Linguistic, Sociolinguistic and Semiotic Study of Posters Chanted During HIRAK in Support of Gaza in Algeria

Abstract

     This study analyzes the posters raised during the Algerian popular movement supporting the Gaza Strip (from October 2023 to March 2024), from a linguistic, sociolinguistic, and semiotic perspective. The study aims to understand how these posters reflect multiple linguistic interactions, societal practices, and the construction of identity and solidarity with the Palestinian cause. The study adopted a descriptive and analytical methodology, using a purposive sample of 70 posters collected from social media platforms and local media coverage. The results showed the dominance of short nominal sentences (68%) and the Algerian dialect (Darja) as the primary language (43%), with a prominent phenomenon of code-switching between Darja, Classical Arabic, French, Amazigh, and English, each serving specific social and political functions. The study also revealed four major semantic fields: solidarity, resistance, denunciation, and religion. On the semiotic level, images of child martyrs (45%) and the Al-Aqsa Mosque (35%) dominated, with the prevalence of red (70%) for blood and martyrdom, black (55%) for mourning, and white (40%) for innocence and the shroud. The relationship between text and image varied between redundancy (25%), anchorage (50%), and relay (25%). The study concludes by affirming that these posters represent a complex visual and linguistic discourse, reflecting political and identity consciousness, and deserve to be documented as one of the most prominent forms of popular expression in the digital age.