Image-based Online Communication: Observations on the Status of Images as Linguistic Constituentss in Computer-mediated Communication

• In this paper we look at the use of digital photographs and images as a McLuhanesque extension of written language in computer-mediated communication (CMC). Borrowing the analytical tools of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), sociolinguistics, semiotics and conventional grammatical analysis, we explore user-generated multimodal utterances in the everyday conversational exchanges of selected internet messageboards. Representative examples are presented and discussed in terms of SFL metafunctions, sociolinguistic pressures, grammatical categories and occasionally semiotic signification. We highlight the use of images in CMC as markers of linguistic identity which are understood through the conventionalized meaning-making practices of some online communities.

Ämnesord

HUMANIORA  -- Språk och litteratur -- Studier av enskilda språk (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Languages and Literature -- Specific Languages (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

McLuhan

Semiotics

Multi-modality

Linguistics

Image-use

Online Culture

Computer-mediated communication

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

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