LANGUAGING DISABILITY

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LANGUAGING DISABILITY
A Corpus-Assisted Social Media Critical Discourse Analysis of Disability Discourse

This volume explores digital disability discourse using a corpus-assisted social media critical discursive approach. Given the current lack of research on this topic, it aims to fill the gap by analysing how disability is framed by people with disabilities on social media. It highlights the role social media plays in fostering social bonds while exposing ongoing harmful attitudes and discrimination against disabled individuals in various contexts, advocating for societal transformation. The first part provides a detailed excursus of the linguistic, historical, and socio-cultural construction of disability, explaining how these shifts have shaped perceptions of people with disabilities and how such perceptions have become longstanding stereotypes. It also discusses the main models of disability and reviews existing policies and laws. The features of social media discourse are then outlined, along with a summary of relevant literature in the field of digital disability discourse. The second part presents the integrated methodological and theoretical framework underpinning this study, including the research design and corpus. It combines quantitative and qualitative data to offer insights into (digital) disability discourse, with implications for improvement. Overall, the volume aims to contribute to the field of critical digital disability studies, particularly at its intersection between social media, socio-cultural constructs, and emotions.