Multimodality and Time: A Social Semiotic Approach

by Theo van Leeuwen

This ground-breaking book brings together the work of leading theorist, Theo van Leeuwen, on time-based multimodal forms of communication including speech, music, and film.

With chapters on the fundamental meaning-making role of rhythm, time in music, time in film, the representation of time and timing in language, and the visualization of time, this book offers a comprehensive approach to the subject that supplements the author’s earlier work on visual communication. This book is richly illustrated with examples, including analyses of time management texts, everyday interactions such as waitressing in a restaurant, classic and contemporary films, television crime series and documentaries, a wide variety of kinds of music, online educational software, and SmartArt templates for the diagrammatic representation of time-based practices. Every chapter also includes questions and exercises to reinforce and extend learning.

Written in an accessible style, it will be essential reading for students, teachers, and researchers in the field of multimodal communication, whether in communication studies, media studies, or linguistics.

152 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 5, 2025