UNBLOCK ARGUMENTS IN MALAYSIAN SOPOBLOGS

Abstract

Weblogs are gaining popularity across the global digital community. They provide opportunities for individuals to engage in argumentation and express views as well as disseminate information or discuss issues. This research investigates the linguistic features of argumentation in selected Malaysian social- political weblogs based on the discourse analysis of six weblog posts written by two Malaysian social-political (sopo) bloggers on social themes. This comparative analysis was facilitated by a comprehensive pragma-dialectic model of argumentation as well as a critical discussion of the impact of socio-cultural factors on argumentation contained in the selected Malaysian blogs. The study also offers useful insights into the ways in which standpoints are expressed in argumentations in different cultural contexts. Awareness of the salient features of cultural argumentation would enable blogs to be better understood by a wider audience from other cultures, and ultimately reaching a more global readership

Keywords

• standpoints, argumentation, blog post

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