Intertextuality 2. 0

Book excerpt: "Intertextuality captures the idea that all texts and conversations - and by extension, other creations such as images - are linked to other texts and conversations (and other creations), and that people, through making and interpreting such links, construct and infer meanings. Metadiscourse, which broadly refers to discourse about discourse, captures the notion that one important function of language is to communicate about itself. While scholars have long recognized the interrelatedness of the two theoretical concepts, existing studies have tended to focus on one or the other, thus leaving underexplored the specific ways in which these phenomena are intertwined at the micro-interactional level, especially online, and for what purposes. This interactional sociolinguistic study contributes to filling this gap by demonstrating how specific intertextual linking strategies, both linguistic (e.g., word repetition, deictic pronouns) and multimodal (e.g., emojis, symbols, and GIFs), are mobilized by posters participating on weight loss discussion boards. These strategies serve as a resource to accomplish the metadiscursive activities, targeted at various levels of discourse, through which participants construct shared understandings, negotiate the group's interactional norms, and facilitate engagement in the group's primary shared activity: exchanging information about, and providing support in, weight loss, healthful eating, and related issues. Intertextuality 2.0 provides micro-analysis of discourse in a multimodal digital discourse context, or in "discourse 2.0"; in so doing, it advocates a dual understanding of intertextuality in the sense that its companion, metadiscourse, must be elevated in studies of intertextuality if we are to fully understand its role in (contemporary digital) discourse"--