Memes are an essential entity woven into the fabric of our digital being. As a netizen, there are newer ethics and codes that we learn for a peaceful co-existence on the interwebs and when it comes to memes, it’s a terrain tread on by many, but not decoded by all. Of all the conventions that tie this unbeknownst space together, one of the most debated threads is the language of the interwebs. Words do not just merely come into being in this medium, they are defined by the user and redefined by the recipient and characteristics specific to their ideas of language. It also provides a plane for challenging or subverting pre-existing notions of spoken/written language, breaking through the rigidity of the linguistic rules, and incorporating these deviations into parlance specific to certain mediums, groups, trends, or shared algorithms – often labeled as Internet Speak. Of all elements that drive and sustain this speak, memes most definitely take a lead. But what is this “speak”, this language of memes?

The first step towards understanding the language of memes is to understand the plurality of the form, the fact that it is a process of coding, decoding, and recoding into imitation, and therefore sustenance, it doesn’t have “a” or “the” language. As a unit of culture, memes are not bound by the constructs of borders and boundaries and therefore modify themselves into relevance transcending all barriers, including linguistic. To understand the bare bone structures of how a language exists in memes, one generally looks at it on the following levels – visual, and verbal. For instance, when you look at a classic “dog meme”, you remember a rainbow/colour wheel background, and the face of a dog at the center of the wheel with some “Impact”ful text lathered on it, using Impact font. But the meme exists on another plane that keeps redefining itself, and therefore furthering the contagion – contextual. A meme sans context doesn’t transmit and in a memetic culture, what doesn’t transmit, ultimately ceases to exist. In the case of the classical dog meme, what the dog “says” which is basically what the creator of the meme intends is treated as “advice”. Albeit significant triggers, the text and the image come together in a certain context and birth another to completely create or replicate a meme and form what is generally perceived as a meme template. The context at times is also cultural, its language borrowed from the culture it originates in and then tweaked and imitated. Every meme creates/recreates a certain framework to be furthered as the memetic element – the key to understanding, replicating, and categorizing the meme. But the idea of a language of memes does not reside only in these templates.  

Language, as we perceive, is loaded with certain markers that are unique to a particular linguistic system, and therefore not everyone understands every language that exists. Memes, however, have the potential to be recreated in a way that they can belong in different cultures, with different meanings and inferences, but still participate in forming a larger, translingual memetic culture. For instance, look at this meme:

This meme belongs to the Indian edition of the memetic culture that exists around the renowned show La Casa de Papel aka Money Heist on Netflix. This image originally comes together as a combination of two core elements:

The mask and the type font of the text form develop what is the visual and verbal language of the poster for the show. The meme mentioned above, retains the masks and outfit immediately significant to La Casa de Papel (Money Heist) and retains the font but changes what it is says from La Casa de Papel to “Casa La Padta Baher”. The contextual language, therefore, changes on multiple levels. Firstly, the show this image is taken from is in Spanish, republished in translation with options of viewing in Spanish as well as English. La Casa de Papel literally translates to The House of Money in English and the mask – which is modeled upon Salvador Dali, an iconic Spanish iconoclast – becomes a powerful visual that is inexplicably tied to the text. In the meme by Mumbai Police, La Casa de Papel is changed into “Casa La Padta Baher” which is a Marathi phrase that roughly translates to “Why do you step outside?”, written with regards to social distancing norms during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Police use this meme as an ode to the show which is trending and jump on the bandwagon by tweaking the existing meanings around La Casa de Papel to create a new one, taking it from Spanish to Marathi and driving their message home, which is not directly related to the show. The word “La” highlighted here in the meme exists phonetically in Marathi too, in Spanish, it means the definitive “The” whereas, in Marathi, it functions as a suffix, which weirdly becomes a merging point between the two languages at work in this meme. Another deviation lies in the fact that La Casa de Papel is a show that is heavily anti-establishment but here is used by a disciplining institution to dole out an instruction for its people to follow. The context of it, therefore, evolves into something almost out of context but this meme belongs in the larger memetic culture around La Casa de Papel, tied together by two key elements – the Dali mask and the type font in use with the red background to the “la” – the operatives making it “that widely shared Money Heist meme.” More honorable mentions in this memetic culture go to memes that were inspired by this Marathi version of La Casa de Papel like this one:

Or this one:

An inference that one can most definitely draw is that language doesn’t function in memes as it does in day to day lives. The true language in memes, therefore, exists not in its being but in its translation. The operative element that gets translated is what becomes the core function of the meme, the “language” of the meme, which is used by individuals or groups attempting to communicate with or contribute to a specific memetic culture. This element or a group of elements form the core of a culture around which the deviations revolve, and this core has a certain message that is adapted into newer meanings. Even when I debate that the language of a meme exists not in the linguistic understandings but in its translation and that there is one message at the crux which can either be Visual, Verbal, or Contextual; Memes do actively affect the linguistic ideals of a language that exist in a society where memes redefine cultures.

The language employed in memes is not only rooted culturally but at times tries to subvert the culture it originates from. It attempts to situate itself in a place where it debunks the normative and the first way in which that is achieved is by playing with the language of memes. 

For instance, this meme: 

The “stonks meme” – a play on the word Stocks with a meme image of a suited businessman- is not a solitary unit. Alongside it exists a whole culture of picking up words and the words for professions in the English Language are distorted into words that resemble the original but phonetically challenge the speak of the word in use. (un)surprisingly, this language is not accessible sans context and therefore thrives only in the culture where the semantics of this distortion is established, in a way institutionalizing itself for legitimacy. What cannot be decoded, cannot be memed and therefore can’t live on to be imitated. These memetic distortions are not limited to just the “stonks meme” but also go on to the spectrum of darker, more inappropriate “dank” memes.

Access to memetic language is further perplexed by one’s privilege to have access to certain discourses from where these memes emerge. Language is not a monolith and meanings are never absolute, and therefore, one’s social location plays a pivotal role in their understanding of memes, memetic language, and belongingness in said cultures. One might understand where the meme originates from or belongs but one might not have the complete access to it – the context key – if it is in a foreign language or from a culture alien to the recipient. The translatability of a meme makes it a meme, makes its visual, verbal, or contextual language universal and it is this virtue that makes memetic cultures universal across borders, including linguistic. But someday, The Professor might just look at Casa La Padta Baher and well… just Bella Ciao (tr. Goodbye, Beautiful) himself out!

 References:

Are Internet Memes a New Form of Literature? – Quillette: https://quillette.com/2016/11/28/are-internet-memes-a-new-form-of-literature/

Are Internet Memes a New Form of Literature? – Quillette: https://quillette.com/2016/11/28/are-internet-memes-a-new-form-of-literature/

Technology and Language Change: How Memes and Emojis Are The Language of The 21st Century and That’s OK | PennWIC: https://pennwic.wordpress.com/2016/10/19/technology-and-language-change-how-memes-and-emojis-are-the-language-of-the-21st-century-and-thats-ok/

The Language of Gen Z: Memes | Millennial Marketing: http://www.millennialmarketing.com/2018/07/the-language-of-gen-z-memes/

Understanding the Language of Internet Memes | Psych 256: Cognitive Psychology FA: https://sites.psu.edu/psych256fa15/2015/11/22/understanding-the-language-of-internet-memes/

How memes became the language of the internet revealed in Richard Clay BBC Four film | Metro News: https://metro.co.uk/2019/03/20/lolcats-pepe-frog-memes-became-language-internet-8956420/

Meme Templates as Expressive Repertoires in a Globalizing World: A Cross-Linguistic Study | Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication | Oxford Academic: https://academic.oup.com/jcmc/article/23/5/294/5075540

Susan Blackmore: Memes and “temes” | TED Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/susan_blackmore_memes_and_temes/transcript

Memes as a love language – Article Group – Medium: https://medium.com/article-group/memes-as-a-love-language-e02246c5c654 

Meme and Variation : Language Lounge : Vocabulary.com: https://www.vocabulary.com/articles/ll/meme-and-variation/

Know your meme: internet pop culture is the new language of activism – News and Events | Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia: https://news.curtin.edu.au/stories/know-your-meme-internet-pop-culture-is-the-new-language-of-activism/

What Makes Memes Popular? The Language and Science of Memes | Science and Tech | The Escapist: https://v1.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/scienceandtech/15155-What-Makes-Memes-Popular-The-Language-and-Science-of-Memes?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=686242982007a3cc88d3af50936435a95a7b4465-1587489315-0-AUyj3sDBnmG9BLMc3ZVQuKAGA3Kfo-vT-b5MoQEn7oHXBl4YSM-wsQOcxfNOQ5OT5D5cDrT-1zv0rXS6L1z3N3J8MlBC_Sdk_688WWbSReAIC5y5BGg5CG4umKBBAO8vx976VPXWo7JqIPfaxXR3cXWVTI5gM6UnpNvpbTKkXTBjgbAsK2D692o2GLpqwfsSZbPFwvpllXoAGeoxt9bND8pzJ5K3CSx1D0dLO8F73hN0xuESM_bhJ1KY5ZcN9rormMEYwtYAb96JRmUfNRGX083_14jZvQA3Adr4zeyCxwKgOcifA5OfZrpMPtjxo-Ps2ckoJArM6lIOcaP5TTraLvhTGzIFNOfXYUVbO7wfdd9cT1_NzJ7ahlfRjbj85ein3gs81p5GYJHDUIscoH85M9Q

How Cat Memes Became A Language Learning Game: https://www.forbes.com/sites/danieltack/2013/11/20/how-cat-memes-became-a-language-learning-game/#a72b6b648757

Best SpongeBob Squarepants Memes, Explained From Mocking SpongeBob to Surprised Patrick: https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/g28400028/spongebob-squarepants-meme-guide-explained/

Dogs Are Doggos: An Internet Language Built Around Love For The Puppers : All Tech Considered NPR: https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2017/04/23/524514526/dogs-are-doggos-an-internet-language-built-around-love-for-the-puppers

How internet memes and inside jokes create a private language that makes us feel like we belong | National Post: https://nationalpost.com/entertainment/how-internet-memes-and-inside-jokes-create-a-private-language-that-makes-us-feel-like-we-belong

SpongeBob SquarePants creator Stephen Hillenburg gave the internet language – The Verge: https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/28/18115919/spongebob-squarepants-stephen-hillenburg-death-meme

Disclaimer: The memes linked, embedded or mentioned in this blog do not belong to The Meme Project and are not the views of the Meme Project Team. They have been used here to refer to their content or make a statement about their use.

Meme, a term that has become so ubiquitously used is not only enjoyed and casually shared but also widely understood and accepted in various types of social circles. This nature of memes makes them a significant unit of cultural transmission. It is a tool used to explain and perpetuate not just any given concept or idea, but whole narratives as well. 

Memes have become a potent agency, of sorts that can be used to suit anybody’s needs. They have become devices that use humour to form critiques, rhetorics to convey ideas. At the same time, they have sadly become platforms that could further bigotry, given their malleable nature. However, memes as a device do not offer absolute answers. They simply become parts of the discourses that they are used for, by turning into tools used to communicate an idea. However given the semblance of memes to a sort of language on its own, it becomes important to examine, question and critique the idea it attempts to convey. Will emojis become the next hieroglyphs? Who knows! But memes are already on the train of transformation, relieving academics from pasting that unaesthetic chunk of text on a powerpoint slide by instead helping them break down theories with an esoteric chuckle. Don’t fret about this takeover, we’ve got you covered! Read on to learn how to make your own meme.

#1 Templates:

An image can be any object that requires or warrants visual perception. In that sense, an image is crucial in the making of a meme template. An image can hold multiple meanings and connotations, which make any given meme even more adaptive in nature. This adaptability further gives it a wider scope to recur in culture. Read on to find the ways in which an image is easily made into a meme.

Image macros are pretty important as a source for how memes originated and expanded. They are basically any image that has a set background and text is superimposed. The LOLCat memes are a classic along with animal advice memes which have the faces of animals with superimposed text. If you look closely, the dialogue or monologue meant for the animal, often has text with intentionally incorrect grammar. This is just one characteristic of such templates.

Whether image macros are the same as memes has become a debatable topic. While some believe it could be a form of meme, some others argue that they are starkly different. The basic premise of this argument is that cultural transmission is unique to memes, whereas image macros lack that characteristic. With its saving grace of the big white ‘Impact’ font, it has little reach in conveying an idea. 

A lot of the meme templates are pretty seasonal, because of the reach they have during any given period of time. All of us can relate to the COVID-19 memes making the round. In particular, the Sarabhai meme template has revived itself and gained newfound fame dictating what Monisha beta must say and what’s “middle class”. Likewise, when the ‘Avengers: Endgame’ was due for release several templates based in the MCU were used. The ‘Dr. Strange’ memes and ‘Scott being happy memes’ had their stage for a good amount before the final movie was released. We think real talent lies in using any template and adapting it to whatever idea is on the go. Some templates make this really easy, take a look. These classics (and several others) never quit.

#2 Fonts:

The most noticeable thing about a meme right after the image used, is the font. You see, fonts are essential for impact. And in fact, the most used font is ‘Impact’. The fonts used for making memes are pretty straightforward, they aren’t made to look exceptionally artsy or flowery. Having said that, some memes like the ‘Fancy Pooh’ template or the ‘Galaxy brain’ template, can be enhanced with some decorative fonts like ‘Satisfy’ or ‘Dancing Script’ so as to add nuance and bring the ultimate message to climax with the help of that font. A simpler way to go about it, is to pick an ‘Arial’ or a ‘Montserrat’ and italicize it. 

The next two fonts that are widely used are ‘Comic Sans MS’ and some word art to add some sort of epithet in the text.

#3 Political satire and commentary in memes:

If you’ve been noticing, memes and image macros were a very creative tool along with good old sloganeering during the anti-CAA and NRC protests. Of course this is not the first time memes were used to make a statement, a comment of any sort. Point being, they have a voice and the power to further amplify voices. You can pick any template and tweak it to suit your message. Photoshop helps all the more in tweaking the template itself. What’s important to remember is the connotations that your template might invite and to make that aspect foolproof. 

Several memes are used and tweaked to address political issues and concerns regarding governance. We’ve compiled some socio-political movements that used memes for amplifying their voices, right from the time Brazil launched its first meme world war against Portugal in 2016, to the memes used in the Climate Strike of 2019; there you go. 

(From top to bottom: ‘Confused Lady meme’ – one that Brazil used to accuse Portugal of appropriation, the Romanians in Europe being called ‘Remainians post BREXIT meme’, meme that celebrates the fall of the radical Buddhists monk group in Myanmar, Drake meme which advocates for meaningful engagement to stop climate change)

#4 Participation in memetic communities

A lot of online communities in favour of a particular fandom, or issue are formed on multiple social network sites and are made accessible by free subscriptions and minimum gatekeeping. Another aspect is keeping content relevant and audience-friendly. If you’re even remotely into memes, you might know about ‘9GAG’, an online community based in Hong Kong. This community provides a platform for publishing user-generated content and circulating it further through their various handles and pages. ‘4chan’ is another forum that allows discussions and is known mainly for its anonymity. Several other communities like the handle @badassbahujanmemes or @bollymeme are not very generic but produce statement-making content. Participation in such communities has its benefits- of finding agency to express oneself, of following content that is relatable, of finding a space where one’s thoughts are welcomed. At the same time, there are quite a few cons to this whole issue, the umbrella term for it being “trolling”- hate speech, furthering of slurs, stereotypes and all of the negatives that we’ve already established. The stakes for participation are nowhere close to being high, but the mental costs that one might have to pay are as always, intangible and subjective.

Memes hold a significant voice, in every tone, pitch and scale. Their nature is such that they are super adaptive and can be used as devices that can recur in culture. Meme-making has never been easier, photo-morphing, superimposing text, fonts, templates are easily available and through various platforms. We’ve compiled a list of sources that we found to be most accessible and useful. Take a look and meme away!

https://imgflip.com/memegenerator

https://www.kapwing.com/meme-templates

https://spark.adobe.com/make/meme-maker/

https://spark.adobe.com/templates/memes/

https://www.canva.com/en_in/create/memes/

References: 

All template images: https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/templates/page/3

31 ‘Avengers 4’ trailer memes that will kill you and bring you back to life: https://www.popbuzz.com/tv-film/news/avengers-4-endgame-trailer-meme/

Meme fonts: Which ones to use and how to use them: https://www.kapwing.com/resources/meme-fonts-which-ones-to-use-and-how-to-use-them/

Indian Meme Templates: https://indianmemetemplates.com/

Distracted Boyfriend meme template: https://imgflip.com/memetemplate/Distracted-Boyfriend

If you want to understand Brazil, you should check out its memes: https://globalvoices.org/?s=memes

9 GAG CEO Ray Chan: “Building a healthy community is a never-ending battle”: https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/26/9gag-ceo-ray-chan-building-a-healthy-community-is-a-never-ending-battle/

Disclaimer: The memes linked, embedded or mentioned in this blog do not belong to The Meme Project and are not the views of the Meme Project Team. They have been used here to refer to their content or make a statement about their use.