EXPLORANDO MODALIDADES RETÓRICAS SOB A PERSPECTIVA DA MULTIMODALIDADE

Abstract

Recent publication has revealed that contemporary technological potentialities have been amplifying the semiotic role of non-verbal da language in different discourse genres (KRESS; van LEEUWEN, 2001; UNSWORTH, 2001), drawing attention to the importance of research and teaching on the theme for the empowerment of our participation in these genres. In other words, we emphasize that the semiotic empowerment also depends on the comprehension of nonverbal semiosis that constitute discourse genres and that the focus of these genre studies has to be broadened in order to consider these issues (van LEEUWEN, 2004; HENDGES, 2008). Within this perspective, in this paper we explore the concept of “rhetorical mode” (MEURER, 2002) as a valuable category in Multimodal Discourse Analysis, in order to reveal the rhetorical function of non-verbal language in different genres. Following Meurer’s (2002) differentiation between rhetorical mode and genre, we explore image reading in the multimodal genre of printed advertisement. The perspective emphasized in this study offers implications for multiliteracy pedagogy (COPE; KALANTZIS, 2000).