Language and Visuals in Contradiction: A Semiotic and Discourse Analysis of a Moroccan Public Service Announcement for Forest Protection

Abstract

In Morocco, public service announcement is a complex field in which various linguistic practices and semiotic representations collide. Hence, the aim of the present work is to demystify the misalignment between language and visuals in the public service announcement in a video on the protection of the environment, namely towards forests. This study adopts a discourse and a visual analysis to clarify the extent to which the interpretation of the announcement leas to misunderstanding and causes a lot of ambiguity. The study also shows that the trees and forests are linguistically reported as feminine constructs while the visuals portrayed them as masculine constructs. This article has a lot  of implications for public institutions, advertising companies, and future researchers whose efforts are required to reconsider the pendulum between the linguistic and the visual in public announcements so as to effectively raise people’s awareness towards environmental issues.