The recognition that identity is mutable, multi-layered and subject to multiple modes of construction and de-construction has contributed to problematizing the issues associated with its representation in discourse, which has recently been attracting increasing attention in different disciplinary areas. Identity representation is the main focus of this volume, which analyses instances of multimedia and multimodal communication to the public at large for commercial, informative, political or cultural purposes. In particular, it examines the impact of the increasingly sophisticated forms of...

The studies collected in this volume contribute to shedding light on the multi-faceted complexity and stratification of identity within the context of corporate communication, by definition characterized by the interplay and intersection among genres, discursive practices and communicative events involving both individual and collective actors. The texts investigated include openly promotional genres specifically aimed at constructing and promoting a company s image in the marketplace, such as those used in sponsorship and advertising, as well as organizational genres which in spite of their...

This volume focuses on arbitration awards as a discursive genre and draws on the results of research on the discourses of international commercial arbitration conducted within the framework of an international project (International Commercial Arbitration Practices: A Discourse Analytical Study) setting out to explore the hypothesis that, as suggested in recent times by various scholars, arbitration practice, procedures and discourses are being increasingly contaminated by litigation, thus compromising the integrity of arbitration principles. The genre investigated is especially interesting...

This volume focuses on the evolution of genres in specialized communication under the pressure of technological innovations and the profound social changes triggered by globalization in the contemporary world, in a context where rapid and extensive changes in communicative practices, patterns and technologies have deeply affected the generic configuration of professional and disciplinary domains.
These developments call for a reconsideration of the repertoires of conventions traditionally identified in each specific genre as well as for a reassessment of the analytical tools used to...

This book provides insights into the ways in which legal professionals participate in their day-to-day activities, and critically focuses on how language is used and exploited in everyday professional discourse. It is organised into two parts dealing with topic areas of legal discourse (written and spoken) relevant to professional practice and communication.The innovative research landscape offered by this book covers diverse and complex features of legal discourse construction where socially informed aspects of language use are negotiated by professional practices. Such features provide the...

This volume features representative studies focusing on the evolution of text genres in corporate and professional communication. Genre change is explored in various contexts in light of the increasing importance of new media and the profound social changes that have occurred in the last few decades. Major theoretical issues are raised and discussed, highlighting the need to reconsider the repertoire of conventions traditionally identified in each specific genre, and to reassess and update the analytical tools used to investigate them, about three decades after the emergence of genre...