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Article published In:
Constructional Approach(es) to Discourse-Level Phenomena: Theoretical challenges and empirical advances
Edited by Renata Enghels and María Sol Sansiñena
[Constructions and Frames 13:1] 2021
► pp. 160–191

Creative constructs, constructions, and frames in Internet discourse

| University of Namur (NaLTT institute) | KU Leuven (FunC research group)

This paper explores questions of constructionality and framing in Internet discourse. It proposes a sharper understanding of what, as analysts, we mean by Internet memes, before turning to formal and semantic aspects of Internet memes as multimodal (image-text) constructions. A broad range of examples is considered, but the focus is mainly on image macro memes and labelling memes. Particular attention is focused on the presentational templates that mark out particular meme constructions, and grounds for distinctions between creative constructs and entrenched, conventionalized constructions are offered. The role of frames in the meaning-making mechanisms of memes is investigated, and also explored for a type of Twitter discourse not usually considered alongside established Internet memes.

Keywords: constructions, frames, Internet memes, multimodality, Twitter
Article outline
  • 1.Internet memes, memes on the Internet
  • 2.Multimodal constructions in online discourse
  • 3.Frames in Internet memes
  • 4.Labelling memes, and the case of the distracted boyfriend
  • 5.The conversation frame in Twitter discourse
  • 6.Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 2 August 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/cf.00050.van
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