Reframing the reality of online learning on the basis of internet memes

Abstract

This paper sets out to investigate the interplay between image and text with reference to chosen cognitive models in order to pinpoint the image of distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bilateral nature of memes is discussed in relation to the cognitive linguistics framework, in particular Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) (Lakoff and Johnson 1980, Kovecses 2002, Forceville 1996, 2008, 2009), Frame Semantics (Fillmore 1988), construal (Langacker 1987, 2008), blending theory (Fauconnier and Turner 2002), and Discourse Viewpoint Space (Dancyngier and Vandelanotte 2017).