Internet meme

A new speech genre?

Abstract

In this article, the main goal is to investigate whether internet memes can be considered a new speech genre. As it moves towards this goal, it is possible to verify the genesis, the definition, and the unfolding characteristics of internet meme, such as where they can be found, and who produce and consume them. The theoretical framework adopted are Mikhail
Bakhtin’s research on Speech Genres, and Dominique Maingueneau’s studies conducted on Speech Types and Speech Genres. The results show internet memes comprehend all the requirement of a digital speech genre with its own purposes, scopes, and particularities, which implies linguistic and social issues.