Stylistic aspects of punctuation (the case of English internet memes)

The article deals with functioning of punctuation in English internet memes. The aim of the research is to examine stylistic aspects of punctuation in memes. Such methods as multimodal discourse analysis, stylistic analysis and linguocultural analysis are used. The analysis of the vast material shows that, in English internet memes, one can observe an original and nonconventional functioning of punctuation which is manifested in the deliberate violating of the punctuational norms in order to make the message more expressive. The study reveals such stylistic peculiarities as emotiveness, incorrectness and linguistic creativity. Emotiveness is conveyed when punctuation creates emotional overtones and appeals to the recipient’s emotional sphere. Incorrectness is expressed if punctuation rules are intentionally violated to produce a pragmatic, stylistic and communicative effect. Linguistic creativity is manifested when the creative nature of punctuation is intensified and as a result various instances of language game at the punctuational level are observed. The results of the research may be applied in theoretical courses in modern English stylistics, internet linguistics, creative linguistics, theory of internet memes, and in practice to decode the semantics of different English memes. To sum up, English internet memes have a rich stylistic potential due to the non-trivial use of punctuation which acts as an efficient instrument for creating diversified stylistic devices.