Internet memes have been studied widely for their role in establishing and maintaining social relationships, and shaping public opinion, online. However, they are also a prominent and fast evolving multimodal genre, one which calls for an in-depth linguistic analysis. This book, the first of its kind, develops the analytical tools necessary to describe and understand contemporary 'image-plus-text' communication. It demonstrates how memes achieve meaning as multimodal artifacts, how they are governed by specific rules of composition and interpretation, and how such processes are driven by stance networks. It also defines a family of multimodal constructions in which images become structural components, while making language forms adjust to the emerging multimodal rules. Through analysis of several meme types, this approach defines the specificity of the memetic genre, describing established types, but also accounting for creative forms. In describing the 'grammar of memes', it provides a new model to approach multimodal genres.

‘This book is a real treasure trove for anyone interested in the language and semiotics of new media and digital culture, especially from a cognitive perspective. It expands the scope of cognitive linguistics in the most fascinating way and takes it into the twenty-first century with new multimodal data, new concepts, and a fresh theoretical framework.’

Alexander Bergs - Professor of English Language and Linguistics, Osnabrück University

‘What a joy! Memes seem such simple social media artifacts of the digital age. And yet Dancygier and Vandelanotte, by focusing their unique skills of linguistic analysis, reveal complex visual and textual patterns in memes. Along the way, we are shown that in spite of their deceptive simplicity, memes incorporate multimodal constructions, build discourse spaces, and exhibit recursion - we learn that memes pack a powerful conceptual punch in a small package. This is a thoroughly readable and enlightening book. Enthusiastically recommended for anyone interested in language, social media, the graphic and verbal arts.’

Sherman Wilcox - Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of Linguistics, University of New Mexico