Face effects of verbal antagonism in online discussions

Christopher Hopkinson

doi:10.5817/BSE2014-1-4

Face effects of verbal antagonism in online discussions

Vol.40,No.1(2014)

Christopher Hopkinson

https://doi.org/10.5817/BSE2014-1-4

Stable URL (handle):
http://hdl.handle.net/11222.digilib/131483

PDF

Abstract

Based on a corpus of internet discussions on medical topics, this study examines a salient characteristic of the genre – the prevalence of aggressive verbal antagonism. Drawing on concepts of face, rapport management and relational work, I argue that the effects of verbally aggressive behaviour in this genre are not only destructive and anti-social, but also perform a constructive function, offering benefits both to individual speakers and to the discourse community as a whole. The analysis shows how speakers target different aspects of their opponents' face, deploying a range of face attack strategies (moves). The study then seeks to demonstrate how aggressive facework can help speakers construct and enhance their own face, as well as functioning as a stimulus to constructive relational work among participants.

Keywords:
community of practice; computer-mediated communication; discourse community; face; ingroup; membership categorization; online discussions; relational work; verbal antagonism

Pages:
65–87

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