Language, Identity and Cycling in the New Media Age

Patrick Kiernan is Associate Professor in the School of Business Administration at Meiji University, Japan. His research specialises in Applied Linguistics and he is the author of Narrative, Identity and Language Teaching. He is also an avid cyclist.

This book examines how identities associated with cycling are evoked, narrated and negotiated in a media context dominated by digital environments. Arguing that the nature of identity is being impacted by the changing nature of the material and semiotic resources available for making meaning, the author introduces an approach to exploring such identity positioning through the interrelated frameworks of Systemic Functional Linguistics and Multimodal Analysis, and illustrates how this happens in practice. The book is divided into three parts, each of which focuses on a different aspect of identity and media environment. Part I considers celebrity identities in the conventional media of print and television. Part II investigates community and leisure / sporting identity through an online cycling forum, while Part III examines corporate identity realised through corporate websites, consumer reviews and Youtube channels. This unique volume will appeal to students and scholars of discourse analysis, applied linguistics and the world of cycling.

Analyses the language of cycling in new media

Chapter 1. Introduction   Exploring language, identity and cycling in the new media age
PART I. IDENTITIES IN THE MEDIAChapter 2. 'Mark, Mark, can we have a word?'   Narrative and evaluation in the media interviewChapter 3. Coming cleanFraming and identity negotiation in the Oprah-Lance Armstrong interviewChapter 4. Multimodality identity in manga   Yowamushi Pedal and the semiotics of Japanese comics
PART II. IDENTITY AND ONLINE COMMUNITIESChapter 5. Having a Rashomon momentIdentity negotiation in an online communityChapter 6. Making the linkIntertextual resources in an online forumChapter 7. The case of Franz   Identity and carnival in online communities
PART III. MULTIMODALITY, CORPORATE IDENTITY, AND MARKET POSITIONING Chapter 8. 'Hey you, thanks for buying our stuff.' Language, multimodality and identity in two corporate websitesChapter 9. "68 years on the same B17"Brooks, consumer reviews and brand loyaltyChapter 10. In pursuit of marginal gains  Corporate sponsorship and brand-building videosChapter 11. Welcome to the GCN show!   Community and identity on YouTubeChapter 12. Conclusion   Rethinking interpersonal semiotics in new media