IJoLLT Vol. 1, No. 1 (September) 2018 eISSN: 2637-0484 The Representation of Visual Language in Non-Verbal Communication: The Case of Arab Spring Political Cartoons SHIFAA MOHAMMED ABDULLAH (corresponding author) Ministry of Education, Salahuddin, Iraq
[email protected] TENGKU SEPORA TENGKU MAHADI School of Languages, Literacies and Translation Universiti Sains Malaysia
[email protected] GHAYTH K. SHAKER AL-SHAIBANI English Language and Communication Department, UCSI University
[email protected] AMBIGAPATHY PANDIAN School of Language Studies & Communication Studies Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
[email protected] ABSTRACT Political cartoons constitute a specific genre of visual images. They are pictorial representations or attitudes with different cartoon elements which depict political and social issues, and events of a country, an institution or a party (Sani, Abdullah & Ali, 2014). Visual language as non-verbal communication may or may not be supported by a verbal text (Peñamarin, 1998). This paper sheds light on the themes of 29 selected Arab political cartoons as a sample that is widely spread during the Arab Spring era and its aftermath (Woźniak, 2014). It also looks to identify the cartoon elements used by the cartoonists and to highlight the use of these elements such as colours, symbol, signs and others that connote different meanings. The study revealed that the visual language of Arab Spring cartoons from 2011 to 2013 reflected some common themes that highlight issues such as the image of democracy, the involvement of interfering countries and powers in the events of the Arab Spring, government authorities, military-people relations, the role of media and social media, an account of the stages of the Arab revolutions and issues of women's image in relation to socio-political change and ethical responsibilities for both the cartoonists and the Arab people.