Les imaginaires fluvial et maritime au Québec: représentations et stratégies discursives

Résumé

This article aims to explore the multiple representations of the Saint-Laurent river aimed at different audiences (Québécois or foreign tourists). To this end, excerpts from online texts of various nature will be analysed. In particular, the focus will be on traditional tourist guides and on texts drawn from websites devoted to maritime and river-related aspects of Québec. The method selected for the analysis is discourseanalytical in nature, with special attention paid to aspects of énonciation and to the strategic role of denomination, polyphony and pre-discourse; the analysis will also address issues related to the descriptive,
informative and argumentative nature of the texts analysed. The investigation shows that the deployment of the same discursive strategy can
lead to heterogeneous representations: fairly straightforward representations with a mainly promotional focus alternate with more sophisticated
and conceptually complex ones which also include critical aspects, with a view to fostering the safeguarding of the Saint-Laurent river.