Internet Pragmatics - Volume 6, Issue 2, 2023

Abstract

Examples of posts from three Finnish (236 posts) and one French (410 posts) discussion threads are analyzed with regard to lexicon, grammar, speech acts, and topoi. The aim is to illustrate the different means used to express hatred or speech pertaining to ideological and thematic spaces in which the expression of hatred may be legitimized. The examples represent everyday discourse, which is an influential arena for the materialization of ideologies. Given the lack of linguistic and discursive tools used exclusively to express or legitimize hatred, doing research on hate speech always entails taking a specific ideological stance: neither linguistics nor pragmatics or discourse studies can provide a definition of hate speech that is valid in all contexts. Triangulating different methodological and theoretical perspectives is necessary to produce convincing research results.

Abstract

This study investigates the interplay between commenters’ gender and their language use in Slovene socially unacceptable Facebook comments by inspecting the frequency of opinion markers and impoliteness triggers, and the pragmatic functions of opinion markers which were investigated according to a newly developed typology. The analysis shows statistically significant differences between men and women in their formulation of opinions and use of impoliteness triggers. Comments written by men are characteristically formed as fact-like covert opinions and contain explicit impoliteness triggers (e.g., insults). Comments written by women are formed as overt opinions explicitly encoding subjectivity and include implicit impoliteness triggers (e.g., tropes). A common feature is the use of opinion markers as self-oriented face-saving devices. But while men use opinion markers to explicitly communicate their desire to save face, women use them to perform face-saving implicitly.

Abstract

This paper studies some pragmatic and discursive properties of hate words employed in the comment chains of two Italian right-wing politicians’ social media accounts. The analysis focuses on hate speech directed towards two ethnic groups – African migrants and the Chinese – and an individual, the former minister of Agriculture Teresa Bellanova. Hate words are divided into two macrocategories: slurs and insulting epithets. Slurs are expressions that are consistently associated with derogatory attitudes against a group of people based on their origin/descent; insulting epithets are either offensive terms that do not attack specific identity traits or neutral words that, in certain contexts, can be offensive. Data indicate that the use of hate words is guided by pragmatic factors and discursive elements, and it changes according to the individual(s) or the groups being attacked. Hate speech on social media occurs mainly through insulting epithets, thus allowing the authors to avoid moderation and any responsibility for their utterance. The results support the idea that hate speech is a complex speech act that aims not only at derogating or expressing negative emotions but works within the framework of racist discourses as a means of creating and reinforcing political polarisation and in-group values.

Abstract

This paper analyzes how a series of online COVID-19-related discussions in a public social media group divided a community consisting of part-time and permanent residents. The group is a general discussion forum aimed at the inhabitants of a relatively small Finnish municipality. The discussions took place in March-April 2020, and the recurring topic was the potential danger posed by holiday home owners, who permanent residents feared would bring the virus with them. The discussions escalated quickly, and several threads went on simultaneously for some weeks. In the discussions, an ingroup and an outgroup were instantly formed. The material is analyzed from the point of view of categorization analysis, hate speech and metapragmatics. I examine the course of the discussions, and topics such as responsible behavior, health, and money. In addition, I also examine the metapragmatic utterances and sequences, which steadily increased during the discussions, and take a critical stance toward them. The research method employed will be qualitative content analysis.

Abstract

Since the apparition of the web 2.0, memes have emerged as a form of language that blends visual and linguistic signs in a compressed format. Memes represent a typical production of our postdigital society, insofar as they blur boundaries between the digital and the non-digital, circulate quickly and may have an influence on our society. Memes also participate in the reinterpreting and expressing complex emotions, ideas, and cultural references in a new, condensed form. The aim of this paper is to show how memes convey hateful representations, both through language and visual signs based on popular culture, thus participating in a climate of violence in public discourse. This discourse analysis is based on a case study of memes that present excessive messages, through a particular blend of linguistic and visual utterances.

Abstract

Political crises often lead to the violent use of digital platforms. This text aims to analyze a particular response to that vitriolic discourse on Twitter: political parody. During the institutional crisis and political battle between the government of former Peruvian President Martín Vizcarra and the Peruvian Congress between 2017 and 2019, some political actors stood out, but not for good reasons. Karina Beteta, a right-wing Peruvian parliamentarian, used Twitter to interact with people, defend her decisions and attack anyone who did not share her viewpoints. She distinguished herself by tweeting confusing and, according to some, mocking texts. These tweets received an original counter-discourse with the creation of @smartbeteta, a parody account of politics. This paper analyzes the parodic performance by focusing on the pragmatic strategies embedded in @smartbeteta’s tweets and the role adopted by this account in the communication flows.

This article reviews Email Pragmatics and Second Language Learners978 90 272 1001 2978 90 272 5846 5

This article reviews Fragmented Narrative: Telling and Interpreting Stories in the Twitter Age978-0-367-07456-2978-1-032-03676-2978-0-429-02088-9