A critical discourse analysis on the language of food bloggers in Lebanon. (c2018)

Abstract

Food bloggers are people who write about food in a blog. They share their experiences, identity, and honest opinions, and give readers personal narratives of their experiences at restaurants. The purpose of the study is to explore the language of food bloggers and its perceived impact on readers, and it analyzes the critical discourse of language they use. Four instruments were used to collect data for the study. Questionnaires were distributed online to 52 verified food bloggers on the Zomato application. Eleven followers/ readers were interviewed face-to-face. Document analysis of 52 verified food bloggers accounts on Zomato application and on 30 Instagram accounts were done. The same food bloggers were observed in 11 participant observation meetups. Findings reveal that food bloggers use many language aspects in their reviews; they tend to use descriptive language to talk about the food, and they code switch from one language to another most of the time. Findings also reveal that food bloggers’ language have a great impact on their readers and on restaurants’ reputations. Recommendations for further research on language of food bloggers are suggested.