Teachers’ digital discourse

knowledge exchange and implicated impoliteness

Authors

Isabela Soares de Almeida Dias Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.
Fernanda Rodrigues Marçal Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.

Keywords:

Knowledge exchange, Implicated impoliteness, Teacher's Digital Discourse

Abstract

This study examines English teachers’ digital discourse in online knowledge exchange platforms, focusing on aspects of epistemic authority and implicated impoliteness. Through analysis of texts in two blogs offering proficiency exam preparation tips, the study investigates how teachers' linguistic choices may inadvertently convey impoliteness while attempting to engage readers. The research identifies four key expressions of potential impoliteness: conversational discourse markers, typographic emphasis, authoritative stance indicators, and humorous remarks. These strategies, while aimed at creating an engaging and relatable tone, can sometimes be perceived as patronizing or aggressive. The investigation argues that teachers' presumed epistemic authority may lead to deviations from conversational maxims, resulting in implicated impoliteness. This research contributes to understanding how digital discourse in educational contexts can both facilitate and hinder effective knowledge exchange, highlighting the need for careful consideration of language use in online teaching environments.

Keywords: Knowledge Exchange; Implicated Impoliteness; Teachers’ Digital Discourse.

Author Biographies

Isabela Soares de Almeida Dias, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.

Isabela Dias is a Ph.D. candidate in Text Linguistics at UFMG, with research focusing on dissent and impoliteness. She holds a Master's in Applied Linguistics from CEFET-MG. She is a specialist in Teaching English, certified by UFMG, and holds Cambridge's CELTA and certifications in teacher training. She is a member of GEPTED/UFMG/CNPq (Study Group on Pragmatics, Text, and Discourse).

Fernanda Rodrigues Marçal, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.

Fernanda Marçal holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Minas Gerais and a Master's in Theoretical and Descriptive Linguistics. She is a specialist in Neuroeducation, Teaching English and Teaching Children. With extensive experience in language teaching, she currently works at a bilingual school and is conducting postdoctoral research at UFMG. Fernanda is also a member of GEPTED/UFMG/CNPq (Study Group on Pragmatics, Text, and Discourse).

References

CULPEPER, Jonathan. Towards an Anatomy of Impoliteness. Journal of Pragmatics. 25. 349-367. 1996. Disponível em:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0378216695000143?via%3Dihub Acesso em 23.nov.2024.

CULPEPER, Jonathan. Conventionalised impoliteness formulae. Journal of Pragmatics. 42 (12). 3232–3245. 2010. Disponível em: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378216610001694 Acesso em 25.nov.2024.

CULPEPER, Jonathan. Impoliteness: Using language to cause offence (Vol. 28). Cambridge University Press. 2011.

CUNHA, Gustavo X. Relações de discurso, organização tópica e dimensão epistêmica: recursos para a análise da “episteme em ação”. In: TOMAZI, M. M. T. (org.). Estudos do discurso e compromisso social. Serra: Editora Milfontes, p. 321-343. 2023.

GRICE, Paul H. Logic and Conversation. In P. Cole and J. Morgan (eds.), Syntax and Semantics, vol. 3: Speech Acts. New York: Academic Press, 41–58, 1975. 2004.

HERITAGE, John. Epistemics in Action: Action Formation and Territories of Knowledge. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 45(1), 1–29, 2012. Disponível em: https://doi.org/10.1080/08351813.2012.646684 Acesso em: 15 dez.2024.

HERITAGE, John.; RAYMOND, Geoffrey. The Terms of Agreement: Indexing Epistemic Authority and Subordination in Talk-in-Interaction. Social Psychology Quarterly, 68(1), 15-38, 2005. Disponível em: https://doi.org/10.1177/019027250506800103 Acesso em: 15 dez.2024.

HEYD, Theresa. Blogs. In C. Hoffman & W. Bublis (Eds.), Pragmatics of social media. De Gruyter, 2017.

LOCHER, Miriam A. Power and Politeness in Action: Disagreements in Oral Communication. Berlin, New York: De Gruyter Mouton, 2004.

MARKHAM, Annette; BUCHANAN, Elizabeth. Ethical Decision-Making and Internet Research: Recommendations from the AoIR Ethics Working Committee. AoIR, 2012. Disponível em: https://aoir.org/reports/ethics2.pdf Acesso em: 03 jun. 2025.

OLIVEIRA, Ana Larissa A. M. Reciprocity and epistemicity on screen-based interactions: the case of MOOCs. Pragmatics and Society, 2025. Disponível em: https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/ps.23143.oli Acesso em: 06 mar.2025.

OLIVEIRA, Ana Larissa A. M.; CUNHA, Gustavo X. (2024). Relações epistêmicas e impolidez linguística em comentários do twitter/x sobre um debate presidencial. LINGUAGEM EM (DIS)CURSO (ONLINE), v. 24, p. 01-18.

PUSCHMANN, Cornelius. Blogging. In Susan Herring, Dieter Stein and Tuija Virtanen (eds.), Pragmatics of Computer-Mediated Communication. Handbooks of Pragmatics 9, 83–108. Berlin/Boston: de Gruyter, 2013.

SCOTT, Kate. Pragmatics online. London: Routledge, 2022.

TOWNSEND, Laura; WALLACE, Claire. Social Media Research: A Guide to Ethics. Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), UK, 2016. Disponível em: https://www.gla.ac.uk/media/Media_487729_smxx.pdf Acesso em: 03 jun. 2025.

ZAPPAVIGNA, Michele. The Discourse of Twitter and Social Media. London/New York: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2012.

Downloads

Published

2025-06-27

Issue

Vol. 46 No. 1 (2025): Fluxo Contínuo

Section

Papers

License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The authors grant the journal all copyrights relating to the published works. The concepts issued in signed articles are the absolute and exclusive responsibility of their authors.