fingergestural

Fingergestural is an adjective used in linguistics, anthropology, and communication studies to describe communication that relies primarily on finger-based gestures. It can denote a discrete, stand-alone system of finger configurations used to convey meaning, or a component of a broader gestural repertoire in which finger movements contribute to linguistic or symbolic information.

Fingerspelling is the most widely recognized fingergestural system. It uses a standardized manual alphabet to spell words by finger shapes. The mappings vary by language; for instance, American Sign Language has a distinct manual alphabet from British Sign Language. Across cultures, fingerspelling is typically used for proper nouns, technical terms, or foreign words.

In sign languages, fingers are one of several articulators. Handshape, orientation, palm position, movement, and nonmanual signals such as facial expression and head tilt combine to create meaning. Fingerspelling often serves as a bridge for loanwords and names within a fully developed sign language, while other finger-based gestures may function as part of everyday communicative routines.

Applications in education, research, and technology include language learning, augmentative and alternative communication, and multimodal analysis of interaction. Fingergestural approaches also inform studies of cross-cultural gesture use and the documentation of nonverbal linguistic systems.

Challenges for fingergestural systems include ambiguity without context, cultural variation in finger meanings, and the need for conventionalization within communities. See also: fingerspelling, sign language, gesture studies.