Intersemiosis in film: Towards a new organisation of semiotic resources in multimodal filmic text

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Janina Wildfeuer
Keyword(s):  
Meaning Making ◽  
Analytical Tool ◽  
Formal Description ◽  
Making Meaning ◽  
Integrative Framework ◽  
Multimodal Discourse ◽  
Film Interpretation ◽  
Semiotic Resources ◽  
The One ◽  
Verbal Discourse

AbstractThis article is concerned with the analysis of multimodal filmic text from a formalfunctional perspective. It presents a new and integrative framework which has been developed on the basis of a formal description of coherence and structure in verbal discourse in order to be able to articulate in detail how inferential strategies and defeasible reasoning can be included as a foundation for making meaning in the analysis of multimodal discourse. The article will, on the one hand, present the mechanisms of this framework for examining the intersemiosis of the filmic resources and, on the other hand, demonstrate the adequacy of this analytical tool with the help of an example analysis of a sequence taken from the movie Vanilla Sky. It will thus outline how it is possible to organise filmic semiotic resources more systematically and to describe the entire meaning-making process on various levels of film interpretation.

scholarly journals An SF-MDA of the Textual and the Logical Cohesive Devices in a Postgraduate Accounting Course

SAGE Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 215824402094712
Author(s):  
Hesham Suleiman Alyousef
Keyword(s):  
Meaning Making ◽  
Systemic Functional Linguistics ◽  
Business Students ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Making Meaning ◽  
Lexical Cohesion ◽  
Multimodal Discourse Analysis ◽  
Multimodal Discourse ◽  
Cohesive Devices

The use of cohesive devices in academic discourse not only improves the quality of writing but also enhances our learning experiences. This study aims to explain how the multimodal accounting discourse is constructed by postgraduate business students through the cohesive ties. Halliday and Hasan’s and Halliday’s cohesion analysis schemes were employed in the systemic functional multimodal discourse analysis (SF-MDA) of the cohesive devices in the multimodal accounting texts. The schemes are based on systemic functional linguistics (SFL) which suits the context of this study as it considers language as a social semiotic resource for making meaning. Its linguistic tools are capable of explaining the way we construct and make meanings. The SF-MDA findings showed the first and most frequently occurring cohesive device type in the orthographic texts was lexical cohesion, in particular repetition of the same lexical items, followed by reference and conjunctions. Lexical cohesive devices were higher in the tables than in the orthographic texts. Conjunctions were only employed in the orthographic texts to signal extension and enhancement relationships. One of the key features that characterize financial statements is the abundance of implicit hierarchically networked lexical ties that bind the separate lexical strings, thereby organizing the discourse of financial statements. The results contribute to our understanding of the complex multimodal meaning-making processes in accounting discourse.

scholarly journals Clothing and meaning making: a multimodal approach to women’s abayas

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gwen Bouvier
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Religious Identity ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Roland Barthes ◽  
The Other ◽  
Multimodal Approach ◽  
Personal Choice ◽  
Multimodal Discourse ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The One

This article takes a multimodal discourse approach to women’s fashion in the Middle East. It places the Islamic abaya in the UAE in the context of the wider literature on fashion and identity, exploring the way in which clothing features and forms can prescribe ideas, values and attitudes, and framing this discussion within newer ideas on globalization. As Roland Barthes argued, it is not so much personal choice or diversity in fashion that is of interest, but the kinds of values and expected behaviours that they imply. The abaya, on the one hand, represents a more newly arrived idea of traditional, local and religious identity, linking to some extent to an imagined sense of a monolithic notion of Islamic clothing. But, on the other hand, this is itself reformulated locally through international representations, ideas and values, and integrated with newer ideas of taste.

scholarly journals Sociosemiotic approach to teaching foreign language listening: linguodidactic implications of adopting views on interrelation of verbal and non-verbal semiotic resources in communication.

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 313-320
Author(s):  
Mikhail Vyacheslavovich Danilin
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Human Communication ◽  
Verbal Language ◽  
Semiotic Resources ◽  
Embodied Meaning ◽  
Methodological Principles ◽  
The One ◽  
Multimodal Perception

The following article raises the issue built around teaching foreign language listening by the restrictions imposed by the theory of oral activity that influences the view on the nature of communication and human social behavior. In particular, the conducted analysis of the theoretical underpinnings of social semiotics and multimodal approach to human communication gives scientific credence to assuming the meaning-making potential of non-verbal language comparable to the one of verbal language. In addition to that, it becomes evident that non-verbal language has a tendency to complicate inferencing the meaning of the verbal activity rather than merely simplify it. As a consequence, the linguodidactic basis of teaching listening necessitates revision in this vein. Grounded on multimodal and sociocognitive approaches, the idea is put forward to interpret foreign language listening as a constituent part of sociocognitive activity, the distinguishing features of which are embodied perception and orientation to embodied meaning-making. On the basis of aforementioned, the article enriches psycholinguistic theory of listening with aspects of aural-visual (multimodal) perception as well as offers a view on the alignment of semiotic resources to produce meaning. As a result, there were formulated a set of specific methodological principles intended to govern the teaching process of intertwined aural-visual perception and inferencing of cross-mode meanings and subsequently ensure high performance in foreign language listening in the context of multimodal communication.

scholarly journals Multimodal Discourse Analysis for teaching English as a Second Language

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 279-285
Author(s):  
Kawa Abdul–Kareem Sherwani, Et. al.
Keyword(s):  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Social Practices ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
Multiple Modes ◽  
Multimodal Discourse Analysis ◽  
Multimodal Discourse ◽  
Semiotic Resources ◽  
Technological Developments

New technological developments have boosted the use of different modes or semiotic resources; social changes and developments, on the other hand, have changed the process of meaning making because discourse shapes and is shaped by social practices. Semiotic resources are used in communication (language, sound, gestures, facial expressions … etc) and this has impact and reflections on the methods of teaching. Literacy is not only about reading and writing, it rather means the ability to communicate through multiple modes. Hence, it is important to embed multimodality (the study of using multiple modes) in educational settings

scholarly journals A Socio Semiotic Approach to Multimodal Discourse of Selected Nollywood Film Advertisement Posters

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-45
Author(s):  
Monsurat Aramide Nurudeen ◽  
Ebenezer Oluseun Ogungbe ◽  
Moshood Zakariyah
Keyword(s):  
Complex System ◽  
Visual Communication ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Multimodal Communication ◽  
Generic Structure ◽  
Multimodal Discourse ◽  
Semiotic Approach ◽  
Semiotic Resources ◽  
Complex Forms

Film posters are complex forms of visual communication basically employed to promote films so as to seek for patronage from prospective viewers. Nollywood film poster designers or marketers employ a complex system of modes of multimodal communication to achieve their intended objectives. This study therefore investigates how these semiotic resources reveal the intention of the film poster designers and how other contextual variables influence the ability of the viewers to comprehend the messages embedded in film posters. The objectives of the study are to uncover the visual and linguistic semiotic resources in the film advertisement posters and their interaction. The study adopts a qualitative approach to the analyses of six randomly selected Nollywood film advertisement posters of three genres, namely: drama, thriller and comedy. Yuen’s Generic Structure Potential and Royce’s Ideational Intersemiotic Complementarity serve as the basis for the analysis of the selected texts. The study reveals that visual modes are more salient and frequently employed in the advertisement posters than the linguistic modes. However, both the visual and the linguistic modes offer complementary relationship for effective meaning-making in the selected Nollywood advertisement posters. The meanings derived are often contextual which appeal to the audience reasoning and sustain their interests. The study concludes by emphasizing the importance of the synergy of both linguistic and visual multimodal resources or modes of signification in the successful meaning-making and meaning-comprehension in the study of visual communication.

scholarly journals Text Cohesion in English Scientific Texts Written by Saudi Undergraduate Dentistry Students: A Multimodal Discourse Analysis of Textual and Logical Relations in Oral Biology Texts

SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 215824402110321
Author(s):  
Hesham Suleiman Alyousef
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Bachelor Of Science ◽  
Lexical Cohesion ◽  
Multimodal Discourse Analysis ◽  
Multimodal Discourse ◽  
Cohesive Devices ◽  
Analysis Scheme

This qualitative study examined multimodal cohesive devices in English oral biology texts by eight high-achieving Saudi English-as-a-foreign-language students enrolled in a Bachelor of Science Dentistry program. A Systemic Functional Multimodal Discourse Analysis (SF-MDA) of the textual and logical cohesive devices in oral biology texts was conducted, employing Halliday and Hasan’s cohesion analysis scheme. The findings showed that students used varied cohesive devices: lexical cohesion, followed by reference and conjunctions. Although ellipsis was minimally employed in the oral biology texts, its discipline-specific uses emerged: the use of bullet points and numbered lists that facilitate recall. The SF-MDA of cohesion in multimodal semiotic resources highlighted the processes underlying construction of conceptual and linguistic knowledge of cohesive devices in oral biology texts. The results indicate that oral biology discourse is interdisciplinary, including a number of subfields in biology. The SF-MDA of pictorial oral biology representations indicates that they include instances of cohesive devices that illustrate and complement verbal texts. The results indicate that undergraduate students need to be provided with a variety of multimodal high-cohesion texts so that they can successfully extend underlying conceptual and logical meaning-making relations.

Die Macht der Bilder und Bilder der Macht: die sprachliche Konstruktion von Nationalismus und Konservatismus in der strategischen politischen Kommunikation von Vox España

2020 ◽  
Vol 136 (2) ◽  
pp. 538-566
Author(s):  
Sandra Issel-Dombert
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Multimodal Discourse ◽  
The Social ◽  
Core Elements ◽  
The Media ◽  
Right Wing Populism ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractFrom a theoretical and empirical linguistic point of view, this paper emphasizes the importance of the relationship between populism and the media. The aim of this article is to explore the language use of the Spanish right wing populism party Vox on the basis of its multimodal postings on the social network Instagram. For the analysis of their Instagram account, a suitable multimodal discourse analysis (MDA) provides a variety of methods and allows a theoretical integration into constructivism. A hashtag-analysis reveals that Vox’s ideology consists of a nativist and ethnocentric nationalism on the one hand and conservatism on the other. With a topos analysis, the linguistic realisations of these core elements are illustrated with two case studies.

Searching and Making Meaning of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives of African Immigrants in the United States

2021 ◽  
pp. 002216782110224
Author(s):  
Angela U. Ekwonye ◽  
Nina Truong
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Democratic Republic Of Congo ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
African Immigrants ◽  
The United States ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Making Meaning ◽  
The Impact

African immigrants continue to be disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is unclear how they are searching for and finding meaning in the face of this adversity. This study sought to understand how African immigrants in the United States are searching for and making meaning of the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted in-depth interviews remotely with 20 immigrants from West Africa (Nigeria and Ghana), East Africa (Somali and Rwanda), and Central Africa (Democratic Republic of Congo). The meaning-making model was used as a framework to understand the processes of coping during a significant, adverse life event. The study found that some participants attempted to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their global meaning by seeking answers as to why the pandemic occurred and creating positive illusions. Some redefined their priorities and reframed the pandemic in a positive light. Participants found meaning in the form of accepting the pandemic as a reality of life, appreciating events previously taken for granted, and making positive changes in their lives. This study’s findings can inform health care providers of the meaning-making processes of African immigrants’ and the need to assist them in their search for meaning.

Exploring Intercultural Interaction: The Use of Semiotic Resources in Meaning-Making Processes

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nur Nabilah Abdullah ◽  
◽  
Rafidah Sahar ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Action ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Eye Gaze ◽  
Semantic Content ◽  
Nonverbal Cues ◽  
Context Word ◽  
Intercultural Interaction ◽  
Semiotic Resources ◽  
Word Search ◽  
Cultural Origins

Intercultural communication refers to interaction between speakers of different backgrounds, such as different linguistic and cultural origins (Kim 2001). Interaction in face-to face situations has demonstrated that spoken language involves both verbal and semiotic resources for social action. Semiotic resources that include use of talk, gestures, eye gaze and other nonverbal cues can convey semantic content and can become a crucial point in conversation (Hazel et al. 2014). Drawing on a Aonversation Analysis (CA) approach, we explore how participants employed semiotic resources in word searches activities in an intercultural context. Word searches are moments in interaction when a speaker’s turn is temporarily ceased as the speaker displays difficulty in searching for appropriate linguistic items so as to formulate the talk (Schegloff et al. 1977; Kurhila 2006). In this study, naturally occurring interactions in a multilingual setting were video recorded. The participants were Asian university students with different language backgrounds. The findings suggest that multilingual participants mutually collaborate by utilizing verbal affordances, gaze, gesture and other nonverbal cues as useful semiotic resources in the meaning-making process, and thus resolving word search impediments to facilitate intercultural interaction.

scholarly journals History teaching as a designed meaning-making process: Teacher facilitation of student–subject relationships

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi Eskelund Knudsen
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
The Other ◽  
Pedagogical Strategies ◽  
Pedagogical Tool ◽  
History Teaching ◽  
Teaching Situation ◽  
Communicative Process ◽  
The One ◽  
Student Subject

This article is an empirical analysis of history teaching as a communicative process. Dialogic history teaching develops as a designed meaning-making process that depends on thorough pedagogical strategies and decisions, and requires cohesion in teacher expectations, introductions and interventions. A micro-dialogic study is presented in this article to document a paradoxical teaching situation where history as subject-related content all but disappeared from a group of students' meaning-making processes because they were preoccupied with figuring out their teacher's intentions. History teaching thus turned into 'just teaching' without the teacher or the students being aware of it. A strong emphasis on history teaching as a communicative process and dialogue as a key pedagogical tool have potential with regard to pedagogical decision-making and strategies on the one hand, and for relationships between students and history as subject-related content on the other. The analysis presented in this article contributes to a growing field of studies on dialogic history teaching, of which the focus on students as an important part of classroom dialogues is central.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document