PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

Head bobble is stereotypically associated with people from the Indian Subcontinent. The apparent substitution of bobbles with nods and shakes is anecdotally reported to be problematic for non- Indian interlocutors. However, there is no existing analysis of bobbles and how they differ from nods and shakes generally believed to indicate agreement and disagreement respectively. Moreover, it is not clear if these gestures are used exclusively by listeners or speakers. This study investigates the use of nods, shakes, and bobbles by Hindi speakers and listeners from India and reports the communicative contexts used for these gestures. We analyzed YouTube videos (90 minutes) of street interviews recorded in Delhi, India. The videos were annotated to mark interlocutors’ roles (Speakers: turn holders; Listeners: provided feedback with backchannel and/or stayed silent when another person talked) and communicative contexts for each gesture (N = 755). The analysis showed that speakers used bobbles (63%) and shakes (64%) more frequently than listeners, whereas nods were used by speakers and listeners with similar frequency (49%, 51% respectively). As for the contexts, listeners overwhelmingly used nods and bobbles for agreement/backchanneling (Nods: 97%, Bobbles: 91%). Furthermore, listeners used shakes for agreement/backchanneling (71%) as well as in the context of negation (14.5%), and while being presented with new information (14.5%). However, speakers predominantly used shakes to convey negation (63%) as well as when providing information (13.5%) or elaborating on it (13.5%). Nods and bobbles were not preferred in a particular context and speakers used them for agreement/backchanneling (Nods: 38%, Bobbles: 38.5%), elaboration (Nods: 28%, 23%), providing information (Nods: 29%, Bobbles: 36%), and negation (Nods: 5%, Bobbles: 2.5%). This data indicates that shakes are clearly associated with negation as compared with nods and bobbles. The interchangeable use of nods and bobbles explains the confusion faced by non-Indians when communicating with the Indian interlocutors.