestures, termed Gestural Theory, dates back to the work of 18th-century philosopher and priest Abbé de Condillac, and has been revived by contemporary anthropologist Gordon W. Hewes, in 1973, as part of a discussion on the origin of language