Cover not available
Part of
Applications of Pattern-driven Methods in Corpus Linguistics
Edited by Joanna Kopaczyk and Jukka Tyrkkö
[Studies in Corpus Linguistics 82] 2018
► pp. 251–276

Chapter 10
I don’t want to and don’t get me wrong

Lexical bundles as a window to subjectivity and intersubjectivity in American blogs

 | Swansea University
Blogs are one of the most prominent genres of Web 2.0; yet, research on their linguistic characteristics is limited. This study contributes to addressing this research gap by investigating lexical bundles in American blogs. Lexical bundles are units of discourse structure which can reveal a great deal about the unique linguistic characteristics and communicative functions shaping registers. Extraction of four-word bundles in a corpus of American blogs reveals, firstly, that lexical bundles are relatively uncommon in blog writing. Analyses of discourse function and grammatical patterns show that blogs rely mainly on stance expressions, which often encapsulate first person reference (e.g., I don’t want to), thus reflecting the focus on self-expression and subjectivity which characterizes this register. Like in conversation, bundles in blogs tend to be verb-phrase based. But blogs also rely substantially on referential (e.g., a lot of people) and narrative expressions (e.g., I got to see), and thus share characteristics of literate registers and fiction writing. In sum, lexical bundles in blog writing are characterized by a unique combination of features which reflect two underlying forces: mode and communicative purpose.
Keywords: lexical bundles, blogs, register variation, stance, subjectivity, intersubjectivity
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Background: The language and discourse of blogs
  • 3.Methods
    • 3.1Corpus for analysis
    • 3.2Identification of lexical bundles
    • 3.3Functional classification of lexical bundles
  • 4.Lexical bundles in American blogs
    • 4.1Functional characteristics of lexical bundles
    • 4.2Person reference in lexical bundles
    • 4.3Structural characteristics of lexical bundles
  • 5.Discussion and conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 13 March 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.82.10bar
References (48)
References
Ädel, Annelie & Erman, Britt. 2012. Recurrent word combinations in academic writing by native and non-native speakers of English. A lexical bundles approach. English for Specific Purposes 31: 81–92. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Anthony, Lawrence. 2013. AntConc (Version 3.4.1).Google Scholar
Barbieri, Federica. 2015. Involvement in university classroom discourse: Register variation and interactivity. Applied Linguistics 36(2): 151–173. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Baron, Naomi. S. 2008. Always on. Oxford: OUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bednarek, Monika. 2011. The language of fictional television. A case study of the ‘dramedy’ Gilmore Girls . English Text Construction 4(1): 54–84. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Biber, Douglas. 1988. Variation across Speech and Writing. Cambridge: CUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 2006. University Language. A Corpus-based Study of Spoken and Written Registers [Studies in Corpus Linguistics 23]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Biber, Douglas & Barbieri, Federica. 2007. Lexical bundles in university spoken and written registers. English for Specific Purposes 26: 263–286. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Biber, Douglas, Conrad, Susan & Cortes, Viviana. 2004. If you look at …: Lexical bundles in university teaching and textbooks. Applied Linguistics 25(3): 371–405. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Biber, Douglas & Egbert, Jesse. 2016. Register variation on the searchable web: A multi-dimensional analysis. Journal of English Linguistics 44(2): 95–137. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Biber, Douglas, Egbert, Jesse & Davies, Mark. 2015. Exploring the composition of the searchable web: A corpus-based taxonomy of web registers. Corpora 10(1): 11–45. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Biber, Douglas, Johansson, Stig, Leech, Geoffrey, Conrad, Susan & Finegan, Edward. 1999. The Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. London: Longman.Google Scholar
Blood, Rebecca. 2000. Weblogs: A history and perspective. In Rebecca’s Pocket (September 2000–September 2013). <[URL]>
Bondi, Marina, & Diani, Giuliana. 2015. I am wild about cabbage: Evaluative ‘semantic sequences’ and cross-linguistic (dis)similarities. Nordic Journal of English Studies 14(1): 116–151.Google Scholar
Breeze, Ruth. 2013. Lexical bundles across four legal genres. International Journal of Corpus Linguistics 18(2): 229–253. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chafe, Wallace. 1982. Integration and involvement in speaking, writing, and oral literature. In Spoken and Written Language: Exploring Orality and Literacy, Deborah Tannen (ed.), 35–53. Norwood NJ: Ablex.Google Scholar
Chen, Yu-Hua & Baker, Paul. 2010. Lexical bundles in L1 and L2 academic writing. Language Learning and Technology 14(2): 30–49.Google Scholar
Conrad, Susan & Biber, Douglas (eds). 2001. Variation in English: Multi-dimensional Studies. Harlow: Pearson Longman.Google Scholar
. 2004. The frequency and use of lexical bundles in conversation and academic prose. Lexicographica 20(56–71).Google Scholar
Cortes, Viviana. 2004. Lexical bundles in student and published academic writing: Examples from history and biology. English for Specific Purposes 23(4): 397–423. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Crowston, Kevin & Williams, Marie. 1997. Reproduced and emergent genres of communication on the World-Wide Web. The Information Society 16(3): 201–215.Google Scholar
Csomay, Eniko. 2013. Lexical bundles in discourse structure: A corpus-based study of classroom discourse. Applied Linguistics 34(3): 369–388. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fitzmaurice, Susan. 2004. Subjectivity, intersubjectivity and the historical construction of interlocutor stance: From stance markers to discourse markers. Discourse Studies 6(4): 427–448. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fuster-Márquez, Miguel. 2014. Lexical bundles and lexical frames in the language of hotel websites. English Text Construction 7(1): 84–121. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Grieve, Jack, Biber, Douglas, Friginal, Eric & Nekrasova, Tatiana. 2010. Variation among blogs: A multi-dimensional analysis. In Genres on the Web: Computational Models and Empirical Studies: Text, Speech and Language Technology, 45–71, A. Mehler, S. Sharoff & M. Santini (eds). Dordrecht: Springer.Google Scholar
Hardy, Jack A. & Friginal, Eric. 2012. Filipino and American online communication and linguistic variation. World Englishes 31(2): 143–161. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Herring, Susan C. & Paolillo, John C. 2006. Gender and genre variation in blogs. Journal of Sociolinguistics 10(4): 439–459. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Herring, Susan, Scheidt, Lois Ann, Wright, Elijah & Bonus, Sabrina. 2005. Weblogs as a bridging genre. Information Technology and People 18(2): 142–171. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hyland, Ken. 2005. Stance and engagement: A model of interaction in academic discourse. Discourse Studies 7(2): 173–192. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 2012. Bundles in academic discourse. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 32: 150–169. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kopaczyk, Joanna. 2013. Formulaic discourse across Early Modern English medical genres: Investigating shared bundles. In Meaning in the History of English: Words and Texts in Context [Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 148], Andreas H. Jucker (ed.), 257–300. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Krishnamurthy, Sandeep. 2002. The multidimensionality of blog conversations: the virtual enactment of September 11. Paper presented at the Internet Research 3.0, Maastricht, October.
Luzón, María José. 2011. ‘Interesting post, but I disagree’: Social presence and antisocial behaviour in academic weblogs. Applied Linguistics 32(5): 517–540. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 2013a. Narratives in academic blogs. In Linguistic Insights. Narratives in Academic and Professional Genres Maurizio Gotti & Carmen Sancho Guinda (eds), 175–193. Bern: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
. 2013b. Public communication in science blogs: Recontextualising scientific discourse for a diversified audience. Written Communication 4: 428–457. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mauranen, Anna. 2013. Hybridism, edutainment, and doubt: Science blogging findings its feet. Nordic Journal of English Studies 13(1): 7–36.Google Scholar
Miller, Caroline R. & Shepherd, Dawn. 2009. Questions for genre theory from the blogosphere. In Theories of Genre and Their Application to Internet Communication [Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 188], Janet Giltrow & Dieter Stein (eds), 263–290. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Myers, Greg. 2010. The Discourse of Blogs and Wikis. London and New York: Continuum.Google Scholar
Nardi, Bonnie. A., Schianto, Diane. G., Gumbrecht, M. & Swartz, L. 2004. ‘I’m bloggin this.’ A closer look at why people blog. Communications of the ACM 47(12): 41–46. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nesi, Hilary & Basturkmen, Helen. 2006. Lexical bundles and discourse signalling in academic lectures. International Journal of Corpus Linguistics 11(3): 283–304. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
O’Reilly, Tim. 2005. What is Web 2.0. Design patterns and business models for the next generation of software. <[URL]>
Paquot, Magali & Granger, Sylviane. 2012. Formulaic language in learner corpora. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 32: 130–149. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Partington, Alan & Morley, John. 2002. From frequency to ideology: Investigating word and cluster/bundle frequency in political debate. In Practical Applications in Language and Computers – PALC 2013, Barbara Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk (ed.), 179–192. Frankfurt: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Precht, Kristen. 2003. Stance moods in spoken English: Evidentiality and affect in British and American conversation. Text 23(2), 239–257. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Puschmann, Cornelius. 2009. Diary or megaphone? The pragmatic mode of weblogs. Paper presented at the Language in the (New) Media: Technologies and Ideologies, Seattle WA.
. 2010. Thank you for thinking we could: Use and function of interpersonal pronouns in corporate web logs. In Approaches to Syntactic Variation and Genre, Heidrun Dorgeloh & Anja Wanner (eds), 167–194. Berlin: Mouton the Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ruiz-Garrido, Miguel & Ruiz-Madrid, M. Noelia. 2011. Corporate identity in the blogosphere: The case of executive blogs. In Discourse and Identity in the Professions: Legal, Corporate, and Institutional Citizenship, Vijay K. Bhatia & Paola Evangelisti Allori (eds), 103–125. Bern: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Titak, Ashley & Roberson, Audrey. 2013. Dimensions of web registers: An exploratory multi-dimensional comparison. Corpora 8(2): 235–260. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by (4)

Cited by four other publications

Wang, Wei
2024. Lexical bundles in TED talks: Topical variations and pedagogical implications. International Journal of English for Academic Purposes: Research and Practice 4:1 ► pp. 93 ff. DOI logo
Petrocelli, Emilia, Laura Di Ferrante & Elisa Ghia
2022. Multi-Word Combinations in Science Communication: A Corpus-Driven Study of University Press Releases. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies 12:4 ► pp. e202224 ff. DOI logo
De Cock, Sylvie & Sylviane Granger
2021. Stance in press releases versus business news: a lexical bundle approach. Text & Talk 41:5-6 ► pp. 691 ff. DOI logo
Diani, Giuliana
2021. ‘In this post, I argue that…’: constructing argumentative discourse in scholarly law blog posts. European Journal of English Studies 25:3 ► pp. 369 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 27 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.