The article addresses the discursive process of othering in online news discussion forums. It is based on a comparative analysis of data from reader comments in British and Czech online newspapers on the topic of recent Roma immigration to the United Kingdom. Applying the discourse historical and the cognitive-pragmatic approaches to CDA, the analysis identifies several common patterns in the two data sets. The first similarity concerns the central importance of place, with the theme of relocation being very prominent. The second point involves the role that intertextual quotations from popular culture play in activating the commenters’ search for relevant, implicitly communicated meanings. Finally, attention is paid to extensive narrativization of reader comments that contain elaborate discursive scripts of othering. It is argued that these strategies not only establish highly polarized collective identity of the ingroup but also postulate an absolute incompatibility between the ingroup and the outgroup. These extreme forms of differentiation appear to be particularly salient in discriminatory discourse involving the Roma.
Fear, loathing and prejudice in Blunkett’s back yard: A deeply disturbing dispatch as the ex-Labour Home Secretary warns of race riots over the Roma influx in Sheffield. Daily Mail, 15November2013.Article and reader comments available online at: [URL]
V Sheffieldu eskaluje napětí mezi Romy a místními [Tension escalates between the Roma and the locals in Sheffield]. aktualne.cz, 16November2013. The text of the article (under an updated headline) is available online at: [URL]The reader comments for the article are no longer available on the website.
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This list is based on CrossRef data as of 3 january 2025. 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.