Functions of quotation in online political comments

Abstract

This study explores the use of quotations in two contexts where online public discourses respond to social-political confrontations in China and the United States. We investigate the relationship between the form of marking quotations in online social media discourse and the functions that the quoted text accomplishes in the online interactive context in English and Chinese languages. In particular, we relate this to the affordances of the online context, taking account of the typographic indicators of quotation, such as the use of quotation marks. In the data analyzed, quotations indicate stances toward the quoted materials, toward people and ideas, or toward other participants in the comment sections. We describe four functions that draw attention to the communicative practice of quotation marking while showing how these are accomplished in their social, cultural, linguistic and technological contexts. We demonstrate how the literal and nonliteral meanings enlivened by quotations are exploited to display agreement or disagreement in online political comments.