Intertextuality 2.0: Metadiscourse and Meaning-Making in an Online Community

Intertextuality is the idea that all texts and conversations are linked to other texts and conversations, and people create and infer meanings in discourse through making and interpreting these links. This study demonstrates how specific intertextual linking strategies, both linguistic and multimodal, are mobilized by posters participating in online weight loss discussion boards to accomplish metadiscursive activities such as constructing shared understandings, negotiating interactional norms, and facilitating engagement in the group's primary shared activity. Intertextuality 2.0 offers important new insights into why intertextuality occurs and what it accomplishes.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 264 pages
Publication date: 27 April 2023
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc

Intertextuality, a captivating concept, asserts that all texts and conversations are interconnected, forming a vast web of relationships. Within this intricate tapestry, individuals engage in the creation and interpretation of meanings through the forging and comprehension of these interconnections. Intertextuality finds its core essence intertwined with metadiscourse, a term that refers to the communication of something about a text or conversation through the explicit or implicit reference to another text or conversation. While scholars have long acknowledged the interconnectedness of these two theoretical concepts, existing studies have often tended to focus solely on one or the other, neglecting the intricate ways in which they intertwine at the micro-interactional level, particularly in the realm of online discourse.

To address this gap, this interactive sociolinguistic study presents a valuable contribution by showcasing how specific intertextual linking strategies, encompassing both linguistic and multimodal elements, are mobilized by participants engaged in online weight loss discussion boards. These strategies serve as valuable resources for accomplishing metadiscursive activities aimed at various levels of discourse. Through these activities, participants forge shared understandings, negotiate the group's interactional norms, and facilitate engagement in the primary shared activity: exchanging information about weight loss, healthful eating, and related issues. By applying a rigorous metadiscourse perspective to the study of intertextuality, Intertextuality 2.0 offers profound new insights into the reasons behind intertextuality's occurrence and its remarkable accomplishments. It reveals how intertextuality empowers individuals to navigate the complexities of communication, fostering understanding, collaboration, and support within online communities.

Dimension: 235 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780197643440