Research output per year
Research output per year
Personal profile
Personal information
Professor of Language Use & Cognition and English Linguistics
(Hoogleraar Taalgebruik & Cognitie en Engelse Taalkunde)
Personnel Manager, English Academic Language Programme
President (2025–27), International Society for Gesture Studies
Founder of the
Multimodal Communication and Cognition Lab ("Polimod")
at the Centre for Socio-Cognitive Discourse Studies ("SCoDis"),
Moscow State Linguistic University, Russian Federation
Research
Cognitive linguistics; semantics and conceptualization; gesture studies; multimodal communication; grammar of spoken language; metaphor studies; comparative/contrastive linguistics
Teaching
BA: Coordinator of the English Language and Communication Studies track in the Communication and Information Studies major
MA: Founder and coordinator of the Multimodal Communication track within Communication and Information Studies
Grants
Selection:
Visiting professor, Dept. of Letters and Philosophy, University of Florence, Italy (April 2026)
Netherlands Science Foundation/NWO (2012-16, 2025-present)
PhD candidates via China Scholarship Council (2012-2024)
Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study (2009-10, 2024)
Russian Science Foundation (2014-16, 2017-18, 2019-21)
Cinepoetics, FU Berlin (2016)
Ancillary activities
No ancillary activities
Ancillary activities are updated daily
Academic qualification
PhD, Brown University
Award Date: 28 May 1988
Master, Slavic Languages, Brown University
Award Date: 3 Jun 1983
Bachelor, Russian Studies, Hamilton College
Award Date: 29 May 1982
Keywords
- P Philology. Linguistics
- Cognitive Linguistics
- Gesture Studies
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 4 Quality Education -
SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities -
SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics where Alan Cienki is active. These topic labels come from the works of this person. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or
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The Cambridge handbook of gesture studies
Cienki, A. (Editor), 2024, Cambridge University Press. 710 p. (Cambridge Handbooks in Language and Linguistics)Research output: Book / Report › Book (Editorship) › Academic
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Speakers’ gestures and semantic analysis
Cienki, A., 2023, In: Cognitive Semantics. 9, 2, p. 167-191Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Open Access -
The study of gesture in cognitive linguistics: How it could inform and inspire other research in cognitive science
Cienki, A., Nov 2022, In: Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews. Cognitive Science. 13, 6, p. 1-17 e1623.Research output: Contribution to Journal › Review article › Academic › peer-review
Open Access -
Action schemas can account for prototypical and non-prototypical Palm-Up Open Hand gestures
Cienki, A., Avelar, M. & Iriskhanova, O., Nov 2025, In: Languages. 10, 11, p. 1-19 19 p., 282.Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Open Access -
Variable embodiment of stance-taking and footing in simultaneous interpreting
Cienki, A., 2024, In: Frontiers in Psychology. 15, p. 1-12 12 p., 1429232.Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Open Access
Courses
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Master Thesis Communication and Information Studies: Multimodal Communication
Cienki, A. 1/09/25 → 31/08/26
Course
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Projects
- 1 Finished
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Towards an integrative model of spoken language: Incorporating cognitive, functional, and multimodal aspects
Kok, K. (Project Researcher) & Cienki, A. (Principal Investigator)
1/09/12 → 1/09/16
Project: Research
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The multifunctionality of gestures: The bane of researchers, the benefit for gesturers
Cienki, A. (Keynote speaker)
16 Apr 2026Activity: Lecture / Presentation › Academic
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Recurrent gestures in light of verbal stance markers: The case of "Offering" gestures
Cienki, A. (Speaker)
15 Jul 2025Activity: Lecture / Presentation › Academic
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Cyclic gestures in sequences in Russian conversations
Cienki, A. (Speaker)
11 Jul 2025Activity: Lecture / Presentation › Academic
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What the study of gesture is bringing (and could bring) to linguistics
Cienki, A. (Speaker)
29 Nov 2023Activity: Lecture / Presentation › Academic
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Self-adapters: Renewed interest in an often ignored category
Cienki, A. (Keynote speaker)
28 Apr 2023Activity: Lecture / Presentation › Academic