Article:

Bildstil als rhetorische Kategorie

If we consider pictures (or at least sets of pictures) as symbol systems, it seems reasonable to describe them (analogue to the Speech Act Theory) as imbedded in the broader context of sign acts. They would consequently have an illocutionary role and could serve, for example, to warn against something, to inform about something, or to ask someone to do something. But since pictures are characterized by several particularities, an easy transfer of linguistic categories is problematic. Even if we are justified to describe many applications of pictures as forms of communicative actions, it should be examined in detail to what extent we have to modify the categories of the Speech Act Theory while applying them to pictures. This will be pursued in the following article concerning the relation between pictorial style and functions of pictures.