Language typology as a discursive affordance in digital discourse

Abstract

With the rapid development of participatory social media, these spaces have become new arenas for producing political discourse. However, critical analyses of digital discourse that examine the importance of language typological variation for the (re)production of political discourse are relatively new. This chapter investigates linguistic creativity in non-elite political communication by combining a critical discursive approach with language typology. The analysis highlights the importance of language typology in political communication as political actors exploit the typological affordances of Polish. This chapter demonstrates how language affordances are mobilised for political reasons to (re)produce discriminatory political messages. The chapter suggests combining critical discourse analysis and language typology to reveal novel perspectives on the intersection of language and politics on the Internet.