Bold and impactful: a reappraisal of Gunther Kress’s (social) semiotic legacy in the light of current multimodality research

Abstract

This paper is a critical appreciation of some of Gunther Kress’s central (social) semiotic notions: i.e., motivation, materiality, rhetorical aptness and semiotic mode versus medium. These will be discussed in relation to four landmark models of sign-making and semiosis by Saussure, Peirce, Bühler and Jakobson. Based on these comments, the paper identifies the persistent difficulties current multimodality research faces in defining mode and in devising linguistically unbiased grammars of non-verbal modes. Finally, the argument is advanced that multimodal genre and discourse interpretation in particular deserve to be re-developed. The paper critiques Kress’s insistence on motivation as a universal principle of sign use and his overemphasis on materiality to the detriment of grammar, while praising his overall (social) semiotic legacy for multimodality research as far-sighted and lastingly influential.