Children's Gestures in Sweden

What are Swedish children’s gestures like? How do they change over time in development? How do they relate to spoken language? Is there anything particularly Swedish about them? These questions are all discussed in this paper. The main message is that the overarching patterns of gestural development in Swedish children are similar to what has been found in studies of children in other cultures, but that conventionality — in the sense of culturally established forms of conduct — is a pervasive and somewhat underestimated aspect of children’s gestures. Finally, a distinction between different levels of conventionality is presented — typified and normative conventionality — that makes possible a more nuanced discussion of cultural aspects of gesture.