Language, Materiality, and Social Discourse
Summary
Language, materiality and social discourse converge in a dynamic field of study that examines how words, objects and visual forms collaborate to shape meaning in society. Rather than treating language as an abstract system of signs, this perspective attends to the physical embodiments of communication – from printed media and tableware to foodstuffs and street signage – and explores how these material forms participate in social practices. Drawing on social semiotics and multimodal discourse analysis, scholars investigate the interplay between verbal, visual and tactile resources, revealing how power relations, cultural identities and community bonds are produced and contested through both text and thing. Research spans diverse settings, from elite airline dining to community foodways and urban branding, demonstrating how material artefacts can carry ideological weight, authenticate experience, and mediate inclusion or exclusion. The global significance of this work lies in its capacity to illuminate the invisible threads that connect language and matter, offering practical insights for design, heritage preservation, environmental advocacy and inclusive communication strategies.
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Language, Materiality, and Social Discourse publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in language, materiality, and social discourse across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Materiality: The qualities and significance of physical objects as carriers of meaning.
Multimodal discourse: Communication that integrates two or more semiotic modes, such as text, image, sound and material artefacts.
Social semiotics: The study of sign-making practices as culturally and socially structured processes.
Discursive assemblage: A network of interrelated signs, objects and practices that produce coherent meaning.
Authentication: The discursive processes by which objects or practices are rendered genuine or authoritative.
References
- The language of smoked fish: The production and circulation of meanings and values of ‘Bornholmian Food’. Language in Society (2024).
- Performing different forms of ‘sociable authenticity’ in five bakery shops in Sweden using the semla pastry as a prominent multimodal resource. Visual Communication (2024).
- Dishing up Distinction: Language Materiality and Multimodal Coherence in Elite Foodways. Frontiers in Communication (2022).
- Bologna City Branding. Bollettino della Società Geografica Italiana (2021).
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