Monografico_8_EN_Doxa_31_Discourse_markers

the fact that discourse in these fora is situated between the oral and written conceptional varieties of the language. In fact, in a successive analysis dealing with courtesy and the use of markers in a debate forum dedicated to the Spanish language, we can see that in these texts there is a simultaneous use of prototypical markers of both the informal oral variety, dialogic, and of the written variety, monologic. Nonetheless, markers of the first category, such as, for example, hombre, bueno or mira (look), present greater frequency and variety, as well as greater versatility, in that they allow for modulation of the illocutionary force in assertive acts, structure the conversation and negotiate disagreement (Landone, 2012: 1816).

A similar reflection is made by Sal Paz (2007), with the observation that, in comments in the digital press, users often turn to linking words like entonces (then / so) or pero with the intention of replying to previous comments and expressing agreement or disagreement with their interlocutor. In this context, they not only have functions of giving structure and cohesion to the discourse, but they also acquire modal values. Furthermore, as these are essentially argumentative texts, we can observe a greater frequency of connectors expressing an oppositional (pero), consecutive (entonces), additive (incluso) and explicative (o sea (that is), es decir (that is to say)) value (Pano Alamán, 2015). This type of particle combines with markers such as bueno and hombre, with a reactive interactive function, frequently present in replies to other comments in the same space.

Regarding their use on social networks, analysis has generally been focused on Twitter. Loredo & Picone (2012), for example, investigate, in a corpus of tweets, the values of supposition, concession and especially irony of the marker ponele (let’s put it), frequent in Argentinian Spanish. Pano Alamán & Mancera Rueda (2014) analyse the presence and functions of the interactive markers ¿en serio? (really?), por supuesto (naturally), bien, claro, ¿no? (isn’t it?), hombre or mira in a corpus of tweets in which citizens react in a generally critical way to the tweets of Spanish parliamentarians. These elements appear in different positions in the messages to appeal to the political interlocutor and to express agreement or disagreement with what has been said. In a similar study of markers in political and journalistic discourse in a microblog, Padilla Herrada (2016) underlines the relation between the interactive markers employed by politicians, journalists and citizens and frequent linguistic devices in prototypical informal conversation. Markers such as ¿verdad? (right?), ¿eh? and ¿no? manifest the degree of cooperation or conflict between the interlocutors, with varying degrees of attenuation or intensification. Finally, analysis of the pragmatic-discursive marker ahora (now) with verbum dicendi in a general corpus of tweets, carried out by López Quero (2019), shows that this temporal deixis may be included, together with ahora bien, amongst the counter-argumentative markers used in Twitter.

As argued above, the networks tend to display an interactive dynamic characterised by polemic and the expression of opinions on a given subject. The interaction is largely facilitated by technical mechanisms which encourage the users to react to certain content and which are found in Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, the spaces which are the focus of this study, with similar forms and functions. Facebook, for example, is based on the connection of profiles, between persons or groups, where “posts” appear daily that the user or users can share with their contacts. There may be images, videos, links, events, etc. which are reflected on the timeline of the user’s biography or wall and which others may comment on by clicking Like, among other options, or through text, generally short, addressed to that same user. Such texts may be subject to a response, which permits interaction from many to one, or from many to many. Twitter is a microblogging platform which allows the user to publish messages of no more than 280 characters on their own profile or personal or institutional