Multimodal Discourse Analysis

Abstract

Multimodal discourse analysis is an approach to discourse which focuses on how meaning is made through the use of multiple modes of communication as opposed to just language. The concept of “mode” in multimodal discourse analysis should not be confused with the concept of “modality” in grammar (which refers to the expression of possibility and obligation in language), or with the concept of “mode” in Halliday's tripartite model of context, in which mode refers to the “channel” of linguistic communication. Some scholars, while influenced by Halliday's work, developed methods of analysis that sharply diverged from both social semiotics and systemic functional analysis. Among the most notable has been the Genre and Multimodality framework (sometimes abbreviated GeM), developed chiefly by John Bateman. Another important tradition in multimodal discourse analysis has focused more on the analysis of face‐to‐face interaction, drawing its inspiration from work in sociology, anthropology, and psychiatry. More recent trends in multimodal discourse analysis are pushing scholars to consider more fully the complex ways different modes interact in communication, including how meanings change as they move across modes.