Lorenzo Logi, Michele Zappavigna

GIFs as Social Media Paralanguage

Introduction

Gifs as social media paralanguage. How do GIFs make meaning in social media? This study on X (Twitter) posts reveals GIFs as paralanguage, interacting with language, cultural knowledge, and textual references.

Abstract

The central aim of this article is to explore how GIFs interact with language to make meaning in social media posts, comparing their intermodal semiosis to that of emoji and other graphiconic resources in terms of their meaning potential and the typical patterning of their convergence with linguistic meanings. To achieve this, a dataset of 100 posts containing GIFs sourced from the X (formerly Twitter) social media platform was analysed using social semiotic multimodal discourse analysis. The results indicate that GIFs can realise most, but not all, of the intermodal semiotic dynamics described for emoji-language semiosis, and that further to these, GIFs realise meaning via references to shared cultural knowledge, paralleling discourse semantic meaning in written co- text, and forging inter- and intratextual references.

Review

This article presents a timely and highly relevant exploration into the increasingly pervasive role of GIFs in contemporary digital communication. The central aim, to investigate how GIFs interact with language to create meaning in social media, is clearly articulated and addresses a significant gap in the literature concerning multimodal semiosis. By framing GIFs as a form of "social media paralanguage," the study positions itself to make a substantial contribution to our understanding of the complexities of online interaction, particularly within the domain of social semiotics and multimodal discourse analysis. The research promises to enrich scholarly discussions on non-verbal and graphiconic resources that shape meaning-making in digital spaces. The methodology employed, utilizing a dataset of 100 posts containing GIFs from X (formerly Twitter) and analysed through social semiotic multimodal discourse analysis, appears robust and appropriate for the research question. A key strength lies in its comparative approach, situating GIF semiosis in relation to established understandings of emoji and other graphiconic resources. The findings reveal compelling insights: GIFs largely mirror the intermodal semiotic dynamics observed in emoji-language interactions, but crucially extend these capabilities. The article highlights that GIFs derive meaning significantly from references to shared cultural knowledge, thereby functioning similarly to discourse semantic meaning in written co-text, and effectively forging intricate inter- and intratextual references. This distinction underscores a more complex and layered meaning potential for GIFs compared to simpler graphiconic elements. The strength of this work lies in its rigorous analytical approach and the novel insights it provides into the specific mechanisms by which GIFs contribute to online meaning-making. By elucidating the role of shared cultural knowledge and textual referencing, the study offers a nuanced framework for understanding GIFs not merely as embellishments but as integral components of digital communication that actively shape and enrich discourse. This research has significant implications for fields such as linguistics, communication studies, and digital humanities, offering a more complete picture of how meaning is constructed in multimodal environments. It sets a strong foundation for future research to further explore the socio-cultural specificities of GIF usage across different communities and platforms, and to delve deeper into the cognitive processes involved in their interpretation.

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