Memes as ensemble of illocutionary acts

Title

Memes as ensemble of illocutionary acts

Creator

Koickakudy, Mitul Joseph

Description

As digital communication continues to shape discourse, memes have emerged as a potent tool for conveying messages. Previous studies on internet memes have focused on various aspects such as humor generation, speech acts, and political communication. Although there are studies on speech acts and memes, research specifically examining speech acts within subcultures is scarce. This paper aims to fill that gap by examining the illocutionary acts in political memes within a subculture. To understand how illocutionary acts function in memes, 50 political memes that appeared during the Kerala state assembly election were analyzed using the framework of speech acts. The analysis revealed that memes often contain multiple illocutionary acts. Additionally, it was observed that a single meme can encompass several illocutionary acts simultaneously. This study highlights the complexity and richness of political memes as a form of communication within subcultures, demonstrating how they can convey layered and multifaceted messages through the use of illocutionary acts. 2025 the author(s),

Source

Language and Semiotic Studies;Volume;12;Issue;1;pp.67-90

Date

01-01-2026

Publisher

Walter de Gruyter GmbH

Subject

illocutionary acts; memes; political memes; speech acts

Coverage

Koickakudy M.J., Department of Media Studies, CHRIST (Deemed to be University, Central Campus, Room 910, Central Block, Bangalore, 560028, India

Rights

All Open Access; Gold Open Access; Green Open Access

Relation

ISSN: 2096031X;

Format

online

Language

English

Type

Article

Identifier

https://doi.org/10.1515/lass-2025-0003

https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105013892701?origin=resultslist