Genre Analysis of Online Encyclopedias : The Case of Wikipedia

The book is the first complete discussion of the genre of online encyclopedias. The first part of the book, preceded by a theoretical introduction into the concept of webgenres, gives a detailed overview of the types of encyclopedic websites, presenting the characteristics of their content, form and functionality. The second part of the publication concerns Wikipedia - the most popular online encyclopedia. The presentation of the structure of the portal is followed by an in depth discussion of Wikipedia discourse features, describing the most conspicuous properties of the stylistic layer of this encyclopedia. The value of the book is additionally enhanced by many illustrations reproducing the analyzed websites Cover 1 Table of Contents 5 Acknowledgements 9 Introduction 11 Materials and Methods 14 1. Genology as a study 15 1.1. Schools of genre analysis 15 1.2. Genre – characteristics of the concept 16 1.3. Genre evolution 17 1.4. Discourse and genre competence 18 1.4.1 Discourse competence 19 1.4.2 Generic competence 19 2. Genres on the web 21 2.1. Genre theory on the web 21 2.2. The concept of web genre 22 2.3. Genres on the web – taxonomy 23 2.4. Genre hybridization and individualization 26 2.5. Web genre evolution 27 3. Encyclopedia as a genre 29 3.1. Encyclopedia as a genre of information 29 3.2. Genre characteristics of an encyclopedia 30 3.2.1. Function 32 3.2.2. Content 32 3.2.2.1. Authorship 32 3.2.2.2. Scope 33 3.2.2.3. Adjuncts 33 3.2.3. Form 35 3.2.3.1. Density 35 3.2.3.2. Article structure 35 3.2.3.3. Classification 35 3.2.3.4. Cross-references 37 3.2.3.5. Discourse properties 37 4. Encyclopedias on the web 41 4.1. Online reference works 41 4.2. Typology of online encyclopedias 42 4.2.1. Reproduced encyclopedias 43 4.2.2. Adapted encyclopedias 45 4.2.2.1. Lower adapted encyclopedias 45 4.2.2.2 Advanced encyclopedias 47 4.3. Emergent encyclopedias 51 4.3.1. User-created portals 51 4.3.2. Resource pages 57 4.4. Emerging encyclopedias 59 5. Wikipedia as a genre 65 5.1. Wikipedia – introduction to the project 66 5.1.1. Wikipedia mechanism 66 5.1.2. Dimensions of the project 67 5.1.3. Legal issues 69 5.2. Wikipedia versus traditional encyclopedia 69 5.2.1. Function of Wikipedia 70 5.2.2. Content 70 5.2.2.1. Authorship 70 5.2.2.1.1. Wikipedia community 72 5.2.2.2. Scope 73 5.2.2.3. Adjuncts 73 5.2.2.4. Genre syncretism 81 5.2.3. Form 82 5.2.3.1. Density 82 5.2.3.2. Article structure 82 5.2.3.3. Classification 87 5.2.3.4. Cross-references 90 5.2.4. Functionality 92 5.2.5. Meeting the quality standards 94 6. Wikipedia discourse features 99 6.1. The continuum of Wikientries 99 6.1.1. Conventional articles 100 6.1.2. Unconventional articles 103 6.1.2.1. Textual features 103 6.1.2.1.1. Textual organization – integration versus fragmentation 103 6.1.2.1.2. Heterogeneity 108 6.1.2.1.3. Precision and exemplification 123 6.1.2.1.4. Repetitiveness 126 6.1.2.1.5. Informality 127 6.1.2.1.6. Personalization 130 6.1.2.2. Syntactic features 133 6.1.2.2.1. Lack of nominalization 133 6.1.2.2.2. Activisation 134 6.1.2.2.3. Structure of sentences 135 6.1.2.2.4. Epanaphora 136 6.1.2.2.5. Informality 136 6.1.2.3. Lexical features 137 6.1.2.3.1. Authorial presence – subjectivity and interactivity 137 6.1.2.3.2. Informality 150 6.1.2.3.3. Terminology 152 6.1.2.3.4. Inverted commas 155 6.1.3. Anti-encyclopedic articles 158 6.1.3.1. Unintelligibility 158 6.1.3.2. Imprecision 160 6.1.3.3. Incoherence 161 6.1.3.4. Language mistakes 163 6.2. Wikidiscourse transformation areas 165 Conclusions 169 Bibliography 173 Back cover 190