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International Journal of Social Sciences and Economic Management, 2025, 6(2); doi: 10.38007/IJSSEM.2025.060207.

Impolite Discourse Practices in the Digital Media Context: A Case Study of Weibo Comments on the “Shenzhen Japanese School” Incident

Author(s)

Zhiyu Ren, Zheng Zhang

Corresponding Author:
Zheng Zhang
Affiliation(s)

Shenzhen Campus of Jinan University, Shenzhen 518000, Guangdong, China

Abstract

This study focuses on the Sina Weibo comments of the "Shenzhen Japanese School Incident" and explores the practice of impolite language in the context of digital media. Using qualitative discourse analysis combined with frequency statistics, and based on theories such as the Rachnicht's impoliteness strategy model, 186 core impoliteness comments were selected for analysis from 519 comments related to Sina News. The results showed that "blunt rudeness" (42%) and "positive rudeness" (37%) accounted for a high proportion of rude strategies, mostly involving direct emotional release and denial of group legitimacy; Functionally, "emotional release," "group attack," and "satire and ridicule" account for nearly 90%, and are tools for users to release emotions, strengthen group identity, and participate in public opinion. The algorithm of Weibo platform tends to recommend implicit and impolite expressions, suppress intense and direct content, and affect the dissemination of discourse. In addition, rude language often constructs narratives through historical memory, linking the logic of "historical trauma national identity". The study supplemented the empirical sample of impolite language research, but also had limitations such as a single corpus and insufficient quantification.


Keywords

Digital media, Practice of impolite language, Shenzhen Japanese School Incident, Weibo comments, Identity construction

Cite This Paper

Zhiyu Ren, Zheng Zhang.Impolite Discourse Practices in the Digital Media Context: A Case Study of Weibo Comments on the “Shenzhen Japanese School” Incident. International Journal of Social Sciences and Economic Management (2025), Vol. 6, Issue 2: 60-73. https://doi.org/10.38007/IJSSEM.2025.060207.

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