CONTEXT, GENRE AND MULTIMODALITY: AN ANALYSIS OF AN ON-LINE NEWS ARTICLE CONTEXTO, GNERO E MULTIMODALIDADE: UMA ANLISE DE UM ARTIGO JORNALSTICO

ON-LINE Jos Luiz Meurer Fernanda Ramos Machado

ABSTRACT Drawing on systemic functional linguistics this paper analyses verbal and visual aspects of a multimodal on-line news article in relation to context, genre and multimodality. The discussion of the verbal aspects focuses on the context of situation regarding field, tenor and mode, and on the context of culture regarding the schematic structure of the news article. As for multimodality, the focus is on the integration of visual elements in terms of representational, interactive and compositional meanings. The discussion attempts to contribute to the understanding of multimodal texts from a social semiotic perspective. KEY WORDS Systemic functional linguistics, context, genre, multimodality RESUMO Partindo da lingustica sistmico-funcional este trabalho analisa aspectos verbais e visuais de um artigo multimodal de jornal eletrnico no que diz respeito ao contexto, gnero e multimodalidade. A discusso dos aspectos verbais se concentra no contexto da situao em termos de campo, relaes e modo, e no contexto da cultura focaliza a estrutura esquemtica do artigo de jornal. Quanto multimodalidade, o foco a integrao de elementos visuais no que se refere aos significados representacionais, interativos e composicionais. A discusso procura contribuir para a compreenso de textos multimodais de uma perspectiva da semitica social. PALAVRAS-CHAVE Lingustica sistmico-funcional, contexto, gnero textual, multimodalidade

1. Introduction Language, through a social semiotic perspective, is recognized as one perhaps the most important, and certainly the most inherently human aspect of communication, a system made up of sets of meaning which are related to real-life existence (HALLIDAY & HASAN, 1989). In this sense, a Systemic Functional Linguistic approach to language tries to explain how language is used and how it is structured to make meanings (EGGINS, 2004). The purpose of the paper is to discuss how visual and textual elements of a multimodal text help in the construction of the genre of the text and how the genre relates to context. In doing so, we use the Systemic Functional Linguistic approach in the analysis of both the verbal and the visual parts of a multimodal text.

The paper is organized as follows. Firstly, the theoretical framework is presented. Then the multimodal text selected for the present paper is introduced, followed by its analysis and discussion. Lastly, some final remarks are made.

2. Theoretical framework

In the Systemic Functional Linguistic (SFL) approach, language is viewed as a strategic, meaning-making resource (EGGINS, 2004; p. 2). According to Eggins (2004), based on the M.A.K. Hallidays work developed in the last 35 years (for instance, HALLIDAY & MATTHIESSEN, 2004), language is functional (people use language with a purpose), semantic (the purpose is to make meaning and socially interact with other people), contextual (social interaction influences and is influenced by the context in which it is inserted), and semiotic (meaning making by choice). In this line of thought, SFL tries to explain how people use language in authentic situations and how language is structured to construe different meanings. Firstly, language is used by people so they can make sense of their experiences, and be engaged in social interactions with other people in a meaningexchange sort of relationship. So the main function of language is that of meaning making, in other words, a semantic one. Secondly, language is structured to make three different kinds of meanings simultaneously: ideational, interpersonal and textual meanings. The first one, the ideational meaning, relates to how people represent in language their experiences in the world. The second one, interpersonal meaning, is about how people position themselves and other people in the world; it relates to the relationship between writer/speaker and reader/listener, as well as to the writer/speakers commitment (for instance, degree of certainty) towards the subject in question. The last one, textual meaning, relates to the way peoples ideational and interpersonal meanings are organized or structured into a coherent piece of text or discourse (EGGINS, 2004; BUTT et all, 2001). These three meanings are mingled together and expressed all at the same time in linguistic units, that is, during peoples discourse. If people fail to understand one or more of these three meanings conveyed by a text (written or spoken), then it is probable that they will have problems in social life caused by misunderstandings during interaction (HALLIDAY & MATTHIESSEN, 2004; EGGINS, 2004). This simultaneous use of the three meanings by language is possible because language is a semiotic system. Eggins (1994), based on Saussure (1959), defines semiotic systems as arbitrary social conventions by which it is

conventionally agreed that a particular meaning will be realized by a particular representation (p.15). She also claims that many aspects of human life (professional, familiar, social, etc) has been guided by semiotic systems, in the sense that people take as rule or absolute truth the meanings created through culturally established conventions for a particular representation, as for instance the meaning created for using certain types of clothing in certain occasions and places, or the type of formal or informal speech one should use to address certain people (it has probably not always been like this). The author goes on saying that language is the most elaborated semiotic system because it is involved in a constant process of making meaningful choices, as in a conversation (or text), for instance, in which the interlocutor (or writer) gets involved in making decisions concerning which words to use to express his attitudes towards the subject matter, as well as express exactly what he wants the other person (listener, reader) to know. A text and all its strands of meanings (mentioned above) is always inserted in two contexts, the context of culture and the context of situation (the latter being within the former), and in order to understand why a text means this or that it is necessary that both contexts be taken into account (BUTT ET ALL, 2001; EGGINS, 2004). The context of culture relates to all the possible meanings that can exist in a given culture, that is, the context of culture gives purpose and meaning to all recognizable social activity, and through the social activity helps us determine which genre of text is being used. So, in Eggins (2004) words, [w]hen we describe the staged, structured way in which people go about achieving goals using language we are describing genre (p. 30). Genre gives purpose and meaning to social interactions and can also adjust to the context of situation it might be used in. In addition, genres are characterized by the schematic structures they follow, that is, a particular genre can be recognized as such according to how the stages and the step-by-step organization used by the speaker/writer to linguistically achieve a goal (EGGINS, 2004). In genre analysis, these stages used to achieve the goal are given a label according to their functions, as for example, the genre of transaction can have as functional labels: sales initiation sales request price sales clarification purchase payment thanks. Besides the context of culture, speakers or writers use language in more specific contexts within the very context of culture, and this more specific context is called context of situation, which is a useful term to cover things going on in the world outside the text that make the text what it is (BUTT ET ALL, 2001, p. 4). The context of situation is related to language through the concept of register which is a given configuration of language choices that are appropriate for a certain context and it is formed by three dimensions, namely field,

tenor and mode. The first is related to what has been (or is to be) spoken or written about; the second is related to the relationship between the identities involved in the social interaction, and it includes role relations of power; and the third relates to how language is used to communicate or the channel used to communicate. The notions of context of culture and context of situation, make it easier to understand the interrelations between language and context. Language and context interrelate in the sense that it is possible to deduce context from text, while it is also possible to predict language from context. Furthermore, it is only possible to mention how people use language according to the context of language use (EGGINS, 2004). Therefore, it can be said that language is both socially shaped and constitutive, which means that the repetitive use of language maintains social conventions and that it is through the use of language that social changes can occur (MEURER, 2004; HEBERLE, 1997). So far the discussion has been around the SFL approach to language, be it written or spoken. The attention is now turned to the issue of multimodality and visual literacy. According to Christie (2005), multimodality refers to more than one mode of communication being used simultaneously in a text with its meaning being built not only verbally, but also through visual images and sometimes through sounds. She argues that multimodality has been taking place since early signs of communication, when drawings or paintings used to be made on walls for people to communicate their ideas. Nowadays, with so many rapid and continuous technological advances taking place, multimodal texts have become increasingly common for any user of information and communication technology (ICT) and computer mediated communication (CMC). Together with the advances in technology came new ways of making meaning with multimodal texts, and for this reason linguists started to respond to this new trend in meaning making with new forms of literacy that involved both language and visual images, i.e., multiliteracy. Multiliteracy focuses on the various modes of representation, embracing different modes of meaning making rather than only language (written texts or oral discourse), in order to empower students with the necessary skills to critically and comprehensively read multimodal texts (CHRISTIE, 2005). For it to become possible, though, literacy practices require that teachers themselves learn about the challenges and complexities of reading multimodal texts and provide their students with the necessary knowledge and opportunities to develop skills to build meaning from such texts. Analogously to Christie (2005), Unsworth (2001) alerts that the facility with which one can handle and manipulate images and texts with the aid of ICT tools has evidenced the importance of visual literacy for reading multimodal

texts. The author laments, however, that a lot of work still remains to be done in the field of education to provide students with the necessary tools to actively participate in the society of the information age. Unsworth (2001) argues that the same way as a systemic linguistic approach to language can help one to analyze and explain how meanings are created in regular social interactions, a systemic functional approach to images can equally help one to analyze and explain how meanings are created in images. He claims that a systemic functional approach to images can be especially useful in facilitating the teaching and learning of visual literacy. In relating the functional descriptions of visual and verbal grammar, Unsworth (2001) follows Kress and van Leeuwen (1996) in their adaptation of SFL to the analysis of images, and recognizes that just as language is structured to make three different kinds of meanings simultaneously (ideational, interpersonal and textual meanings), so are images. The three meanings made by images are: representational, interactive and compositional. The first one, representational meaning, relates to the subjects, the event and the circumstances which take place in images. According to Kress and van Leeuwen (1996), there are two types of images: conceptual and narrative. The first one refers to images that organize the participants into categories. The second one, narrative images, refer to action or reaction. Actions and reactions are indicated by vectors, which are formed following the direction of participants bodies and/or glance. When the process is an action, participants are called Actor (who is acting) and Goal (who is receiving the action). When the process is a reaction, participants are called Reactor (the one who reacts) and Phenomenon (the object being reacted to or receiving the reaction). The second meaning conveyed by images is the interactive meaning and it refers to the relationship between viewer and the participants in the image. There are two types of relationships that can be established between the viewer and the image: demand and offer. An image is called a demand when its participant makes eye-contact with the viewer. In cases like this, the viewers attention directly turns to the participant looking at him, and he establishes an imaginary interactive relationship with the participant. On the other hand, an image is called an offer when the participant is looking somewhere else. In this case the relationship established between viewer and participant is impersonal and of contemplation. Images can also convey meanings regarding viewer and participant social relation through the types of shot: a long shot realizes a more formal and distant relationship with the viewer; a medium shot realizes a closer relationship, but still not intimate; and close-ups are shots that realize a more informal, closer and intimate relationship with the viewer. Meanings

concerning power relation between viewer and participant are conveyed through the perspective of the image: if the participant in the image is seen from a high angle by the viewer, it implies the viewer has power over him; if the participant is seen from a low angle by the viewer, then that participant in the image has the power; if the image has eye level angle, the relation between participant and viewer is of equality (STENGLIN & IEDEMA, 2001; UNSWORTH, 2001; VAN LEEUWEN, 2005). The last type of meaning, the compositional, refers to the information values of the elements in the image. According to Stenglin and Iedema (2001, citing KRESS & VAN LEEUWEN, 1996), the choices made by the image maker to place elements in the left or right, top or bottom, all have meanings. In the Western culture, people read from left to write, and for this reason what comes in the left side refers to things we are familiar with (called the given) and what comes on the right side refers to new visual information (called the new). Concerning the structural characteristic of top and bottom, the former refers to more abstract conceptual information about something (called ideal), and the latter refers to a more concrete information of something (called real). Besides given, new, ideal and real, another issue concerning compositional meaning is that of framing. Elements of an image can be strongly framed (elements are disconnected from one another) or weakly framed (elements are connected to one another). When an element is strongly framed, it conveys the idea of being an independent piece of information. On the other hand, when an element is weakly framed, it conveys the idea that elements in the image are part of same piece of information, one completing the other. As a final point, the interactive characteristic of images has for a long time been overlooked as most studies have treated them as mere representations, when in fact, just like languages, images are also used to do things to or for or with people: persuade, instruct, explain and so son (VAN LEEUWEN, 2005, p.120). In multimodal texts, images and texts are not two independent elements. Instead, verbal and visual elements are blended together to convey meanings. The meanings they make, taken all together, constitute the culture in which they are inserted, and when these meanings are organized in a certain schematic structure, they characterize a certain genre. Just as language and context interrelate in the sense that it is possible to deduce context from text and it is possible to predict text from context; so it happens with images. By looking at an image (with or without linguistic features) one can deduce the context where the image occurs, as it would be possible to predict/imagine an image from a given context. Images are culturally specific: in order to understand the meanings conveyed by an image, it is necessary to understand the context in which it is

inserted. The meanings that images convey are socially constructed based on the semiotic resources specific to that culture. Just as language, images are also structured to make meanings. In the next sections, the data selected for this paper is presented, followed by its analysis.

3. Data to be analyzed

The data below were selected for being representative of the genre to be analyzed, and were retrieved from a widely known news website, BBC News. The picture at the top of the page (Fig. 1) was the one that appeared first when accessing the news website, together with the headline of the news Bush says Iran remains a threat (in purple), which is a link that leads the reader to the full version of the article, as presented in Figure 2. We decided to include both multimodal texts because they belong together, in the sense that the first one (Fig. 1; the heading) is a necessary step to get to the second (Fig. 2; full article). In addition, the initial position of Figure 1 (on the left) and the text (on the right) has a particular meaning (as will be discussed in the next section); and in Figure 2 we would be able to discuss the structural schemata of the genre in question in more detail.

Figure 1

Bush says Iran remains a threat

Iran remains a threat despite intelligence saying it may not be building nuclear weapons, the US president says.

Figure 2

Bush says Iran remains a threat

Iran remains a threat to the world despite new intelligence saying the country may not be building nuclear weapons, the US president says.

Mr Bush said the report released on Monday was a "warning signal" and his view that a nuclear Iran would be a danger "hasn't changed". The president stressed that Iran was still trying to enrich uranium and could restart its weapons programme. Tehran has denied continued accusations that it is developing nuclear weapons. Mr Bush said the new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) was "an opportunity for us to rally the international community" to pressure the Iranian regime to suspend its efforts to enrich uranium a key part of the process in making a nuclear bomb. "I view this report as a warning signal that they had the programme, they halted the programme," Mr Bush told a news conference. "The reason why it's a warning signal is they could restart it. "Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous and Iran will be dangerous if they have the know-how to make a nuclear weapon," Mr Bush said. Democratic presidential hopefuls, gathered for a debate in Iowa, condemned President Bush's reaction to the report. "I vehemently disagree... that nothing has changed and therefore nothing in American policy has to change," said Senator Hillary Clinton. The president should "seize this opportunity" and engage in "serious diplomacy", she said. Rival contender Senator Barack Obama said that Mr Bush "will not let facts get in the way of his ideology... and that's been the problem with their [the Republicans] foreign policy generally." The Democrats had earlier called for a rethink of US policy regarding Iran, in response to the report.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7127198.stm (December 4, 2007)

4. Analysis of data and discussion

The verbal analysis of the text will be firstly presented, followed by the analysis of the visual elements. Although they are being analyzed separately for practical reasons, in a multimodal text verbal and visual elements are not independent from each the other, but they jointly convey meaning. Therefore, it is important to learn how texts through their verbal structures and images together help in the construction of the stages that characterize a given genre.

4.1. Analysis of the verbal elements As mentioned previously in the theoretical framework, a text and the meanings it carries (ideational, interpersonal and textual) is always inserted in a context of culture and in a context of situation, and in order to fully understand why a text means what it does it is necessary that both contexts be considered. The context of situation will be considered first. It refers to the immediate social situation taking place, and is related to language through the concept of register which is

formed by the three previously mentioned dimensions: field, tenor and mode. In this sense, the context of situation related to the text being analysed is described in the table below.

Field Tenor

Mode

Presidents Bush response in a news conference to a report that Iran had ceased developing nuclear weapons. It also includes senators Hillary Clintons and Barack Obamas opinions concerning Bushs reaction to the report. The identities involved are the journalists who wrote the news article and any person who understands English and is interested in politics and wants to be informed about what is going on in other countries. The type of language used by the journalist of the news article is impersonal, neutral and formal, and it aims at offering to the reader a text that is not biased with other opinions, so the reader can draw his/her own conclusions about the article. This type of language also aims at showing the companys (BBC) seriousness in relation to the service it provides (news) to the public. The channel used is written language (formal style) and visual language (picture) through the internet.

All immediate social situations, such as that described above, belong to a context of culture, and the context of culture offers us elements to determine the genre of text in use: (a) the purpose of the text (b) a public to whom it is addressed, and (c) a certain schematic structure. The chosen text is an on-line news article whose purpose is to present Bushs response to a report on Irans ceasing to develop nuclear weapons and two famous senators opinions about Bushs reaction. Regarding its schematic structure, i.e., how the functional stages used by the writer to linguistically achieve the goals of the genre, the text can be subdivided and labelled as follows:

Text
Bush says Iran remains a threat Iran remains a threat to the world despite new intelligence saying the country may not be building nuclear weapons, the US president says Tehran has denied continued accusations that it is developing nuclear weapons. "I view this report as a warning signal that they had the programme, they halted the programme," Mr Bush told a news conference. "The reason why it's a warning signal is they could restart it. "Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous and Iran will be dangerous if they have the know-how to make a nuclear weapon," Mr Bush said. Democratic presidential hopefuls, gathered for a debate in

Functional label
Providing general statement about the subject Introducing specific information about the subject Presenting counter evidence

Offering sample of discourse from participant 1 (Bush)

Offering further information

Iowa, condemned President Bush's reaction to the report. "I vehemently disagree... that nothing has changed and therefore nothing in American policy has to change," said Senator Hillary Clinton. The president should "seize this opportunity" and engage in "serious diplomacy", she said. Rival contender Senator Barack Obama said that Mr Bush "will not let facts get in the way of his ideology... and that's been the problem with their [the Republicans] foreign policy generally."

Offering sample of discourse from participant 2 (H. Clinton)

Offering sample of discourse from participant 3 (B. Obama)

Through this schematic structure the on-line news article selected for this paper shows that it is organized as a kind of a discussion (Butt et al, 2001) of the general statement: Bush says Iran remains a threat. Nevertheless, because it is a news report and not an actual discussion to solve the issue no attempt is made to solve the two sides of the question, i.e., whether Iran does or does not remain a threat. We acknowledge that the schematic structure presented above cannot be generalized to all on-line news articles, but those structures seem to be recurrent in news articles published on the Internet.

4.2. Analysis of the visual elements Just as verbal language, images are structured to make meanings as well. It is important to understand the meanings the visual element (Figure 1) selected for this text can convey to better understand how these meanings, together with its verbal part are organized by the writer to define the genre of the multimodal text. The meanings that Figure 1 makes are representational, interactive and compositional, as presented below:

Representational meaning: The image being analyzed is a narrative image, and it is classified as such because it conveys the idea of action as indicated by the vector formed following the direction of Bushs right hand and glance. The image clearly conveys a sense of movement: Bushs right arm is relatively up, he is pointing somewhere, his mouth is half open (he was saying something at the moment the picture was taken) and his eyes are looking at something or someone (probably the journalists). It is possible to state as well that this image is a non-transactional action, as only the actor (Bush) appears in the figure. However, the goal (even though not shown in the image) exists and is represented by the journalists the actor is probably looking at.

Interactive meaning: The type of relationship being established by the image between Bush and us is that of offer. Bush is not looking straight to our eyes, he is rather looking at a probable audience of journalists that are placed right in front of him in the news conference. We do not enact any close type of relationship with Bush. On the contrary, the relationship established is fairly impersonal. Images can also convey meanings regarding viewer and participant social relation through the types of shot. Being the president of United States of America at the time the article was written, Bush was a widely known political figure. He used to appear on television, magazines and newspaper covers nearly everyday and thus the public has already developed a favorable or unfavorable close social relation with him. For this reason, the shot type chosen for the image being analyzed is a close-up (showing Bushs shoulders and head): it establishes a more informal, closer and intimate relationship with the viewer. Another interesting meaning conveyed by the image is that of power relation. Even though our relationship with Bushs image is close and impersonal, he still holds the power in relation to us, and this power is realized by the perspective of the image. In this specific case, we (the viewers) see Bush from a low angle, which means that Bush is placed in a higher level. Bushs image is depicted this way because of his social position as the then president of the most powerful country in the world.

Compositional meaning: The image chosen to be analyzed according to its compositional meaning is Bushs picture in Figure 1. The reason for choosing this one instead of the one on the right side is that it seems to be the first one readers would have access to in the newspaper website. As discussed previously in Section 2, the positions of the elements of an image also convey meanings. The picture in Figure 1 is positioned on the top left hand corner of the frame and the text is positioned next to it on the right. The journalists purpose for placing the visual and textual elements like that is in accordance with the Western culture way of reading, from left to right, and readers tend to give more attention to what comes in the right position. So, what is placed on the left hand side is the given. Bush is the given element because as he is well-known throughout the world: readers do not need to pay too much attention to his picture. Even if there were no picture of him, just by reading his name everyone would be able to imagine his figure. The text, in turn, is placed on the right hand side of the frame and is considered to be the new information. It is placed on the right to call readers attention, encouraging them to click on the link and read the full version of the article. Notice that once

the reader clicks on the link and accesses the full article, the text is not positioned on the right anymore. The topic of the article is now familiar or given to the reader. In addition, the image is weakly framed, conveying the idea that elements in the image are part of the same piece of information, one completing the other. As a matter of fact, one could deduce the context in which the picture is inserted only by looking at it, but s/he would certainly need to read the text in order to learn the content of the article. As already discussed in the theoretical framework, the meanings are conveyed all together at the same time and they were only presented in a more structured way for a better visualization of each of them.

5. Final remarks

By means of the analysis and discussion of a multimodal text we tried to show that through the context of situation, which is realized in a given context of culture, we can determine the social activity taking place in that particular situation, and on this basis the genre can be defined. After analyzing the context of situation we observed that the social activity taking place is that of a journalist writing an on-line news article presenting Bushs response to a report and senators opinions about Bushs reaction. From this we concluded that the genre of the multimodal text used in this paper is an on-line news article. As all genres have a schematic structure, which helps readers to recognize the genre itself, our next step was to show the stages used by the writer to linguistically organize the text. Figure 1 was analysed according to the three meanings it conveys to show how, together with the text, it contributes to the construction of genre. As mentioned previously, in multimodal texts, images and texts are not two independent elements. They are integrated to convey meanings. The meanings they make, taken all together, constitute the culture in which they are inserted, and when these meanings are organized in a certain schematic structure, they characterize a certain genre. Genre, then, is determined by a sequence of acts of communication whose form is specific to the conventions of each particular group or society, and as such, it can serve as an indicator of context. Regarding language use at school, technologies (computers, Internet, etc) are increasingly occupying a place in the classrooms, affording access to a wide range of multimodal texts, adding this way another dimension in the manner of making meaning

(CHRISTIE, 2005). It is thus also important for teachers to resort to multimodal texts as a rich source to explore interactions between genre, context and different forms of literacy.

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JOS LUIZ MEURER professor titular no Programa de Ps-Graduao em Letras/Ingls e Literatura Correspondente da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Possui doutorado pela Universidade de Georgetown (USA) e realizou ps-doutorado nas universidades de Birmingham (Inglaterra) e Macquarie (Austrlia). Suas pesquisas sobre texto e discurso apiam-se na lingustica sistmico-funcional, estudos de gnero e teorias sociais. Publicaes incluem Aspects of Language in Self-help Counselling (1998) e co-autoria de Parmetros de Textualizao (1997) e Gneros Textuais (2002) (com D. Motta-Roth), e Gneros: teorias, mtodos e debates (2005/2007) (com A. Bonini e D. Motta-Roth). E-mail: jmeurer@cce.ufsc.br FERNANDA RAMOS MACHADO possui licenciatura em Letras Ingls pela Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina e mestrado em Letras/Ingls e Literatura Correspondente pela mesma instituio, com rea de concentrao em Lingustica Aplicada. Tem trabalhado como professora de ingls e seu interesse para pesquisa tem sido a utilizao de tecnologias de informao e comunicao para o ensino e aprendizagem de L2. Atualmente prepara-se para ingressar no programa de Doutorado da Universidade de Munique (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitt Mnchen). E-mail: fernandarmm@yahoo.com.br