Multi Modal Discourse Analysis Essay Sample

Provided is an image from Siemens’ home page Duty for our children’s universe. which introduces the company’s Sustainability study from 2009. The place page image maps as an consciousness run. where the chief intent is to promote people to go ( more ) sustainable. The home page image illustrates a image of three small misss environing the “globe” . with their custodies and caputs placed around the Earth. Here the text of the run seeks to lucubrate on the image. with a headline stating “Responsibility for our children’s world” . In the image there is a nexus to a picture provided by Siemens. with the member of the Managing Board and Chief Sustainability Officer of Siemens AG Barbra Kux. In the picture she explains the content of Siemens sustainability adviser study and states the importance of acting in a sustainable manner in order to better the province of the universe. In add-on. she explicitly states three ends of Mhos: 1. Increase gross to 25 billion Euro. 2. Walk the talk and behave in a sustainable manner and 3. Stretch out to the universe and signifier confederations with cardinal sentiment leaders and cardinal participants in the country of sustainability.

The inquiry is so. if the run is effectual in their effort to raise consciousness about the challenges of the today’s universe in procuring the hereafter of the coevalss to come? The first portion of the analysis focuses on the ocular reading of the images. I will account for the conceptional. interpersonal and textual picks in both images. The ocular analysis will pull on the theories presented by Kress and Van Leeuwen ( 2006 ) . The 2nd portion of the paper concentrates on the textual analysis. here the constructs related to the conceptional. interpersonal and textual resources will be analysed. pulling on the theories from Halliday’s registry analysis. presented by Stillar ( 1998 ) .

Furthermore. parts of Burke’s rhetoric as an attack will be included in the analysis. supplementing the conceptional resource of Halliday’s registry analysis. The above assigned textual analysis will be set in relation to the overall communicative end of the run. Finally. based on the ocular and textual analytical determination. I will account for societal and dianoetic patterns as multimodally expressed. I will do usage of Fairclough’s ( 1989 ) theory of discourse as a societal pattern every bit good as Kress and Van Leeuwan’s ( 2001 ) impressions on multimodal communicating. in order to debate both the ocular and textual facets in a societal content. hereby seting the chief findings of the analysis into a broader context.

Ocular Analysis
When taking to place and analyze the participants. the procedures and the fortunes in images. we look at the conceptional picks of an image. The conceptional picks are ways of stand foring the universe. The intent of this portion of the analysis is how it is done and why ( Kress and Van Leeuwen. 1996:42 ) Narrative procedures serve to present actions. In the image “Responsibility of our children’s world” . there are two narrative procedures. The most of import one is the action procedure. where we see an illustration of a unitransactional action procedure. in which a vector ( the three small misss custodies ) emanates from the three participants. in a protecting mode around the illustration of the Earth. The three represented participants become histrions and the Earth becomes the end. portraying how the gestures of the kids serve to protect the Earth. A 2nd procedure is to be found in the image ; observing the composing of the participant’s bodies one could reason that the image contains a non-transactional reaction procedure. since the regard of the participants does non indicate at any other participant. but stares outside the image at something which is non visually accessible to viewing audiences ( the regard of the kids will be farther elaborated on in the subdivision of interpersonal map ) . A conceptual construction is found in the image ; a classificational covert taxonomy.

The conceptual procedures represent participants in footings of their category. construction or significance. The classificational constructions relate participants more specifically to each other in footings of the same category as in a taxonomy ( Kress and Van Leeuwen. 1998:79 ) . The three small misss belong to the same category. looked upon as kids. One could reason that the participant on the left side of the image. the kid with the pink vesture is the superior. due to the composing of her organic structure. and the two staying participants are the subsidiary. The 4th and concluding procedure found in the image is the symbolic 1. The vesture of the three misss and the background. the illustration of a school stetting ( the coats. the jammed tiffins in the cabinets ) contain symbolic value. as they construct the individuality of misss ; representing the artlessness and purity of kids.

Therefore. these points map as symbolic properties and the presenting kids as the bearers of the properties. The relation between these procedures. nowadays from the assorted analysis’ in the image. embedded in one another. organize a strong. multidimensional construction ( Kress and Van Leeuwen. 1998:109 ) . The general message being that the kids represented in the image are the 1s functioning to protect the unprotected and vulnerable planet ( vulnerable because of the manner the planet is explored in the image ) . this is farther emphasized by the square image on the left side of the home page. The image portrays the Chief of the Siemens sustainability. Barbara Kux. Although. she. as a front figure for Siemens. is trying to raise consciousness about the unsafe in connexion with planetary heating. is non the 1 that is left with a damaged Earth created by the old coevalss ( i. e. Kux’s coevals ) .

The interpersonal metafunction histories for the dealingss between the delineated participants and the synergistic spectator ( Kress and Van Leeuwen. 1998:114 ) . In the Responsibility for our children’s universe run we take a expression at this interaction. First we look at the contact between the delineated participants and the spectator. The three participants in the image set up contact with the spectator through their regard – this suggests that we are covering with a demand image – where the participant is turn toing the spectator straight. This is farther strengthened by the panic exposure on the right side of the image. where the Chief for the sustainability office in Siemens is portrayed. This besides proposes that the image is demanding something from its spectator. If we examine the facial looks of the kids. we notice an guiltless smiling. the impression of artlessness is farther reinforced by the organic structure linguistic communication of particularly the kid on the left. with her custodies placed up against her face. tilting on the “globe” .

In that sense she is depending on the grownups of the Earth to protect her. and yet she. along with the other kids environing the “globe” . are the one time literarily and visually expressed. protecting the universe. There is a 2nd dimension to the synergistic significances of images which is applicable to the image. This dimension is related to the “size of frame” which once more is related to the pick of societal distance. In this image we see that image is taken from a long-shot where the three kids occupy more than half the frame. proposing that the focal point should be placed there – on the kids of our universe. Harmonizing to Kress and Van Leeuwen “social dealingss determine the distance ( litterarly and figuratively ) we keep from one another” ( Kress and Van Leeuwen. 1998:124 ) . this suggests that the distance between the kids is “close personal distance” . this besides proposes that they are in the same boat. their kids depending on the grownups to better the province of the universe their turning up in.

The pick of distance. nevertheless. besides suggests a relation between represented participants and viewing audiences ( Kress and Van Leeuwen. 1998:124 ) . here the distance is that of a “far personal distance” . This proposes that something is incorrect ; the spectator is distancing himself/herself from the kids and the universe. The kids are. however. demanding from the spectator to take duty. This is further stressed by the pick of position in the image. the image is subjective. proposing that we see the universe from the children’s point of position. The kids are in the image. from the frontal battle of the face stating “what you see is a portion of our world” ( Kress and Van Leeuwen. 1998:136 ) . The kids are in that sense demanding the spectator to acquire involved and be cognizant of the fact that we have a vulnerable Earth. in demand of protection and attention. Modality in relation to images refers to the dependability of the image ( Kress and Van Leeuwen. 1998:154 ) . In general this image has a high degree of mode. since the image appears realistic. Neither the colors. the deepness. the light nor is the brightness manipulated in any dramatic manner. which suggests that there is a high world value in the image. This is a calculated pick as the run wishes to raise consciousness and portray the world of the universe.

The textual metafunction consists of elements which make the images coherent and establishes the text as a whole ( Kress and Van Leeuwen. 1996:176 ) . We are. therefore. analysing the image in relation to the text as a whole. The Siemens home page is structured along the horizontal axis. where the left side of the run. the text maps as “given” . and the right side as the “new” . The text is presented as something the spectator is already familiar with ; we know we are responsible for our children’s universe and we are cognizant of the fact that the universe is in danger because of planetary heating. However. the new ; the right side of the run ( the kids and the Earth ) . is the most outstanding portion. as it is the most attention-getting component. due to the size of the Earth with the kids around it. Hence. we are drawn to the left side of the run. portraying the artlessness of kids and their protecting gestures. environing the Earth. Therefore. appealing to the viewer’s emotion. which strategically is a good move. when wishing to raise consciousness about a planetary issue. because people tend to be emotionally driven. This. therefore. suggests that the spectator must pay attending to the fact that we need to protect our planet in order to take duty for our kids. by doing an attempt and behaving in a sustainable manner.

Furthermore. there is an absence of bordering between the text and the image of the kids and the Earth. these two elements are visually joined. This suggests that the text and the image map as “a individual unit of information” ( Kress and Van Leeuwen. 2006:204 ) . what is linguistically articulated in the text ( kids holding a good thought of what the universe should look like ) is visually expressed in the image. as the kids are moving on their ideas of the universe and protecting the Earth. We do. nevertheless. non hold to look closer to detect that there are paths of bordering devices in the image. Looking at the left side of the home page. we notice a square exposure of the interpreter of Siemens ; Chief and member of the pull offing board of sustainability.

Her image is framed. disconnected from the remainder of the page by white lines of the square. Harmonizing to Kress and Van Leeuwen ( 2006 ) “the stronger the frame of an component. the more it is presented as a spate unit of information” . this suggests that there Siemens ab initio has a concealed docket. They portray the guiltless faces of kids around the Earth and seting stress on the headline of the home page “responsibility for our children’s world” . However. Siemens figure one end ( Increasing gross to 25 billion Euro. States in the debut ) does non match with what is portrayed in their home page. Since the younger coevalss are the hereafter of our universe. should the figure one end non be to protect the universe in order to procure the hereafter of our kids and the universe they live in.

Textual Analysis
The overall communicative end of the text is to raise consciousness and promote people to act in a sustainable manner. Following Halliday’s registry of the three general resources I intend to analyze the text which is a portion of Siemens home page. I intend to use parts of Burke’s rhetoric in the conceptional resource. supplementing Halliday’s theories. Burke’s ratios are concerned with the relation between footings. and speak of ratios and substance. Different scenes. agents. bureau and intents will move and together with this act make a substance. Harmonizing to Stillar. “the conceptional map concern language’s resources for building content” ( Stiller. 1998:20 ) . we are. therefore. meaning to happen out what the text is approximately. First. we consider the constructions and procedure types as a portion of the conceptional resource. Unsurprisingly. there are several relational procedure types. denoted by verbs with a signifier of “to be” ; “Children frequently have a reasonably good thought of ( … ) ” is an illustration of a relational construction of ownership emphasized by the verb have. which gives substance to the manner the kids think. therefore. set uping kids as philosophers. “it should be “green”” and “these are the challenges we are meeting” are besides illustrations of relational constructions of designation ; the kids are placing what the universe should look like in their sentiment.

And Siemens is corroborating that what the kids are suggesting the universe should wish. These relational procedure have a expositive value as they expose and explain by placing the challenges of today’s caused by planetary heating. This contributes to the communicative end of the home page as rises awareness and increases credibleness of the text and helps the reader addition a wider position in connexion to planetary heating by using the ideas of kids in the text. Second. we take a expression at the circumstantial functions in relation to the conceptional resources. Fortunes of mode are found in the text. introduced by the adjunct with. through illustrations such as: “with clean water” . “ ( … ) flooded with light” and “ ( … ) with our advanced merchandises ( … ) ” . These fortunes indicate the mode in which Siemens tend to travel about the job ( “we are run intoing our invention with merchandises and solutions” ) .

Furthermore. “Join us on a journey” is an illustration of an agent: act. where us is the agent and the act is to fall in. Another agent: act illustration goes as follow: “we are meeting” here the agent is we and meeting is the act. This illustrates that Siemens is armed and ready to run into the challenges and battle against planetary heating. Therefore. stressing that they have the tools to better the provinces of the universe. in that sense advancing their concern. Third. we look at the clip frame and position. The text consists of verbs in the present simple tense. This is illustrated in the undermentioned illustration: “Children frequently have” . “these are the challenges we are meeting” and “ ( … ) discover outstanding sustainability projects” .

The present simple tense is used to exemplify to the reader that the job is go oning now. instead than in the yesteryear or the hereafter. Hence. the position is ongoing. this position is used in the text to stress that the job has to be dealt with right off. as planetary heating is impacting and damaging the universe we live as we speak. This farther supports and reinforces the importance of the communicative end. by saying the relevancy for the reader and pulling the readers’ involvement. Finally. in relation to concept taxonomies hyponomy is found. here the coloring material viridity. the clear H2O and the fast trains map as subclasses to the category sustainability. Additionally. the more abstract meronomy is present in the text. duty is a portion of the whole thought of kids. These two go manus in manus. This make the reader connote the subclasses of sustainability with what it would intend to procure the hereafter of our planet universe and take duty of our kids. This contributes to the overall communicative end as Siemens manages to put things in position for the reader ; to set kids on Earth agencies taking duty for them. and the manner to make this is by acting in a sustainable manner.

The interpersonal map of linguistic communication focal points on what function the linguistic communication plays in interaction ( Stillar. 1998:32 ) . Hence. we are concerned with the relationship between the transmitter and receiving system ; how the transmitter places himself in relation to the receiving system and how the reader is positioned. Additionally. sentence constructions are speech maps are included. The text of the home page expectedly makes usage of preponderantly declaratives sentence: “Children frequently have a reasonably good thought of what the universe should look like: it should be “green” . with clean H2O. fast trains. and flooded with light” . here the transmitter ( Siemens ) presents the statements as something factional and thereby imposes authorization on the reader. by delegating kids as experts on how the universe should look like. Siemens place themselves as knowing on the topic. because the execution of children’s ideas is covertly Siemens ain. Therefore. this address map has a positional intent as the statements assigned above indicate Siemens ideas on how the universe ought to look like.

The text besides makes usage of jussive moods in the signifier of a “induce action” sentence with a relational map ; “Join us on a journey ( … ) ” . here Siemens utilizations speech map of bid. by telling the reader to fall in them and better the province of the universe. Thus. addresses the reader straight and making a personal text. by giving the reader a feeling of engagement with the transmitter. Modality is expressed by modal verbs. two illustrations of these is found in the text: “ ( … ) what the universe should look like: it should be “green”” here the modal should is pass oning duty. In this instance it is the people of the universe that are obligated to protect and take duty for the Earth. The modal verb besides indicates that something is non yet as it should be. The universe should be green – significance that it is non.

This contributes to the communicative end of the home page by farther accenting that the universe is in danger and that worlds are the one time to fault for the conditions of the universe. Finally. attitudinal lexis is a vocabulary for showing attitudes where adverbs. specific associating verbs and qualitative/emphasizing/classifying adjectives are chosen by the transmitter to place his attitude in the text. Examples of qualitative adjectives are found in text: green. clean. fast and outstanding these adjectives reveal a certain quality about the nouns they modify. These qualitative adjectives represent how Siemens positions a universe that is non threatened by planetary heating. An illustration of a sentence adjunct in the signifier of a vocative is every bit good used in the text. in that the transmitter has a naming for a specific group. viz. kids. Here the vocative performs an interpersonal map by delegating an addressee for the sentence ( “responsibility for our children’s world” ) and therefore aiming who we are responsible for ; the kids – the hereafter of our universe.

The overall communicative intent of the home page is to raise consciousness and promote people to act in a sustainable manner. The textual resources used in the home page contribute to carry through this purpose. Harmonizing to Stillar. “the textual resources are used to construction the flow of information. associate different parts of the text with another. and link the text with its context” ( Stillar. 1998:45 ) . Therefore. we are concerned with the composing of the text. the development of the text. the channel and the medium of the text and how coherence is created in the text as a whole. The home page emanates from the Siemens 2009 Sustainability study. Hence. the text is communicated through the written medium every bit good a bipartisan communicating channel. as there on the home page is a nexus in the bottom right corner promoting visitants to subscribe and affect. The sustainability study as a channel is possibly non the best pick of channel. as it most likely. will non catch the oculus the general populace. as it will stakeholders.

Though. debut of the home page might arise from an advertising/a run. this would be a better pick of channel. as it is more likely to be seen and read by the populace. Second. we look at how the textual resources in the text are used to make thematic patterned advance. The thematic construction in the text is build up around the usage of the active voice ; “these are the challenges we are meeting” and “ ( … ) discover outstanding” . Hence. these illustrations show the verb in the present tense marked by the active voice. connoting that the text is of personal character because it comes across as being less formal. As assigned in the tenor subdivision declaratory sentences dominated the text. from this we can find a several unmarked subjects. where the topic occurs in its initial place ; “Children of have” . “these are the” and “it should be “green”” .

The unmarked subject of kids is related to the collocation of duty. Therefore. the construct taxonomies assigned in the tenor portion of the analysis are related to thematic patterned advance used to make thematic coherence. Another construct taxonomy worth adverting is that of repeat. the average verb should is mentioned twice in the text ( “what the universe should look like: it should be ( … ) ” . the usage of repeat maps as a cohesive device as it relates two contexts ( the universe and what the universe should look like ) . Hence. the thematic development in the in the text serves to construction the messages of the text for the reader and make a logical coherency in the text. The usage of the linear concurrence “In essence” and the anaphoric mention “it should be “green”” farther strengthens the logical coherency in the text. by associating the concurrence and the mention to something antecedently written in the text. The cohesive devices and thematic constructions contribute to the communicative end of the text as it becomes easier for the reader to follow a peculiar reading form. in that manner the reader is able to concentrate on the message itself: Act responsibly and salvage the hereafter of the Earth.

Social and dianoetic pattern
Based on the ocular and textual analytical findings I now intend to account for societal and dianoetic patterns. as multimodally expressed. Harmonizing to Kress and Van Leeuwen multimodality is “the usage of several semiotic manners in the design of a semiotic merchandise or event. together with the peculiar manner in which these manners are combined – they may for case reinforce each other” ( Kress and Van Leeuwen. 2001:20 ) . As we have seen through the textual and ocular analysis the Siemens home page. operation as an consciousness run. has portrayed their message in such a manner that what is textually articulated in the text is visually expressed in the image – this is the construct of multimodality. Through the societal pattern of what it means to be child. we in the image and through the text come across several discourses. therefore incorporating elements of interdiscursivity. The home page draws on a discourse of sustainability. seemingly we are from. the children’s point of position. seeing how the universe should be ; it should be sustainable. safe and people should therefore move responsibly in other to better the province of the universe. In that connexion the home page besides draws on the discourse of duty.

In order secure the hereafter of the Earth and therefore. the hereafter of our kids. we need to move in on the job. Here Siemens implicitly provinces that they are moving on the planetary job of the universe ; they are raising consciousness and encouraging people to fall in them in the battle against planetary heating. Siemens farther expresses in the text that they have the tools to make merely to ; by the usage of what they claim to be advanced merchandises and solutions. In that sense another discourse emerges ; a gross revenues discourse. where Siemens through the usage of poignancy ( affectional entreaty ) . i. e. talking on behalf of the kids. manages to implicitly advance their company. In this manner discourses become rooted in one another and we notice how one discourse draws upon another discourse type ( Fairclough. 1989:31 ) and how “discourse types determine discourse pattern. reproduces discourse types” ( Fairclough. 1989:39 ) . Concepts. people. things. etc. are and will be read and interpreted otherwise in different. depending on the societal context ( Kress and Van Leeuwen. 2006: 192 ) . accordingly. people do run from different discourses when analysing multimodal texts as such.

Decision
The analysis above had assorted findings in relation to the Siemens home page. Among the most of import it was concluded in the conceptional metafuction that the procedures were embedded. The interpersonal map concluded that the images demanded from the spectator to take a stance and act in a sustainable manner. The textual metafunction concluded that the right side of the image. the new. is where people pay attending ( the Earth and the kids ) . The textual map further concluded that the unpluging framing of the scare image. portraying the Chief for the Siemens sustainability board. proposing that Siemens has a concealed docket ; the portraiture of the image does non react with Siemens figure one end ( from the sustainability study: increasing gross to 25 billion Euro ) States in the debut ) . The textual portion of the analysis stated that the communicative end of the text was to raise consciousness and promote people to act in a sustainable manner.

The conceptional resources concluded that the text through the usage of relational sentence constructions. fortunes concept taxonomies. clip and perspective the communicative end was achieved. as Siemens managed to put things in position for the reader ; to set kids on Earth agencies taking duty for them. and the manner to make so is by acting in a sustainable manner. The interpersonal resource of the analysis concluded that the sentence construction and temper of the text imposed authorization on the reader and that the pick of the average verb should say that we do non populate in a sustainable universe.

The textual resources concluded that the text through usage of assorted cohesive devices contributed to the communicative intent of the text as it became easier for the reader to follow a certain reading form. in that manner the reader was able to concentrate on the message itself: Act responsibly and salvage the hereafter of the Earth. Finally. based on the textual and ocular happening the analysis concluded that the home page is interdiscursive. as it draws on several discourse through societal patterns. The discourse of sustainability led to the discourse of duty. which farther led to a gross revenues discourse and pointed out how one discourse draws on other discourses. invariably reproducing discourse types. In decision. it can be stated that run is effectual in their effort to raise consciousness about the challenges of the today’s universe in procuring the hereafter of the coevalss to come.

Mentions

Fairclough. N. ( 1989 ) . Critical discourse analysis in pattern. Interpretation. explanantion and the place of the analyst. In N. Fairclough. Language and power ( pp. 141-168 ) . Longman.

Fairclough. N. ( 1989 ) . Discourse as societal pattern. Language and Power ( pp. 17-31 ) . Longman.

Kress. G. R. . & A ; Leeuwen. T. v. ( 2008 ) . Reading images: the grammar of ocular
desgin. New York: Routledge.

Kress. G. R. . & A ; Leeuwen. T. v. ( 2001 ) . Multimodal discourse: the manners and media of modern-day communicating. ( pp. 1-44 ) . Arnold

Stillar. G. F. ( 1998 ) . The resources of discourse analysis. Analyzing mundane texts. Discourse. rhetoric and societal position ( pp. 14-57 ) . Sage Publications.

Stillar. G. F. ( 1998 ) . The resources of Rhetorical analysis. Analyzing mundane texts. Discourse. rhetoric and societal position ( pp. 58-89 ) . Sage Publications.

Exam Number: 301786 Course: BaMMC 2nd Semester Exam rubric: Multimodal Discourse Analysis

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