TY - JOUR

T1 - People incorrectly correcting other people: The pragmatics of (re-)corrections and their negotiation in a Facebook group

AU - Frick, Karina

AU - Meletis, Dimitrios

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s)

PY - 2024/10/1

Y1 - 2024/10/1

N2 - In highly standardized literate cultures, orthographic norms are perceived as socially binding, giving rise to negative evaluations of ‘incorrect’ writing, i.e., writing that deviates from the norm. This is evident in prescriptive practices in interactions on social media including direct corrections of a deviance (*you’re) or comments more or less implicitly referring to it (“would be great if you knew how to spell”). In this study, we focus on a special type of corrections and the reactions to them: incorrect corrections. They are often corrected in so-called re-corrections, which frequently give rise to entire chains of corrections and comments that reflect diverse practices and attitudes both shaped by and towards normativity. By conducting an exploratory case study, we investigate (meta-)pragmatic strategies of stancetaking – such as mocking or doing being an expert – as well as their negotiation in (re-)corrections. Specifically, we focus on three posts taken from the public Facebook group People Incorrectly Correcting Other People consisting of, on the one hand, decontextualized screenshots showing an incorrect correction and ensuing re-corrections framed by the reaction of the poster posting them to the group. On the other hand, given the large number of group members, they include a myriad of additional comments discussing (re-)corrections at a meta-level. Our analysis suggests that re-correcting serves to criticize not a mistake but the positioning of correctors as superior. Thus, it implicitly challenges the normativity of standard language ideologies by exposing the hypocrisy of prescriptive practices.

AB - In highly standardized literate cultures, orthographic norms are perceived as socially binding, giving rise to negative evaluations of ‘incorrect’ writing, i.e., writing that deviates from the norm. This is evident in prescriptive practices in interactions on social media including direct corrections of a deviance (*you’re) or comments more or less implicitly referring to it (“would be great if you knew how to spell”). In this study, we focus on a special type of corrections and the reactions to them: incorrect corrections. They are often corrected in so-called re-corrections, which frequently give rise to entire chains of corrections and comments that reflect diverse practices and attitudes both shaped by and towards normativity. By conducting an exploratory case study, we investigate (meta-)pragmatic strategies of stancetaking – such as mocking or doing being an expert – as well as their negotiation in (re-)corrections. Specifically, we focus on three posts taken from the public Facebook group People Incorrectly Correcting Other People consisting of, on the one hand, decontextualized screenshots showing an incorrect correction and ensuing re-corrections framed by the reaction of the poster posting them to the group. On the other hand, given the large number of group members, they include a myriad of additional comments discussing (re-)corrections at a meta-level. Our analysis suggests that re-correcting serves to criticize not a mistake but the positioning of correctors as superior. Thus, it implicitly challenges the normativity of standard language ideologies by exposing the hypocrisy of prescriptive practices.

KW - Language Studies

KW - Pragmatics

KW - Stancetaking

KW - correction

KW - normativity

KW - language ideology

KW - prescriptivism

KW - orthography

KW - Stancetaking

KW - correction

KW - language ideologies

KW - Linguistic normativity

KW - prescriptivism

KW - orthography

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85201261941&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/b39288fb-3c99-33e3-b833-a6c2e497ca49/

U2 - 10.1016/j.dcm.2024.100804

DO - 10.1016/j.dcm.2024.100804

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 61

JO - Discourse, Context and Media

JF - Discourse, Context and Media

SN - 2211-6958

M1 - 100804

ER -