This presentation employs the lens of modality and multimodality to study a digital text.

1. Multimodality of
a Digital Text
By: Prakruti Bhatt

2. Multimodality: An Introduction
● A wide range of definitions available
● But it is essentially considered a communicative and linguistic phenomenon
● Charles Goodwin states: “Human action is built by actively combining materials with
intrinsically different properties into situated contextual configurations where they can
mutually elaborate each other to create a whole that is both different from, and greater
than, any of its constitutive parts.”[3]
● Elisabetta Adami states that ‘as a phenomenon of communication, multimodality
defines the combination of different semiotic resources, or modes, in texts and
communicative events, such as still and moving image, speech, writing, layout,
gesture and/or proxemics.’ [1]

3. The Multimodal Text
● Multimodal text is the one which conveys meaning through a combination of various
modes of expression which can be broadly categorized as follows:
● Linguistic/Alphabetic ― written and spoken words
● Visual ― images (moving or still)
● Aural ― sound, music
● Gestural ― movement, expression, body language
● Spatial ― position, physical arrangement, proximity[2]
● Thus, Multimodality doesn’t necessarily mean using technology.

4. Types of Multimodal Texts
Based on the types of modes following would be the types/categories of multimodal texts:
● Textual/Paper-​
​
based multimodal texts include picture books, graphic novels, comics,
and posters.
● Gestural ​
​
multimodal texts, for example, dance, performance, and oral storytelling,
convey meaning through combinations of various modes such as gestural, spatial,
audio, and oral language.
● Digital multimodal texts include film, animation, slide shows, e-posters, digital
stories, podcasts, and web pages that may include hyperlinks to external pronunciation
guides or translations.

5. The Digital Literary Context
● Digital literature includes any literary text/expression which is an outcome of human
interaction with the affordances of the digital medium.
● Literature in the digital age makes use of modes ranging from graphic to audio-video to
interactive and cyber texts of the virtual platform
● A literary text in the Digital Age can be said to be the result of the amalgamation of
various modes of expression and hence, multimodal in nature.

6. So What?
● Understanding of Multimodality is required to understand literary output of the
digital age
● The understanding of multimodal literacy is crucial not just to learning literature but
also to learning language
● Multimodality can help in analyzing how meaning is produced and expressed in the
digital age

7. References
1. Adami, Elisabetta. "Introducing Multimodality." The Oxford Handbook of Language and Society. Ed. Ofelia Garcia,
Massimiliano Andrea Spotti and Nelson Flores. Oxford University Press, 2017. 451. web. 30 August 2022.
<https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/The_Oxford_Handbook_of_Language_and_Soci/ugU1DQAAQBAJ>.
1. Fillmore, Ann. MULTIMODAL COMMUNICATION: WRITING IN FIVE MODES. n.d. Open English@SLCC.
web. 30 August 2022. <https://openenglishatslcc.pressbooks.com/chapter/multi-modal-communication-writing-in-five-
modes/>.
1. Goodwin, Charles. "Multimodality in Human Interaction." Calidoscopio 8.2 (2010): 85-98. web. 30 August 2022.
<https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/5715/571561874002.pdf>.
1. Lutkewitte, Claire, ed. Multimodal Composition: A Critical Sourcebook. Bedford/St.Martin's, 2013. web. 30 August
2022. <https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Multimodal_Composition/nhiZMwEACAAJ?hl=en>.