A Relevance Theoretic Analysis of English Image Macro Memes on Drugs and Addiction
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36586/jcl.2.2026.0.54.0151Keywords:
cyberpragmatics, digital culture, drug-related memes, image macro memes, implicatures, incongruity-resolution, relevance theoryAbstract
This paper discusses how humour and meaning are created in English image macro memes on drugs and addiction. The memes that are referred to in this paper are internet image macro memes which are supported by texts, usually satirical or funny, and that are found on social media platforms. Twenty memes were collected from the internet and analysed using Yus’s (2021) incongruity-resolution model. This model is based on Relevance Theory by Sperber & Wilson (1995); it is a pragmatic theory that claims that people’s minds tend to select the most relevant information while exerting the least mental effort. The present study aims to observe how these memes make people laugh, and more significantly, how they also carry deeper or hidden messages. The analysis focuses on how each meme generates a certain cognitive frame, then breaks it in a surprising or funny way, and how viewers mentally resolve that surprise (incongruity). The findings show that this model helps explain how people understand and enjoy memes, especially when the message depends on both language and image. The paper concludes that this kind of humour can raise awareness of serious topics like drug addiction, while also entertaining the audience. Additionally, internet users share memes to comment on sensitive topics without being directly responsible for what they say.
References
Al-Zubaidi, N. (2020). Interlanguage pragmatics of non-institutional criticism: A study of native and non-native speakers of English. Journal of the College of Languages, 0(42), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.36586/jcl.2.2020.0.42.0001
Alsabbah, R. (2020). Religious expressions as situation bound rituals in Iraqi computer-mediated communication. Arab World English Journal, 11(4), 382–408. https://doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol11no4.25
Dawkins, R. (1976). The selfish gene. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Grice, H. P. (1975). Logic and conversation. In P. Cole & J. Morgan (Eds.), Studies in syntax and semantics III: Speech acts (pp. 183–198). New York: Academic Press.
Jameel, S. T. (2022). A social-semiotic analysis of American political election posters. Al-Ustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences, 61(2), 192–206. https://doi.org/10.36473/ujhss.2022.173140
Levinson, S. C. (1983). Pragmatics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Mey, J. L. (2001). Pragmatics: An introduction (2nd Ed.). Malden: Blackwell Publishing.
Nugroho, A., & Liemantara, K. N. (2024). EFL students' interpretation of implicature and gender representation in memes. Journal of English Teaching, Literature, and Applied Linguistics, 8(2), 142–154. https://doi.org/10.30587/jetlal.v8i2.8088
Petrova, Y. (2021). Meme language, its impact on digital culture and collective thinking. E3S Web of Conferences, 273, 11026. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202127311026
Sanchez, B. (2020). Internet memes and desensitization. Pathways: A Journal of Humanistic and Social Inquiry, 1(2), 1–11. Retrieved from https://repository.upenn.edu/pathways_journal/vol1/iss2/5
Shifman, L. (2014). Memes in digital culture. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Sperber, D., & Wilson, D. (1995). Relevance: Communication and cognition (2nd Ed.). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Yus, F. (2011). Cyberpragmatics: Internet-mediated communication in context. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Yus, F. (2021). Incongruity-resolution humorous strategies in image macro memes. Internet Pragmatics, 4(1), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1075/ip.00058.yus
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Journal of the College of Languages (JCL)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
