Travelogs and the Management of Unfamiliarity

Abstract

Whereas many other types of tourism promotional literature have been studied for their contents and effects, the same cannot be said for travelogs. In order to rectify the situation, this preliminary essay first provides a working definition of travelog. Thereafter it identifies one major quality that characterizes these travel accounts — the management of unfamiliarity. This theme soon becomes a strategy, and it is explored with examples under four sociolinguistic techniques: simile and metaphor, denigration of locals, the expatriate connection, and languaging. Suggestions for future research in this area are also briefly examined.