Nota BeNe 4.1: Going Viral: Language, Media, and Circulating Forms
The concept of virality has become a key term in contemporary discussions of language, discourse, and communication. Originally associated with biological metaphors of contagion and spread, virality is now used to describe a variety of phenomena, often lacking a shared conceptual or methodological basis. Recent scholarship across linguistics, media studies, and communication research has increasingly drawn on the concept of virality to describe processes of circulation, repetition, and uptake (cf. Jenkins, Ford & Green 2013; Nahon & Hemsley 2013; Sampson 2012; Denisova 2020). Rather than constituting a stable or unified theoretical framework, virality itself appears as a dynamic and shifting concept whose meanings, applications, and explanatory scope vary across historical moments, contexts, and disciplines.
From this perspective, virality can be understood not only as an object of analysis but also as a lens for examining how linguistic, media, and even theoretical forms circulate, gain momentum, lose visibility, or become sedimented over time. This issue of Nota BeNe focuses on these processes in diverse contexts and modalities, highlighting how circulating forms emerge, stabilise, and transform when considered from disciplinary, cultural, and media-oriented perspectives.
Topics and themes may include (but are not limited to):
Contemporary viralities
- Linguistic phenomena and discursive forms that go viral, i.e., spread rapidly across contexts and
media (e.g., 6-7 in, and more recently also beyond, youth language) - Theories or concepts that have gone viral, i.e., gained popularity very fast and whose trajectories
illustrate processes of academic circulation, consolidation, and recontextualisation (e.g.,
Grammaticalisation, Construction Grammar, Media Turn) – including the question of whether
widespread use leads to conceptual diversification or shifting boundaries - Social media phenomena, memes, and viral sound patterns
- Trends and catchphrases across platforms like TikTok, Instagram, or Twitter
- Viral practices of knowledge dissemination, including linguistic or literary content creators and
influencer-based science communication
Multimodal and mediated viralities
- Multimodal practices of repetition, adaptation, and transformation
- Combinations of communicative resources (e.g., linguistic, embodied, visual, and auditory) in
circulating practices - Interaction between linguistic forms and media environments
- Online communities and collaborative content, such as fanfiction, collaborative storytelling, or
remix culture - Historical media formats that shaped communication (e.g., Friendster, StudiVZ, MySpace)
- Cultural practices that captured public attention and illustrate processes of circulation, visibility,
and decline (e.g., Walkman, Tamagotchi, Pokémon cards)
We warmly invite linguistic or linguistically inspired contributions addressing these and related topics, focusing on both recent and past viralities. Contributions can present original empirical research, but more general or theoretical reflections are also encouraged. If you would like to contribute, please submit an abstract of approximately 500 words (excluding references) to notabene@aau.at by April 15, 2026. Following acceptance of the abstract, the full article (in English) will be due by September 15, 2026.
References
- Denisova, Anastasia. 2020. How to Define “Viral” for Media Studies? Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture 15,1. 1–4.
- Jenkins, Henry, Green, Joshua & Ford, Sam. 2013. Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture. New York: New York University Press.
- Nahon, Karine & Hemsley, Jeff. 2013. Going Viral. Cambridge: Polity Press.
- Sampson, Tony D. 2012. Virality: Contagion Theory in the Age of Networks. Minneapolis/London: University of Minnesota Press.