1887
image of A pragmatic typology of WhatsApp sticker functions

Abstract

Abstract

This study investigates the pragmatic functions of custom WhatsApp stickers, with a particular focus on those integrating images and text. Building on prior research, the study develops a classification scheme that highlights three core dimensions: the sender’s intention, the sticker-centred act of communication, and the audience’s interpretation of its meaning. The analysis is based on a corpus of 598 user-generated stickers from Spanish WhatsApp conversations, comprising 496 multimodal and 102 text-only stickers. The analysis reveals that stickers predominantly serve to clarify or emphasise the sender’s intention (56.9%), including self-representation, social status, group identity, and humour. A second set of functions is related to the sticker’s role in the act of communication (24.67%), such as substituting text, conveying emotion, and mimicking nonverbal behaviour. Lastly, stickers play a part in audience inference (18.41%), helping to soften, challenge, or elucidate messages, thereby enhancing overall message clarity.

Available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
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2025-12-15
2026-01-13
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