Vernacular voices in the public sphere
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Martin Gill
Abstract
Though criticized for attracting bigots and haters, ‘below the line’ (BTL) comment spaces extend the public sphere to include vernacular voices that rarely figure in mainstream democratic debate. This study examines interaction among commenters in a corpus of comments posted to the British newspaper the Express on the divisive issue of Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union. It shows how in this context regular BTL commenters create and perform an authentic ‘Brexiter’ identity in opposition to public norms of civility, through displays of in-group solidarity and collective out-group hostility. It further shows how this aggressive behaviour is deliberately orchestrated and channelled by the newspaper itself. The study suggests that, as a result, the common ground essential to democratic participation is not being extended but eroded, to the detriment of all.
Abstract
Though criticized for attracting bigots and haters, ‘below the line’ (BTL) comment spaces extend the public sphere to include vernacular voices that rarely figure in mainstream democratic debate. This study examines interaction among commenters in a corpus of comments posted to the British newspaper the Express on the divisive issue of Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union. It shows how in this context regular BTL commenters create and perform an authentic ‘Brexiter’ identity in opposition to public norms of civility, through displays of in-group solidarity and collective out-group hostility. It further shows how this aggressive behaviour is deliberately orchestrated and channelled by the newspaper itself. The study suggests that, as a result, the common ground essential to democratic participation is not being extended but eroded, to the detriment of all.
Chapters in this book
- 日本言語政策学会 / Japan Association for Language Policy. 言語政策 / Language Policy 10. 2014 i
- Dedication v
- Table of contents vii
- Acknowledgements ix
- Structures in discourse 1
- Evaluation as a persuasive tactic in the 2012 Obama-Romney debates 18
- How pragmatically (in)definite are you and one ? 36
- Amazing – The use of English in texting between a Finland-Swedish high school girl and friends 58
- The uses of laughter in epideictic radio interviews 83
- Temporality in reaction GIFs as multimodal virtual performatives 103
- Emoji and illocutionarity 124
- Revisiting adaptability 156
- Vernacular voices in the public sphere 176
- Contributor bios 202
- Index 205
Chapters in this book
- 日本言語政策学会 / Japan Association for Language Policy. 言語政策 / Language Policy 10. 2014 i
- Dedication v
- Table of contents vii
- Acknowledgements ix
- Structures in discourse 1
- Evaluation as a persuasive tactic in the 2012 Obama-Romney debates 18
- How pragmatically (in)definite are you and one ? 36
- Amazing – The use of English in texting between a Finland-Swedish high school girl and friends 58
- The uses of laughter in epideictic radio interviews 83
- Temporality in reaction GIFs as multimodal virtual performatives 103
- Emoji and illocutionarity 124
- Revisiting adaptability 156
- Vernacular voices in the public sphere 176
- Contributor bios 202
- Index 205
