Emoji in dialogue with images

Abstract This paper explores the visual nature of emoji and their potential to co-create meaning when in dialogue with other visual semiotic resources, such as images, paintings, videos, and photographs. Drawing on a multimodal social semiotic framework and studies that emphasise the independent meaning-making capabilities of visual communication, it challenges the traditional view that emoji are merely paralinguistic elements dependent on verbal co-texts. The study analyses a corpus of art museum social media posts, highlighting instances of intermodal convergence between the shared images and emoji used in the captions. This analysis reveals formal and semantic dialogic relations, showcasing how emoji can function as independent semiotic resources, capable of establishing meaningful interactions with other visual elements.