Verbal acting, representations and enunciative responsibility in institutional websites

ABSTRACT

This article aims at reflecting upon a ‘verbal acting’ which is structured by general human activities and which can be grasped though various language practices, that is texts and discourses, in our case websites, using the Socio-Discursive Interactionism (Bronckart, 1997, 2008a) theoretical framework. By the analyzes carried out, in particular to the mechanisms of enunciative responsibility, we conclude that the virtual environment has changed the institutions’ ability to act. Thus, the institutions generate a “promotional self-portrait” with greater levels of knowledge and a closer proximity to the audience. At the same time, they legitimize their capacity for action and they put forward an intrinsic value judgment about the representations that the audience construct of them, also as a reflection of the interests and needs of external audiences.

Key-words: verbal acting; representations; enunciative responsibilities; text; website