This chapter provides a rationale for a multimodal perspective on meaning,
communication and discourse. It draws attention to the range of different modes that
people use beyond speech and writing and explores the theoretical and
methodological implications of multimodality. The chapter addresses two key
questions. First, what is multimodality? Why and how is it relevant to linguistics?
Second, how has multimodality been taken up? What questions are addressed, what
materials are collected, and what methods are used to analyze these materials? Taking
one approach – Social Semiotics – and one area of research – online text making – as
an example, the chapter defines and illustrates key concepts and steps in multimodal
inquiry. It concludes with consideration of future directions
