Abstract:

Logotypes, as an independent genre, representing the country and its language, is considered as a part of the linguistic landscape. Therefore, logotypes may be chosen as a targeted, innovative way of language teaching. The use of logotypes could be understood as an example of a Game Based Learning strategy directed towards the learners as emergent readers. This kind of teaching was seen in other lessons too, for example, how logotypes were used as a teaching and learning material (cf. Colliander et al., 2018, 314) for other purposes into teaching artefacts.

A logotype is defined as a specially designed original graphic image or symbol that performs the function of the emblem or trademark of the relevant company or event. Logotypes are characterised as a type of public writings aimed at informing and drawing attention. To create a suggestive logotype, actualisation tools, such as verbal and non-verbal, performing impact, educational and at the same time aesthetic functions are employed. The term ‘foregrounding’ was first used by Jan Mukarovsky and refers to the factors of deviating from linguistic and literary norms. In general, foregrounding can be realised on various linguistic levels, thus, it is possible to distinguish conceptual, functional, discourse and pragmatic devices, which can be represented by various formal means, for example, phonetic-phonological, morphological-syntactic, and lexical-pragmatic. The relation between the different kinds of foregrounding is language-specific (Gnanasekaran, 2018, 13). The multimodal use of verbal and non-verbal signs in logotypes enhances the learning capacity of a language learner at cognitive, cultural, and meta-cognitive levels. The learner is encouraged to perceive the concept expressed through image and word. In the digital age, multimodality has become central to communication, and this is especially true for language learners (Dressman, 2019).

The aim of the research is to examine the multimodal expression of logotypes that can be adopted and applied to language teaching and learning. The report provides a detailed analysis of verbal and non-verbal actualised logotypes signs that perform the function of public and virtual spaces. Logotypes are studied from the point of view of the addressee. It is aimed to find out by which way the learner understands functions of the logotype, how interprets the meaning realised verbally and non-verbally.

The analysis is performed according to the functional direction of the study, i.e., from function to form. It is observed which verbal and non-verbal signs are chosen to express the function. For the creation of Lithuanian company logotypes, the study reveals that the type of verbal signs (graphemes) actualisation is used most often, as the stylisation of which has been distinguished as influential, motivated and particularly suitable for game based language teaching and learning.

Keywords:

logotypes, language teaching and learning, multimodality, foregrounding