The Discourse of Blogs and Wikis

by Greg Myers

Book Overview

Blogs and Wikis have not been with us for long, but have made a huge impact on society. Wikipedia is the best known exemplar of the wiki, a collaborative site that leads to a single text claimed by no-one; blogs, or web-logs, have exploded into the mainstream through novelisations, film adaptations and have gathered huge followings. Blogs and wikis also serve to provide a coherent basis for a discourse analysis of specific web language.

What makes these forms distinctive as genres, and what ramifications does the technology have on the language? Myers looks at how blogs and wikis:
*allow for easier than ever publication
*can claim to challenge institutional hierarchies
*provide alternate perspectives on events
*exemplify globalization
*challenge demarcations between the personal and the public
*construct new communities and more

Drawing on a wide range of popular blogs and wikis, the book works alongside an author blog that contains regularly updated links, references and a glossary. An essential textbook for upper level undergraduates on linguistics and language studies courses, it elucidates, informs and offers insights into a major new type of discourse. This coursebook will include a companion website.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1847064140
• ISBN13: 9781847064141
• Release Date: January 2010
• Publisher: Continuum
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.1"