The Rhetoric of Tanzanian 3D Digital Memes on Meaning Making

Abstract

This article explores digital memes as a form of communication in the contemporary world. It reflects the effectiveness of semiotic modes in digital memes disseminated by government agencies in Tanzania. Themain objective focuses on the organisation of semiotic modes in 3D digital memes. Data collection was accomplished Microsoft’s Snip & Sketch software on several government agencies’ Instagram pages. Analysis of data was guided by documents analysis method in line with social semiotic multimodal theory. The findings reveal the combination of various semiotic modes which emulate real-life experiences, personal relationships, and connections between texts and visual representation. Furthermore, the findings show that various semiotic resources in thememes are arranged in respect to information flow, salience, and framing to reflect varying degrees of connectedness of the modes on making meaning.

Keywords: Digital memes, Instagram, metafunctions, socialsemiotic multimodal theory