Travelblogs and Evidentiality

Abstract

Travelblogs are one of the most profitable discursive subgenres on Web 2.0. Multimodal texts of this cybergenre created by expert travellers have kept the functions, topics, and some of the discursive and linguistic characteristics of traditional travel texts. However, the undeniable specificity of this informal genre is based on various items. Firstly, it’s hybrid, mixing professional and personal texts features. Secondly, it has an interactive nature based on readers' contributions and their implication in the main text. Thirdly, the authors' personal implication, the close experiences shared by the recipients, and the eWOM function of the blogs grant credibility. Fourthly, the significance authors attribute to visual and verbal evidenciality that emphasizes intersubjectivity and negotiation of common sense. By analyzing the posts by the professional group Travel Inspirers on Paris from 2008 to 2014, I show how travelblog authors use visual and verbal discourses to form individual and collective evidence in order to achieve the success of their blog. Discourse analysis methodology allows me to explore post-verbal structures and disclose how modalities and evidentiality function both in travelers' texts and in readers' comments.