'On Þe is nis bute chatering': cyberpragmatics and the paratextual anatomy of Twitter

Green, J.M.E. (2014) 'On Þe is nis bute chatering': cyberpragmatics and the paratextual anatomy of Twitter. Studies in Variation, Contacts and Change in English, 15,

Abstract

Our experiences of written text are always mediated. This article considers the mediation of the written word on Twitter, both via the vehicle through which it is communicated (a Tweet) and the author who creates its text. Using Bonnie Mak’s definition of the page, and her analysis of the digital page as cultural artefact (2011), combined with Genette’s concept of paratext (1997), this article offers what Peter Barry (2007) terms a ‘context-saturated’ approach to Twitter: it considers the anatomy of Twitter as a new digital page, and provides a suggested analysis of the paratextual mechanisms employed therein, arguing these are a) central to mediating our reading practices of that digital page and b) more firmly rooted in the past that we might expect. In so doing, it contributes to an emerging discussion of the digital page as worthy of analysis, similar to the manuscript or printed book.

• Item Type: Articles (Other)
• Keywords: Paratext, pragmatics, twitter
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Green, Dr Johanna
• Authors: Green, J.M.E.
• Subjects: P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > Information Studies
• Journal Name: Studies in Variation, Contacts and Change in English
• Publisher: VARIENG eSeries
• ISSN: 1797-4453