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Article published In: Register Studies
Vol. 2:1 (2020) ► pp.1–36

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Are online news comments like face-to-face conversation?

A multi-dimensional analysis of an emerging register

 | Simon Fraser University
 | Simon Fraser University
Published online: 10 April 2020
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/rs.19012.ehr
Abstract
This article focuses on the question of whether online news comments are like face-to-face conversation or not. It is a widespread view that online comments are like “dialogue”, with comments often being referred to as “conversations”. These assumptions, however, lack empirical back-up. In order to answer this question, we systematically explore register-relevant properties of online news comments using multi-dimensional analysis (MDA) techniques. Specifically, we apply MDA to establish what online comments are like by describing their linguistic features and comparing them to traditional registers (e.g. face-to-face conversation, academic writing). Thus, we tap the SFU Opinion and Comments Corpus and the Canadian component of the International Corpus of English. We show that online comments are not like spontaneous conversation but rather closer to opinion articles or exams, and clearly constitute a written register. Furthermore, they should be described as instances of argumentative evaluative language.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Social media language, online news comments and register analysis
  • 3.Data
  • 4.Multi-dimensional analysis
    • 4.1Features and frequencies
    • 4.2Factor analysis
  • 5.Variational dimensions
  • 6.Are online news comments like face-to-face conversation?
  • 7.Concluding remarks
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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