Word Formation as a Stance Resource in Online Commenting: Theoretical Integration and Empirical Insights Using Two Families of Constructions as Examples

Abstract

This paper integrates Construction Morphology and stancetaking. Referring to the current state of research, we outline a desideratum of Construction Morphology. Thus, functional-pragmatic characteristics of word formations have hardly been studied in detail so far. The empirical study is based on a corpus consisting of more than 10,000 internet comments on health news. We identify different semi-schematic word formation constructions that are used for stancetaking and that can be assigned to two families of constructions ([X-Gegner/Verweigerer/Skeptiker/Befürworter] and [X-Fraktion/Lobby/Mafia]). The constructions refer to (opinion) opponents and other participants whose constructed position is often evaluated simultaneously. The positioned individuals and collectivities can be addressed directly as well as be the third party written about. We describe the word formation constructions in their formal and functional patterns and work out their stance profile. The analysis consists of two steps: First, we carry out a profound morphological analysis of the constructions. Second, we examine the syntactic and co(n)textual embedding of the word formations to identify more specific pragmatic differences.