Advances in Non-Verbal Communication in the 21st Century

Dear Colleagues,

Human communication is a complex process that involves much more than knowing and using the linguistic system, since communicative effectiveness depends, in varying degrees, on the deployment of non-verbal signs, in combination or co-structure with verbal ones. The goal of this Special Issue is to showcase state-of-the-art work on the study of non-verbal communication in the 21^st century. For some decades now, books and monographs on the subject have not been published; hence, an up-to-date vision of the field is much needed. Our aim is to fill this gap by examining non-verbal signs as communicative units that take part in any speech event and carry part of the communication load.

The overall target length of the Special Issue is between 13-15 articles of 8,000-10,000 words each, preceded by an Introduction by the editors.

With the aim of delineating the present state of research on non-verbal communication and its future projection, we encourage contributions consisting of review or research articles on any of the topics outlined below.

Sections of the volume:

Introduction to the volume by the Editors.

Part 1. General articles on the development of the non-verbal communication literature in the 21st century with the aim of shaping a theoretical and methodological framework of non-verbal communication knowledge and research.

Part 2. Empirical studies on diverse topics whose results will inform research on non-verbal communication signs in any of the four systems that conform to it: paralanguage, kinesics, proxemics and chronemics.

Paralanguage: Use and function of phonetic qualities and modifiers as non-verbal signs, sound indicators of physiological and emotional reactions, quasi-lexical elements, pauses and silences.
Kinesics: Gestures, manners and postures.
Proxemics.
Chronemics.

We particularly encourage contrastive studies focusing on social, situational and, specifically, cultural variation in the use and function of non-verbal signs.

Part 3. Studies on the use and function of non-verbal communication in fields of application in which non-verbal communication is particularly relevant: politics, marketing, business communication, education and classroom interaction, second language teaching/learning/acquisition, translation and interpretation, intercultural mediation, computer-mediated communication, police and forensic investigation, or clinical and medical communication.

Tentative Completion Schedule

• Abstract Submission Deadline: 1 July 2023    
• Notification of Abstract Acceptance: 10 October 2023    
• Full Manuscript Deadline: 10 January 2024    

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 400-600 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the guest editors (anam.cestero@uah.es) or to Languages editorial office (languages@mdpi.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the guest editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the special issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer-review.

Prof. Dr. Ana M. Cestero Mancera
Prof. Dr. Mercedes Díez Prados
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Languages is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.