Bravo for this editorial!
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Marjut Johansson
Abstract
In this paper, I study how comments function as follow-ups in the discussion forums of online newspapers. Follow-ups recontextualize an object of discourse from its prior context to an ongoing context. A follow-up involves stance-taking, positioning, and negotiation of meaning. The data were obtained from one major French online newspaper called lemonde.fr. They consist of ten editorials with political and social topics, along with their subsequent comments. The first objective was to find out how, and by which linguistic means, writers express their stance and evaluate the editorials. It was found that they do it through axiological adjectives, explicit positioning, and various communicative acts, as well as by affective, epistemic, and ironic expressions. The second aim was to examine how the discussion forum posts target the prior discourse, and open up a negotiation, i.e., what types of responsive and initiative properties are used to negotiate the meaning. Findings indicate that the comments target either the content or the stance expressed in the editorial. By using them, users imply that they know more about the issue or they share the same view.
Abstract
In this paper, I study how comments function as follow-ups in the discussion forums of online newspapers. Follow-ups recontextualize an object of discourse from its prior context to an ongoing context. A follow-up involves stance-taking, positioning, and negotiation of meaning. The data were obtained from one major French online newspaper called lemonde.fr. They consist of ten editorials with political and social topics, along with their subsequent comments. The first objective was to find out how, and by which linguistic means, writers express their stance and evaluate the editorials. It was found that they do it through axiological adjectives, explicit positioning, and various communicative acts, as well as by affective, epistemic, and ironic expressions. The second aim was to examine how the discussion forum posts target the prior discourse, and open up a negotiation, i.e., what types of responsive and initiative properties are used to negotiate the meaning. Findings indicate that the comments target either the content or the stance expressed in the editorial. By using them, users imply that they know more about the issue or they share the same view.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Following up across contexts and discourse domains: Introduction ix
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Follow-ups in the new media
- Follow-ups in broadcast political discourse 3
- Intertextual references in Austrian parliamentary debates 25
- “I have nothing to do but agree” 57
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Follow-ups across speech events
- Bravo for this editorial! 83
- Metacommunicative follow-ups in British, German and Russian political webchats 109
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Follow-ups across speech events
- Framing the Queen’s head scarf 139
- Follow-ups in political talk shows and their visual framing 169
- Follow-ups in interpreter-mediated interviews and press conferences 205
- Follow-ups in pre-structured communication 231
- Index 263
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Following up across contexts and discourse domains: Introduction ix
-
Follow-ups in the new media
- Follow-ups in broadcast political discourse 3
- Intertextual references in Austrian parliamentary debates 25
- “I have nothing to do but agree” 57
-
Follow-ups across speech events
- Bravo for this editorial! 83
- Metacommunicative follow-ups in British, German and Russian political webchats 109
-
Follow-ups across speech events
- Framing the Queen’s head scarf 139
- Follow-ups in political talk shows and their visual framing 169
- Follow-ups in interpreter-mediated interviews and press conferences 205
- Follow-ups in pre-structured communication 231
- Index 263
