Abstract
Digital technologies constantly challenge how discourse analysts understand text, interactions and even the essence of language itself (Jones et al., 2015: 1). Although attempts have been made to develop a new theoretical lens to explore the field of digital discourse studies, it is still difficult to paint a panorama with only one framework. Drawing on abundant data from social media platforms and communities, this volume brings together five parts to provide new insightful perspectives to and illuminate the future trends of digital discourse analysis. Therefore, there is a reason to believe that this volume will be of particular interest to researchers who wish to integrate digital practices and discourse analysis.
In Part I, Introduction, Garcés-Conejos Blitvich and Bou-Franch first point out that this volume aims to offer new insights and identify future directions for digital discourse studies. The field of digital discourse analysis went through three waves: medium-related patterns, user-related patterns and ‘translocality or transmediality’. At the end of this part, multimodal critical discourse studies and critical technocultural discourse analysis are identified as new approaches with the potential to move this field forward.
Part II (Chapter 2) aims to shed light on the interrelations among the past, present and future of computer-mediated discourse analysis (CMDA). Overviewing previous literature on pre-Web, Web 1.0 and Web 2.0, Herring proposes a multimodal computer-mediated communication framework to cope with semiotic modes of digital discourse. This framework improves and enriches the current CMDA analytical lens.
Part III (Chapters 3–6) deals with multimodality. In a broad sense, multimodality represents a combined use of visual, audio, spatial and gestural modes. Chapter 3 is concerned with this area of research. Using a multimodal transcription of students’ video-mediated conversations, Sidoni investigates their societal ideologies of language and communication. In a narrow sense, multimodality is understood as a combination of different visual systems. Chapters 4–6 explore this visual mode of multimodality, with Internet memes, quotations and emoticons assuming the focus of the three chapters, respectively. As Internet memes are notably the most common form of multimodality that claims much academic attention, Chapter 4 is highlighted here to show the text–picture interaction in Internet memes. Yus argues that the linguistic mode determines the interpretation of a certain meme, while visual modes may either amplify, elaborate, demonstrate or support linguistic information.
Part IV (Chapters 7–10) addresses identity and face. Identity can be shaped and negotiated in an online business context, online health practices and social media (Chapters 7–9). Social media may be an arena that breeds the most complicated ways of identity negotiation and construction. Therefore, Chapter 9 is highlighted here. Petroni invites the reader to consider how users position themselves in a professional digital context, and how social media influences users’ agency and identity construction. With respect to face studies, Maíz-Arévalo (Chapter 10) identifies several linguistic strategies (avoidance, remediation, humor, accounts, etc.) for face-repairing or restoration within a Spanish common interest group on Facebook.
Part V (Chapters 11–13) is about language and media ideologies. García-Gómez (Chapter 11) investigates features of sexualized youth cyberculture and the construction of multiple masculine identities based on interviews and guided discussions. Politeness is also an essential topic in ideology studies. To this end, Sifianou and Bella (Chapter 12) reveal how politeness is conceived in Greek, based on a corpus of brief messages posted on Twitter. Roeder et al. (Chapter 13) present their research on pedagogy, audience and attitudes, which aims to raise university students’ metalinguistic awareness in digital communication.
With new insights for analyzing the multimodal, identity and ideological facets of digital discourse, this volume is likely to benefit researchers who are keen on investigating digital communication. First, by reviewing relevant literature, this volume points to critical and technocultural perspectives as future directions to narrow the gap between digital practices and discourse analysis. Second, it provides researchers with a wide repertoire of methods (corpus-based approach, cyberpragmatic approach, multimodal discourse analysis, etc.) from which they may choose those best suited to the purpose of their digital discourse studies and their personal concerns. Third, it embeds a sociolinguistic perspective to explore digital discourse and communication, paying special attention to gender differences in emoticons use, as well as identity construction and destruction. Finally, it elucidates pedagogical implications for students’ metalinguistic awareness in a digital setting, which is of great value in literacy education and development.
Along with such advantages, this volume has some limitations. As Jones et al. (2015: 4) suggest, discourse analysts usually emphasize four things: texts, context, actions and interactions, and power and ideology. However, the editors of this volume seem to have missed an opportunity to address actions and interactions – an issue too relevant to be overlooked, given that what people do with discourse and what they do to each other always concern us all, especially in terms of flaming, trolling and online bullying (Tagg, 2015: 84). This volume also neglects the notion of intertextuality, whose role is increasingly evident in digital discourse. As resources for meaning-making, hypertext and linking enable readers and writers to digest and structure digital discourse. Therefore, adequate attention should be paid to intertextuality as a vital aspect of digital communication that any digital discourse analyst cannot afford to ignore.
Nevertheless, these limitations by no means eclipse this volume’s contribution to inspiring researchers and practitioners to be part of an emerging landscape where digital discourse analysis can be conducted within a proper and valid analytical framework. Perhaps what is more important here than motivating researchers is to help individuals living in this digital age cope with digital communication, creating a sound, healthy digital context with which digital communication flourishes.