A multimodal analysis by the GeM model: the homepage of the Ministry of Environment in Brazil

ABSTRACT: This article analyzed how language from the homepage of the Ministry of Environment in Brazil is presented. The investigation relies on the principles of multimodality, social semiotics and on the studies carried out by the Social Semiotics Theory and the Genre and Multimodality model (GeM). The article intended to demonstrate which the recurrent elements in the Ministry's official page are and how both the base and the layout structures from the GeM model contribute to a higher degree of modal features in the language used in the governmental site. The online environment investigated is notably characterized by multimodal language and is in accordance with the Brazilian society's demand for adequate access to the official contents issued by the government.

摘要：本文分析了巴西环境部官网首页的语言呈现方式。本研究依托多模态（multimodality）、社会符号学（social semiotics）的核心原理，以及社会符号学理论与体裁-多模态模型（Genre and Multimodality model，简称GeM）的既有研究成果展开。本文旨在明确该环境部官方页面中的高频语言元素，并阐释GeM模型的基础结构与版式结构如何提升该政府网站所用语言的模态特征占比。本次调研的在线平台以多模态语言为显著特征，契合巴西社会对充分获取政府发布官方内容的需求。