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.
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Cited by
Cited by 4 other publications
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.
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.
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.
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.
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