A Study on the Discourse Construction of WeChat Salesmen’s Personal Identities: Based on Data from the Moments of WeChat

Abstract

The analysis in this paper examines how the salesmen construct their identities through the Chinese messaging app WeChat by applying Karen Tracy’s identity theory. Using a data set consisting of 17 WeChat salesmen’s discursive practices posted in the Moments of WeChat, the analysis found out 6 types of identities constructed, which are as salesmen, product users, competitors, evaluators, friends and organizers. Both rhetorical and cultural perspectives are adopted in analyzing how these identities are constructed.