Magazine Cover as Multimodal Text

Abstract

A cover of a journal is considered as a sample of multimodal text. A theoretical review of the scientific literature devoted to the study of multimodality in the framework of linguistics is given. Definitions of the concept of “multimodality” are given. The article clarifies the terminology, compares the usage of the terms multimodal , polycode , creolized text in modern linguistics. Special attention is paid to the peculiarities of a magazine cover as an independent genre. Classifications of cover types depending on the ratio of verbal and graphic components are considered. A brief review of approaches to the study of multimodal text is made. The expediency of applying system-functional and sociocognitive approaches to the analysis of the material is substantiated. The results of comparative analysis of magazine covers are presented. A magazine cover is considered as a multimodal text, i.e. a complex of verbal and visual components. In this case, the verbal component can be represented both explicitly and implicitly, that is, compressed. It is shown that the mechanism of interpretation of the semantic load of a cover can be read by recipient in two ways: either on the basis of a combination of verbal and visual information, or due to the actualization of compressed verbal component with the help of the visual component. The novelty of the study is seen in the demonstration that an image with an implied (compressed) verbal component can be a multimodal text.

Keywords

• magazine discourse
• multimodal text
• poly-code text
• creolized text
• journalistic style