| When referring to things in the world, speakers produce utterances that are composites of speech and action. Pointing gestures are a pervasive part of such composite utterances, but many questions remain about exactly how pointing is integrated with speech. In this dissertation I present three strands of research that investigate relations of different kinds between pointing and language.;A first strand investigates the relationship between pointing gestures and spoken demonstratives, such as this and that in English. Linguists, philosophers, and psychologists have long noted the pointing-demonstrative relationship but have not yet characterized it with any precision. At the same time, cross-disciplinary controversy about the meaning of demonstratives has intensified. I present findings from two studies using a referential communication task, which suggest that demonstrative use may hinge on pointing in previously unappreciated ways.;A second strand of research presents an exploratory investigation of a commonplace but ignored class of pointing: gestures that speakers direct toward their own bodies. An analysis was carried out of body-directed gestures in a corpus of one-on-one interviews, resulting in a typology of three types of body-directed gestures---self-points, body-points, and body-anchors. Each type is considered in turn, with a focus on basic questions about how, when, and why such gestures are produced.;The third strand considers cross-cultural differences in pointing and the question of what motivates these differences. A case study is presented of a previously undocumented facial pointing gesture---nose-pointing ---used by the Yupno, an indigenous group of Papua New Guinea. Based on examples of pointing and non-pointing uses of the form, we propose that facial gesture is linked to a particular semantic theme, and discuss how this link is both iconically motivated and shaped by features of Yupno language and communicative practice.;Together these different strands of research contribute to our understanding of pointing as both a window into processes of conceptualization and a cornerstone of human social interaction. The findings presented offer new insights into the disparate forces---biomechanics, grammar, conceptual structure, and cultural practices---that give this cornerstone shape. |
