Présentation générale

Abstract This text introduces a special issue of the journal Faits de Langues . Our aim is to demonstrate to the wider community that a multimodal approach in which we integrate all forms of semiotic expression into our analyses is possible. All the articles in this issue characterize the processes that underpin their orchestration. Gesture studies are now an emerging, dynamic field in which researchers adopt different theoretical approaches and apply a variety of methods. In all cultures, in all situations, in all populations, throughout human history and throughout life, the construction of meaning is informed by the available and coordinated semiotic resources we use. Whether considered a part of or a partner to language, gesture in particular is shared with others in the course of social interactions and therefore constitutes an important semiotic resource that can no longer be ignored.