The concepts of style, mediation, and change are key in the study of sociolinguistics and are studied in their own right. However, the aim of this edited collection is to explore the interconnectedness of these concepts, and how they can be integrated further to progress the study of sociolinguistics. This collection offers original sociolinguistic research on mediated discourse, which affords a varied exploration of what style means and how it can be used in the study of mediated discourses and sociolinguistics generally.
In the collection's introduction, the editors outline their base argument that contemporary technological media have ‘unique styling resources’ (1), which can shape how social meaning is made and experienced. Consequently, talking media becomes a space not only for sociolinguistic change, but also for cultural change. The overall collection outlines four key areas of research, namely, (i) how emerging styles of discourses can warrant sociopolitical change, (ii) how corporations and consumerism commodify media style to their advantage, (iii) how the boundaries of ordinariness and elitism are blurred through orchestrated media performances, and (iv) how broadcast talk has changed and its presentation today.
Particularly striking are two comparative chapters in Parts 1 and 3, which focus on the emerging media style of ordinariness, how it may be performed, and its repercussions in news media and entertainment media respectively. In her chapter ‘Style, sociolinguistic change, and political broadcasting’, Nuria Lorenzo-Dus offers an interesting insight into how a change in interviewing technique by one news broadcaster has led to an overall change in the public perception of Spanish news media. By purposely placing himself in the position of learner, and performing ordinariness and ‘mock naïvety’ (37), one broadcaster found he could elicit more candid responses from his interviewees. As Lorenzo-Dus demonstrates, this emerging style of interviewing has engaged itself with audiences and created a successful news programme in a country that has lost confidence in its media.
Comparatively, in Part 3 we are offered a discussion by Joanna Thornborrow on the orchestration of ordinariness in reality entertainment with her analyses of popular reality shows Wife swap and Come dine with me. What is seen to be a representation of ordinariness is actually only achieved through the medium of television, with stylised editing and broadcasting. This, Thornborrow argues, places participants in typological groups, and essentially constructs an identity for them. However, these constructed identities and performances are used by broadcasters to manufacture ‘dramatic collision’ (161) for audiences, which opens participants to othering.
The collection's arguments are solidified in the final chapters that offer reflective discussions on how style may act as a ‘unifying perspective’ (251) for the study of mediated discourses, and sociolinguistics generally. Their argument is demonstrated in the chapters briefly discussed above that not only show how the style of ordinariness is linguistically performed in varying media, but also its uses and ramifications. Overall, Style, mediation, and change offers a new and culturally diverse perspective on style as a sociolinguistic concept, and how style in particular can be used to study mediated discourses.
