Language, identity and cycling in the new media age by Patrick Kiernan presents a fascinating exploration of the role of language in evoking and negotiating identities within the subculture of cycling and the broader context of the new media age. Conducted within the theoretical frameworks of Systemic Functional Linguistics and Multimodal Analysis, the book is divided into three parts, each covering a different dimension of social identity and a different aspect of media environment.
The first part, which includes three chapters, is an elaboration of public celebrity identities in the conventional media of print and television, focusing on how the famous professional cyclists negotiate their identities in the public eye. Considering a postrace interview from British cyclist Mark Cavendish's autobiography, ch. 2 observes how the public celebrity construes himself with a positive image. Ch. 3 raises the disturbing question about the relationship between power and public identity by offering an analysis of Lance Armstrong's notorious confession to doping on a televised talk show. Ch. 4 deals with the evocation of fictional identity by exploring fictional cyclists in Japanese manga.
The second part, with three chapters, moves to the consideration of ordinary cyclists by investigating community and leisure/sporting identities through online cycling fora. Starting with the introduction of cycling fora and then offering a detailed analysis of a thread in which participants reveal their different remembered perceptions of a shared ride, ch. 5 highlights the relationship between language, communication, and community. Ch.6 opens up new potential for identity evocations by exploring hyperlinks as a semiotic tool to extend communicative resources. From the perspective of ideational resources and Mikhail Bahktin's notion of carnival, ch. 7 examines the case of a troll, a fictional identity taken on by one of the participants on an online forum as an example of identity-as-play.
The final part, consisting of four chapters, highlights multimodal resources through the examination of corporate identities, realized through corporate websites, consumer reviews, and YouTube channels. Through a comparative analysis of the websites for two cycle-component-makers—the cycle components giant Shimano and the much smaller frame and parts marker Sruly—ch. 8 addresses different linguistic and semiotic strategies in website design to reflect their different corporate identities. Ch. 9 considers the consumer's role in evoking both reviewer and brand identities through narrative and evaluation within consumer reviews at the websites for Brooks England Limited and Wiggle. Focusing on brand-building videos associated with the British professional cycle team Team Sky, ch. 10 looks into the semiotic resources of a specific slogan around which corporate identities can cluster. Ch. 11 further develops the interrelations among language and identity, extending its consideration on the broad semiotic resources of register in relation to video genres on YouTube Global Cycling Network.
Overall, this book is rich in interesting and engaging content, innovative and insightful analysis and discussion, and has a coherent and well-organized structure. It is a valuable and enlightening addition for students and scholars of discourse analysis, applied linguistics, and the world of cycling.
