An Analysis of Black-Owned Fashion Brands’ Instagram Captions
Keywords:
systemic functional grammar, interpersonal metafunction, Black-owned fashion, Instagram, captionsAbstract
The study aims to analyze the mood structure and mood types used in Instagram captions of Black-owned fashion brands, investigating how these linguistic choices contribute to speech function, power, and identity construction within the mass media. Twenty Instagram posts from 10 brands (two posts from each brand) were used to compile the data. The interpersonal metafunction of Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG) was applied during data analysis. The findings show a frequent use of declarative (48.98%) and imperative (38.78%) moods while the interrogative mood accounts for 6.12%. From the findings, the predominant speech functions of these captions are statements and commands respectively. Furthermore, power is conveyed through the imperative mood. Additionally, the identity of Black people, which includes the use of African American Vernacular English (AAVE), is not expressed in the advertising captions of these brands. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of how the mood choice shapes the interaction between brands and readers in advertisements of fashion brands owned by Black people.
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