PC Multimodality - Chapter 5

multimodal

the strategic use of two or more communication modes (e.g., images, gestures, music, spoken, and written language) to make meaning

Modes

abstract or nonmaterial means of making meaning

Media

material forms that realize the modes, such as computer screen, wall, clothing, paper, poem, a piece of wood, a photograph, and audio/video recording

Visual literacy

one’s ability to understand, interpret, and evaluate visual messages

Critical literacy

requires reading and filtering texts for certain agenda or learning purposes.

Multimodal literacy

comprehending varied means of knowledge representations and meaning-making

Semiotics

the study of signs and symbols and its use and interpretation

Iconic (Icon)

imitates, replicates, simulates, and resembles.

Examples: drawings of all kinds, diagrams, photos, onomatopoeic words e.g. buzz

Indexical

(Index)

points or relates to or indicates implicitly or explicitly.

Examples: the sight of smoke indicating fire; the dark clouds in the sky are a sign of impending rain; a person waving his or her hand is saying hello

Symbolic

(Symbol)

Does not resemble what it means in its form but by convention or agree

Examples: social symbols (rose, flags, etc.), language in general (letters, words punctuations), math symbols

Denotation

definitional, literal, descriptive identification of a sign

E.g.  Dog - an animal with four legs that barks

Connotation

socio-cultural and personal associations (ideological, emotional, etc.) of the sign typically related to the interpreter’s class, age, gender, ethnicity, and so on

Example: Dog - human’s best friend; loyal but may be dangerous for it bites

Ideology

a system of ideas or ideals, set of opinions, particular worldview, beliefs of groups or individuals, class, or culture, such as communism, capitalism, feminism, and conservatism

Example: The Hammer and Sickle is the international symbol of the communist movement.

Rhetorical trope

figurative language, such as simile, metaphor, irony, found in linguistic signs

Intertextuality

allusions or references of the signs to texts from other sources, such as existing stories and characters in books found in films.

E.g. Achilles heel