Recontextualization And The Transformation Of Meanings In New Media Discourse

Since being created,new media has gradually become an inseparable part of our life.New media,based on different kinds of software applications,opens up a new field for people to know the world,to gain information and socialize.Its own features and a large number of on-line users enable new media to make a difference in the circulation of information,among which microblog is a typical representative.This paper selects the representation of the Communiqué of t the Fifth Plenary Session of the 18 th Communist Party of China Central Committee(hereafter the Communiqué)on microblog as the research subject,aiming to explore the recontextualization of the original text and the transformation of meanings involved in this process.By integrating Bhatia's Critical Genre Analysis(2004,2010,2015)and Fairclough's(1992)conceptualization of intertextuality,this thesis puts forward an analytical framework for the present study.By adopting this analytical framework,the thesis firstly explores the patterns involved in the recontextualization of a text in new media.Secondly,by adopting the conception of intertextuality made by Fairclough(1992)and the explanation of interdiscursivity presented by Bhatia(2010),the present paper elaborates the intertextual relationships manifested in the recontextualization process of the Communiqué on new media,including manifest intertextuality and interdiscursivity.Thirdly,the thesis analyzes the transformation of meanings in the process of recontextualization.After comparing the representations of the discourse before and after the process of recontextualization,the study finds that the recontextualization of a discourse in new media embodies the tendencies of changing from static to dynamic,from formal to informal and from statement to argument,which provide possibility for the formation of intertextuality and the transformation of meanings.It is found that intertextual strategies are commonly used in new media discourse to adapt to the new context and realize certain communicative purposes.Apart from discourse representation,presupposition and parody,manifest intertextuality in new media discourse also includes forms like hyperlinks and pictures.Interdiscursivity involved in the process of recontextualization includes the appropriation of professional genres,professional practices and professional cultures.Finally,the transformation of text types and meanings couldn't be ignored.It should be noted that the transformation of text types and meanings is the result of the process of recontextualization on the one hand,and on the other hand it is also one of the causes of recontextualization.