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Article published In:
The interpersonal functions of public signs during the Covid-19 pandemic
Edited by Eva Ogiermann
[Pragmatics and Society 14:2] 2023
► pp. 358–381

Covid-19 WhatsApp sticker memes as public signs in Oman

ORCID logo | Sultan Qaboos University

In this article, we identify a new form of public discourse that takes the shape of WhatsApp sticker memes personally created and nationally shared on WhatsApp by citizens in Oman during the Covid-19 pandemic to concomitantly act as carriers of information and as promoters of relational work. The data consist of 67 public sign stickers culled from a larger set amassed as part of an ethnographic project on Arabs and Covid-19. Drawing upon interpersonal pragmatics and visual semiotics, we examine the interplay of textual and visual modes in featured stickers, demonstrating how Omanis translated official Covid-19 instructions into three types of terse memes to facilitate communal distribution. We suggest that to encourage public cooperation, the stickers struck a culturally-imperative balance between keeping traditional norms intact while committing socially offensive acts. The article contributes to research on digital discourse by exploring sticker use as public signs in the understudied Arabic context.

Keywords: Covid-19, public signs, stickers, memes, WhatsApp, interpersonal pragmatics, visual semiotics, Oman
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical background
    • 2.1Arabic discourse systems
    • 2.2Public signs as social action
    • 2.3Sticker memes as public signs
  • 3.Analytical and methodological background
    • 3.1Analytical perspectives
    • 3.2Data collection and coding
  • 4.Analysis
    • 4.1The Covid-19 narrative in Oman
    • 4.2Analysis of public sign sticker memes
      • 4.2.1Advisory sticker memes
        • Low modality advisory stickers
        • High modality advisory stickers
      • 4.2.2Disseminating knowledge stickers
      • 4.2.3Warning stickers
        • Inclusive warnings
        • Police warnings
    • 4.3Public sign stickers in use
  • 5.Discussion and concluding remarks
  • Acknowledgement
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 6 July 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ps.22007.zid
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