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A pragmatic typology of WhatsApp sticker functions

ORCiD logo with link | IULMA-University of Valencia
ORCiD logo with link | University of Alicante
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Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Open Access publication of this article was funded through a Transformative Agreement with Universitat de València.

Published online: 15 December 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/prag.24063.lin
Abstract
This study investigates the pragmatic functions of custom WhatsApp stickers, with a particular focus on those integrating images and text. Building on prior research, the study develops a classification scheme that highlights three core dimensions: the sender’s intention, the sticker-centred act of communication, and the audience’s interpretation of its meaning. The analysis is based on a corpus of 598 user-generated stickers from Spanish WhatsApp conversations, comprising 496 multimodal and 102 text-only stickers. The analysis reveals that stickers predominantly serve to clarify or emphasise the sender’s intention (56.9%), including self-representation, social status, group identity, and humour. A second set of functions is related to the sticker’s role in the act of communication (24.67%), such as substituting text, conveying emotion, and mimicking nonverbal behaviour. Lastly, stickers play a part in audience inference (18.41%), helping to soften, challenge, or elucidate messages, thereby enhancing overall message clarity.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical background
  • 3.Objectives and research questions
  • 4.Corpus and methodology
  • 5.A proposal of pragmatic sticker functions
    • 5.1Set A: Emphasis on the sender user’s intention
      • 5.1.1To engage in self-presentation
      • 5.1.2To maintain social status and forge group identity
      • 5.1.3To signal the speech act and/or illocutionary force of a message
      • 5.1.4To make conversation fun or invite laughter
    • 5.2Set B: Emphasis on the sticker-based act of communication
      • 5.2.1To substitute a text
      • 5.2.2To attach a feeling/emotion to the message
      • 5.2.3To substitute for nonverbal behaviour
    • 5.3Set C: Emphasis on the audience’s sticker inference
      • 5.3.1To complement or clarify a message
      • 5.3.2To attack or reinforce the interlocutor’s face
      • 5.3.3To soften a message
  • 6.Discussion
  • 7.Concluding remarks
  • Notes
  • References
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