The Language of War Monuments

Few studies in multimodality have a social critical edge. Few studies in critical discourse analysis tackle multimodal discourse. This book shows how to bridge the gap. -- Theo van Leeuwen, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia Thanks to Abousnnouga and Machin, we can no longer keep our eyes wide shut. Their sophisticated yet accessible theoretical framework brings war memorials to life for us like no other study. And like all good books about war should, it makes a timely and indisputable case against it. Highly recommended. -- Adam Jaworski, Professor of Language and Communication, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong I can't speak highly enough of this book. The Language of War Monuments is a rare thing in that it represents a true advance in semiotic and discourse analysis. Abousnnouga and Machin demonstrate the theoretical rigour and analytic vitality of Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis and - most importantly - offer a thorough empirical examination of commemorative war monuments, the ways they cover over or ignore appalling effects of war, and so the ways they function to legitimise war discourses. Packed with contextual and comparative detail throughout, Abousnnouga and Machin's systematic analysis simultaneously demystifies the features and materials of war memorials (and whose interests they support) and offers a toolbox we can apply when examining the semiotics of material objects more generally. Readers will not be able to view war memorials in the same way ever again. -- John Richardson, Senior Lecturer in Communication and Media Studies, Loughborough University, UK