Browse Hierarchy LIN7059: Beyond Language: Multimodality in Theory and Practice

Comic books, computer games, playground interactions, and emoji-filled instant messages all highlight the fact that communication involves much more than language. Gestures, positioning in space, and forms of embodied communication carry meaning-making potential alongside spoken and written language. This module explores the interplay of language with other semiotic modes and contexts that play a role in meaning-making. Students analyse print media materials, electronic communication, and video-recorded interactions applying social semiotic, discourse analytic and multimodal interaction analytic perspectives. They also use the acquired knowledge creatively to construct effective multimodal material.