THE MULTIMODAL NATURE OF THE WEBIN AR AS A PRAGMATIC TOOL

Abstract

This article examines the multimodal nature of contemporary digital discourse using German-language environmental webinars as a case study. The relevance of the topic stems from the rapid shift of communication into the virtual space, where the webinar emerges not merely as a means of distance learning, but as a complex multimodal construct that combines various sign systems to achieve a pragmatic effect. The study found that in the digital environment of a webinar, speech does not always play a dominant role; all modes have equal potential in creating meaning. Based on an analysis of presentations by leading experts and politicians, the study identified varying degrees of importance of multimodal means depending on the chosen communicative strategy. The results of the analysis demonstrated that the most significant groups of non-verbal means are eye contact, visual materials (slides) and facial expressions. It has been demonstrated that, within the structure of a webinar, multimedia presentations often bear the main communicative load, occupying up to 80–90% of the screen space and acting as a «cognitive anchor» through the use of colour contrasts and/or infographics. Particular attention is paid to the pragmatic aspect: drawing on J. Searle’s classification of speech acts, the study analyses how semiotic resources help achieve illocutionary goals. The conclusions state that a successful environmental webinar is based on a coherent architecture of interaction between semiotic levels. Multimodality allows for the «distance» inherent in the digital format to be compensated for: where a verbal speech act may be insufficiently persuasive, visualisation and paraverbal factors complete the formation of the message’s illocutionary force. The article is of practical significance for communication specialists, linguists and organisers of online events, as it offers a systematic view of the mechanisms of influence in the digital media space.