Search

Gunther Kress's multimodal and social semiotic theory of communication has moved beyond the realm of linguistics, which originally framed his work, and has reached out to inform other fields, such as those of education, museum studies, as well as the humanities and social sciences more broadly. This article brings together our insights in relation to a concept from Gunther Kress's theory, that of "design." Drawing from our research, we reflect on Kress's conceptualisation of design in social semiotics and discuss how this idea has inspired us to advance research across the domains of formal learning in schools, informal learning and communication in museums, and in everyday communication and social interaction. We consider that the contribution of design is to challenge the boundaries of concepts such as 'competence', 'interpretation' and 'critique', associated respectively with the dominant discourses and practices in the worlds of education, museums and everyday communication and research practice. We look at design as: (1) learning; (2) transformation of resources; and (3) an engaged and engaging social semiotic research, and argue that as an interpretative resource it enables us to move beyond the limitations posed by institutions such as schools, museums and academia.

This paper critically analyses the meaning and use of translanguaging as an inclusive pedagogical strategy in the context of a bilingual deaf education classroom where there are asymmetrical sensorial experiences of being deaf and being hearing, and different access to 'codified' (either speech or sign-language) resources. The pedagogical opportunities and constraints of translanguaging are examined through an analysis of the meaning-making resources among deaf and hearing interlocutors in face-to-face interaction. Using two short excerpts from an English class with two deaf pupils, a hearing teacher of the deaf and hearing communication support worker the authors analyse ways in which the modes of image, sound and speech, gesture and signing, gaze, body posture are coordinated in the spatial context for meaning-making. A multimodal and layered analysis of two short turn sequences describes ways in which modes are integrated and coordinated in the spatial layout of the classroom in ways that either facilitate or inhibit inclusive communication. Strategies for the analysis and deployment of multimodal resources that may facilitate the inclusive potential of translanguaging in this interactional context are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In May 2020, in the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, we set up the transmedia space PanMeMic, and involved our social networks, in a snowball fashion, to exchange observations and reflections on the changes in communication and social interactions ensuing from the restrictions imposed. We adopted a citizen approach towards co-constructing knowledge about semiotic practices, by integrating tenets of social semiotics, ethnography and citizen sociolinguistics. The article reports on the activities and discusses the potentials and limitations of the approach through analysis of the posts and discussions that took place in the PanMeMic Facebook group. It shows results quantitatively and then zooms in to offer a qualitative analysis of one discussion thread, with the aim of illustrating the potential and limitations of PanMeMic as a platform for citizen semiotic research and providing indications for future socially engaged and engaging research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the interaction between deaf and hearing interlocutors in order to demonstrate how understanding (and misunderstanding) can be expressed and inspected through the situated use of multimodal resources. In this communicative situation, participants have asymmetrical experiences of being deaf and being hearing, and 'codified' (either speech or sign-language) resources are little shared among participants. The multimodal analysis of an interactional sequence between a young deaf child, her deaf friend and her hearing mother demonstrates ways in which participants use semiotic resources to take, execute and give turns in the presence of sensory asymmetries. The organization of turn taking in this sequence provides insights into the ways in which understanding (or lack of it) can be demonstrated, monitored and co-constructed by participants throughout the interaction. The findings demonstrate that turns offer a useful point of analysis for the recognition and inspection of signs of understanding in the context of sensory asymmetries but there needs to be a qualitative orientation to assessing this. This contribution to the research on situated multimodal sign-making underlines the need for the development of multimodal frameworks that can account for, and effectively document, situated meaning-making beyond 'codified/linguistic' resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the effects of copy-and-paste on the rhetoric and politics of communication in digital environments, by examining direct and indirect (mis)quotation and referencing in "YouTube" video-exchanges and by providing further examples in one-to-one communication via "Facebook" and email. The forwarding of (snippets of) artefacts in new contexts reshapes patterns of coherence and cohesion, producing intertextuality and implicitness. A rhetoric of the implicit shapes the politics of communication in elitist terms, assigning meaning-makers the responsibility for communicative success/failure while discharging sign-makers from obligations of being clear, cohesive, coherent and explicit. Common in informal contexts, such rhetoric may effect also more formal ones, with more or less successful results, hence the usefulness of meta-reflection in raising sign- and meaning-makers' awareness on the varied effects of these practices in different contexts. (Contains 3 notes.)

Responding to "In defence of writing" by Havard Skaar, published in issue 43.1 of this journal (April 2009), the present article argues that (1) compared with text production "from scratch," producing texts through copy-and-paste requires a different type of--rather than less--semiotic work, and that (2) digitally produced writing may involve the same amount of semiotic work as texts produced through digitally retrieved images. Supporting the argument with data drawn from the writer's teaching experience in three first-year graduate courses of Scientific English for the Health Professions, the article discusses the changes in the abilities that are foregrounded/backgrounded (more/less required and developed) in the use of copy-and-paste for text production. The results indicate that rather than privileging one mode over another, the learners' semiotic work can be better assessed through a multilayered process of re-signification and re-elaboration of texts and contents into multiple modes. The conclusions suggest new priorities for teaching, learning and assessment in the light of the changes in our contemporary semiotic landscape. (Contains 6 notes.)

The paper presents a social semiotic approach to vernacular sign-making in place, by examining the visual landscape of Leeds Kirkgate Market, as an example of a semiotically-unregulated place. Traders have ample freedom of self-expression and agency in shaping their stalls through all visual-material resources (beyond mere signage, as analysed in linguistic landscape research). There derives a composite non-cohesive aesthetic of the market's visual landscape, driven by the situated needs and tastes of the socio-culturally diverse population inhabiting the place. The resulting semiotic diversity is remarkable when compared to its neighbouring areas, as well as to recently renovated UK city markets. Against an increased institutional regulation of urban landscapes, semiotically-unregulated places enable vernacular practices from below that defy current aesthetic tenets in professional design and help revealing and questioning the power dynamics underlying a social construction of taste. Research into vernacular semiotics shows the enhanced cultural richness resulting from people's agency in shaping the public spaces in which they live. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]