International Society for Gesture Studies - Catalonia
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The International Society for Gesture Studies - Catalonia is an affiliated Hub of the ISGS.
It is coordinated by a steering group of researchers based in five Catalan universities: Universitat de Girona, Universitat de Lleida, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Universitat Rovira i Virgili.
It aims to promote gesture studies and foster research collaborations in Catalonia and internationally and across disciplines, including but not restricted to linguistics, sign language research, education, psychology, and communication studies.
Organization of International Lecture Series
Online-accessible talks in English organized by ISGS Catalonia to disseminate and discuss research in gesture studies and related topics
Events organized by local research groups aimed at faculty and students, to promote gesture studies within and across departments.
Related Events and Initiatives
Check out non-ISGS Catalonia events that are related to gesture studies!
The next International Lectures are programmed!
Thursday, February 26th, 2026 - 11:00 am (GMT+1)
Gesture Use and Interactional Dynamics in L2 Speakers: A Comparative Study of Face-to-Face and Online Interactions
Renia Lopez, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University & Loulou Kosmala, Université Paris-Est Créteil
This talk explores how second language (L2) speakers use gestures differently in face-to-face versus online video-mediated interactions via Zoom. While gestures are known to facilitate understanding, turn-taking and meaning-making in L2 communication, the shift to digital platforms may alter their visibility and function. Comparing conversations among Cantonese learners of English across both settings, our study finds that face-to-face interactions promote greater interactional cohesion, including more instances of repeated gestures between partners in co-constructed turns. In contrast, online exchanges feature fewer interactive gestures during longer individual turns, potentially reducing multimodal engagement. We will elaborate with specific examples to show how speakers repeat gestures and employ interactive gestures to co-construct meaning collaboratively. Ultimately, the context significantly shapes gestural communication, highlighting implications for teaching and assessment in both physical and virtual environments.
Click here to register!
Friday, May 22nd, 2026 - time TBA (GMT+1)
Signed vs. Spoken; Language Reconsidered
Laurence Meurant, University of Namur
Signed languages offer a unique perspective on linguistic assumptions, many of which come from the study of spoken languages and their written forms. What can seem obvious in spoken language, such as the traditional opposition between gesture and language, becomes far less clear when we consider languages that rely on a single visual–gestural modality rather than two. From this perspective, even the very definition of what counts as “linguistic” is open to question.
Yet despite their potential to reshape linguistic theory, signed languages have rarely been used as a starting point for theoretical reflection. Instead, they have long been approached through concepts and categories developed for spoken languages. This talk argues for reversing that perspective. It explores what our understanding of language can gain from a comparative and inclusive approach to signed and spoken languages.
How can such a comparison be carried out? What conditions are necessary to ensure the approach remains methodologically and theoretically sound? The presentation highlights two key requirements: comparable data and a theoretical framework whose core concepts are agnostic to modality. Recent work in comparative semiotics between French Belgian Sign Language (LSFB) and Belgian French will serve as a concrete case study, highlighting both the challenges and the insights of this approach.
Save the date!
Inaugural talk
On Friday, September 26th, 2025, we had the pleasure of welcoming Professor Sotaro Kita for the inauguration of the ISGS Catalonia Hub.
He delivered a brilliant lecture on how gestures facilitate cognitive processes and on how gesture, generated at the interface between action and language, shapes the way we think and speak.
Watch the recording!
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