From Small Talk to Core Topics: Discourse Markers and Topic Transition in Facebook and X Posts
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24256/ideas.v14i2.11712Keywords:
Small Talk; Discourse Markers; Topic Transition; Computer-Mediated Discourse Analysis (CMDA); Asynchronous Communication; Digital DiscourseAbstract
This exploratory, micro-analytic study examines how speakers move from small talk to substantive topics within single, stand-alone posts on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter). Discourse markers and small talk are well-researched in spoken interaction, but their transitional functions in asynchronous digital posts remain underexplored. Using Computer-Mediated Discourse Analysis (CMDA) together with selected Conversation Analysis concepts adapted for single-post data, the study analyzes a small purposive sample of four public posts, two from Facebook and two from X, collected between January and March 2026, each selected for exhibiting a clear shift from relational to informational content. Each post is examined across three structural stages: relational opening, transitional device, and core topic. All four posts display this organization, though the transitional strategies range from elaborate, multi-level openings to single-word compressions; one post accomplishes the shift without any explicit discourse marker, relying instead on footing shifts and graphic elements such as punctuation, emoji, and capitalization. These findings suggest that, within this small dataset, digital posts can draw on textual and graphic resources as well as lexical markers to accomplish topic transition, offering a preliminary, exploratory account of how CMDA and selected CA concepts can describe intra-post topic organization.
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