System-linguistic and extralinguistic means of expressiveness expression in German-language Internet memes

Abstract

The article deals with German-language Internet memes, which are an actual unit of Internet communication. The possibilities of definition within the framework of various approaches are briefly outlined, typology of Internet memes, as well as their functions. Multimodal verbal-visual static memes addressed to the student audience are the focus of attention. The study was based on materials from the social networks and Internet pages, which were selected by the method of continuous sampling on relevant topics. The addressee determines the choice of topics and the features of their interpretation, which allows considering the Internet meme as a precedent unit with a certain cultural and national connotation. Using both template macros, memes that are found on almost any aspect of student issues, and single-individual macros, the Internet meme gets its distribution, which is facilitated by its ability to evoke an emotional reaction in recipients. The integrity of the meme is made up of content and formal characteristics, the combination of verbal and visual components forms the communicative and pragmatic potential of the meme. This is largely facilitated by means of expressiveness at different levels of the language — morphological, grammatical, syntactic, graphemic. The target audience and discourse largely determine the choice of means used. The analysis showed that at the graphic level, the set of tools is rather limited, while at the level of vocabulary and syntax, a fairly diverse repertoire is used. In most of the examples considered, the visual and verbal components of the meme are in a symbiotic relationship. If, when using a template macro, the picture turns out to be recognizable and decontextualized in each specific situation, then in the case of single-individual macros, interpretation without a verbal component can be difficult. An Internet meme as a holistic artifact has an impact on the recipient, thus realizing its various functions.