Abstract
This chapter focuses on the analysis of interpersonal metadiscourse markers in English and Italian travel blog posts from a cross-linguistic perspective, more specifically self-mention and engagement markers. Drawing on Hyland’s (2005) model of interactional metadiscourse, a quantitative and qualitative study is presented based on two small corpora of 60 travel blog posts each written by Anglo-American and Italian travellers describing Italian destinations. The study combines corpus methodology with a discourse analytic approach and identifies instances of the blogger’s self-representation and of writer-reader interaction. The overall findings reveal that both Anglo-American and Italian travel bloggers place great emphasis on the manifestation of their identity, to establish and demonstrate their credibility for future travellers who will use information from what they consider credible blog posts thanks to their spontaneous writing. Emphasis is also placed on readership. The strategy of addressing potential tourist/travellers directly foregrounds the highly dialogic and reader-oriented nature of the travel blog post.
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Travel community websites
Italian
https://manuelavitulli.com/2015/03/firenze-tra-classico-moderno-221
https://callmeleuconoe.wordpress.com/2013/09/10/diari-siciliani-tra-palermo-e-monreale/
https://turistipercaso.it/diari-di-viaggio/firenze-in-solitaria.html
https://scrutatrice.wordpress.com/2014/03/09/diario-di-viaggio-napoli/
Anglo-American
http://grabthepassport.co.uk/index.php/2016/03/02/discovering-the-real-venice/
http://vickyflipfloptravels.com/what-to-do-in-milan-this-summer/
http://www.aluxurytravelblog.com/2015/07/20/the-perfect-girls-day-in-milan/
http://www.mytripjournal.com/travel-101067-naples-hotel-walk-bad-hurried-jason-museum-people-place
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Diani, G. (2023). On the Metadiscursive Dimension of Travel Blog Posts: A Cross-Linguistic Analysis. In: Bellés-Fortuño, B., Bellés-Calvera, L., Martínez-Hernández, AI. (eds) New Trends on Metadiscourse. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36690-1_9
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