In:Theory and Practice in Functional-Cognitive Space
Edited by María de los Ángeles Gómez González, Francisco José Ruiz de Mendoza Ibáñez and Francisco Gonzálvez-García
[Studies in Functional and Structural Linguistics 68] 2014
► pp. 85–106
An interpersonal study of The Leading Hotels of the World. A systemic-functional social-semiotic approach
Published online: 22 July 2014
https://doi.org/10.1075/sfsl.68.04moy
https://doi.org/10.1075/sfsl.68.04moy
Within the frameworks of Halliday’s SFL and Kress and Van Leeuwen’s Visual
Social Semiotics, the main aim of this chapter is to analyse how the verbal and
visual modes of ten tourist brochures, taken from The Leading Hotels of the
World guide (2009), are co-deployed to construct interpersonal meaning. The
use of declarative mood structures, the scarce presence of imperative clauses
and the lack of interrogative clauses demonstrate that the verbal component
accompanying the photographs does not encourage much interaction. However,
the middle-shots and essentially the medium angles utilised are evidence of
the engagement created between the visual readers and what is displayed in the
photographs. This analysis shows that words and images reinforce each other
to highlight the elitist characteristics of the facilities and services offered to the
potential clients.
Keywords: interpersonal, multimodality, social semiotics, tourist brochures
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