Cover not available
Article published In:
Media Language and Discourse in Cultural China
Edited by Doreen D. Wu, Ming Liu and David C.S. Li
[Chinese Language and Discourse 13:1] 2022
► pp. 28–57

Doing participatory fandom through trans‑scripting

The case of multilingual K-pop fans on Chinese social media

ORCID logo | Fudan University
ORCID logo | Fudan University
This article examines trans-scripting in transnational, multilingual fandom on Sina Weibo, the largest Chinese microblogging site. Taking one of the most popular Korean pop music (K-pop) bands named BTS as a case study, 741 instances of trans-scripting were manually selected from a total of 18,243 comments under the official Weibo account of the largest BTS fan club in China. Combining online observation and corpus-based analysis, our study draws on the notions of engaged audience and affinity space to reveal how multiple patterns of trans-scripting are heavily mobilized by K-pop fans in translingual idol naming, the transcultural maintenance of fan-idol kinship, and the intertextual confirmation of shared media consumption experiences. We argue that trans-scripting is an under-explored linguistic strategy used by transnational pop-culture fans, providing an analytical lens for research on fan identity and fan-communal membership. Theoretically, trans-scripting can serve as a useful lens to analyze networked multilingual fandom.
Keywords: trans-scripting, transnational fandom, multilingualism, K-pop, translanguaging
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Trans-scripting in digital communication
  • Fans, engaged audience, and affinity space
  • K-pop fandom on Sina Weibo
  • Research background and methods
    • Research background
    • Data collection
    • Data analysis
  • Findings
    • Trans-scripting as translingual idol-naming strategies
    • Trans-scripting as affective confirmation of shared media consumption
    • Trans-scripting as reflexive judgment of proper idol-fan kinship
  • Discussion
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 29 March 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/cld.21003.son
References (57)
References
Agha, A. 2007. Language and Social Relations. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Ahn, H. 2020. “Spelling Variations of Translingual Korean English Words.” English Today 1–8. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Alhayek, K. 2017. “Emotional Realism, Affective Labor, and Politics in the Arab Fandom of Game of Thrones .” International Journal of Communication 111: 3740–3763.Google Scholar
Anderson, J. A. 1996. “The Pragmatics of Audience in Research and Theory.” In The Audience and Its Landscape, ed. by J. Hay, L. Grossberg, & E. Wartella, 75–93. Westview Press.Google Scholar
Androutsopoulos, J. 2015. “Networked Multilingualism: Some Language Practices on Facebook and Their Implications.” International Journal of Bilingualism 191: 185–205. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2020. “Trans-Scripting as a Multilingual Practice: the Case of Hellenised English.” International Journal of Multilingualism 17(3): 286–308. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Baker, J.-G. 2019. BTS’ A.R.M.Y. Web 2.0 Composing: Fangirl Translinguality as Parasocial, Motile Literacy Praxis [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. The University of Washington.
Barton, D., and Lee, C. 2013. Language Online: Investigating Digital Texts and Practices. Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Berger, R. 2015. “Now I See It, Now I Don’t: Researcher’s Position and Reflexivity in Qualitative Research.” Qualitative Research 15(2): 219–234. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Busse, K., and Gray, J. 2001. “Fan Cultures and Fan Communities.” In The Handbook of Media Audiences, ed. by Virginia Nightingale, 425–443. London: Wiley-Blackwell.Google Scholar
Choi, J. B., and Maliangkay, R. (eds.) 2015. K-pop: The International Rise of the Korean Music Industry. Routledge.Google Scholar
Chun, E. W. 2017. “How to Drop a Name: Hybridity, Purity, and the K-pop Fan.” Language in Society 461: 57–76. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Crow, T. F. 2019. K-Pop, Language, and Online Fandom: An Exploration of Korean Language Use and Performativity amongst International K-pop Fans [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Northern Arizona University.
Curwood, J. S., Magnifico, A. M., and Lammers, J. C. 2013. “Writing in the Wild: Writers’ Motivation in Fan-based Affinity Spaces.” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy: 678–685. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dovchin, S. 2020. “Translingual Englishes and the Global Spread of Authenticity.” In Language, Social Media and Ideologies, 13–25. SpringerBriefs. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fairclough, N. 1992. Discourse and Social Change. Polity.Google Scholar
García, O., and Li, W. 2014. Translanguaging: Language, Bilingualism and Education. Palgrave Macmillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gee, J. P. 2003 [2007]. What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy. Palgrave Macmillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2005. “Semiotic Social Spaces and Affinity Spaces: From the Age of Mythology to Today’s Schools.” In Beyond Communities of Practice: Language, Power, and Social Context, ed. by D. Barton and K. Tusking, 214–232. Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2013. Good Video Games + Good Learning: Collected Essays on Video Games, Learning, and Literacy. Second Edition. Peter Lang.Google Scholar
2018. “Affinity spaces: How young people live and learn online and out of school”. Phi Delta Kappan, 99(6), 8–13. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Georgeakopoulos, A., Iversen, S., & Stage, C. 2021. Quantified storytelling: A narrative analysis of metrics on social media. Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Iedema, R. 2003. “Multimodality, resemiotization: extending the analysis of discourse as multi-semiotic practice”. Visual Communication, 2 (1), 29–57. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jenkins, H. 2006. Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers: Exploring Participatory Culture. New York University Press.Google Scholar
2013 [1992]. Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture. Routledge.Google Scholar
Ju, C. 2019. “How China’s ‘Fan Circles’ are Redefining Modern Fandom.” Caixin Global. [URL]
Jung, S.-H. 2012. “The Korean Wave and Its Implications for the Korea-China Relationship.” Journal of International and Area Studies 19(2): 97–33.Google Scholar
Lee, J. S. 2018. “The Korean Wave, K-pop Fandom, and Multilingual Microblogging.” In Multilingual Youth Language in Computer Mediated Communication, ed. by C. Cutler & U. Røyneland, 205–223. Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lee, T.-K., and Li, W. 2020. “Translanguaging and Momentarily in Social Interaction.” In The Cambridge Handbook of Discourse Studies, ed. by A. Fina & A. Georgakopoulou, 394–416. Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Li, W. 2016. “New Chinglish and the Post-Multilingualism Challenge: Translanguaging ELF in China.” Journal of English as a Lingua Franca 5(1): 1–25. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2018. “Translanguaging as a Practical Theory of a Language.” Applied Linguistics 39(1): 9–30. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Li, W., and Zhu, H. 2019. “Tranßcripting: Playful Subversion with Chinese Characters.” International Journal of Multilingualism 16(2): 1–17. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Liu, M. 2020. “The Branding Genius of K-pop Band BTS.” The Washington Post. [URL]
Min, W., Jin, D. Y., and Han, B. 2019. “Transcultural Fandom of Korean Wave in Latin America: Through the Lens of Cultural Intimacy and Affinity Space.” Media, Culture & Society 41(5): 604–619. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Oh, D. C. 2017. “K-pop Fans React: Hybridity and the White Celebrity-Fan on YouTube.” International Journal of Communication 111: 2270–2287.Google Scholar
Pennycook, A., and Otsuji, E. 2014. Metrolingualism: Language in the City. Routledge.Google Scholar
Ren, W. 2018. “Mitigation in Chinese Online Consumer Reviews.” Discourse, Context and Media 261: 5–12. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Schachtner, C. 2015. “Transculturality in the internet: Culture flows and virtual publics.” Current Sociology Monograph 63(2): 228–243. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Shafirova, L., Cassany, D., and Bach, C. 2020. “From ‘Newbie’ to Professional: Identity Building and Literacies in an Online Affinity Space.” Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 24 1: 1–11. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Shim, D. 2006. “Hybridity and the Rise of Korean Popular Culture in Asia.” Media, Culture & Society 19(2): 137–151. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Song, S. 2020. “The Evolution of the Korean Wave: How is the Third Generation Different from Previous Ones?” Korean Observer 51(1): 125–150. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Song, Y. 2018. “Translingual strategies as consumer design: A case study of multilingual linguistic landscapes of urban China.” Multilingua, 37 (5): 455–482. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Spilioti, T. 2019. “From Transliteration to Trans-scripting: Creativity and Multilingual Writing on the Internet.” Discourse, Context & Media 291: 1–10. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2020. “The Weirding of English, Transcripting, and Humour in Digital Communication.” World Englishes 391: 106–118. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sun, M., and Liew, K. K. 2019. “Analog Hallyu: Historicizing K-pop Formations in China.” Global Media and China 4(4): 419–436. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Vásquez, C., and Creel, S. 2017. “Conviviality through Creativity: Appealing to the Reblog in Tumblr Chat Posts.” Discourse, Context & Media 201: 59–69. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wu, H. A. 2016. “Video Game Prosumers: Case Study of a Minecraft Affinity Space.” In Visual Arts Research, 22–37. University of Illinois Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Xie, C., Yus, F. & Haberland, H. (eds.). 2021. Approaches to Internet Pragmatics. John Benjamins Publishing Company. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Yan, Q., & Yang, F. 2020. “From Parasocial to Parakin: Co-Creating Idols on Social Media.” New Media & Society 1–23. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Yin, R. 2017. Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods (6th edition). London: Sage.Google Scholar
Yoon, K. 2019. “Transnational Fandom in the Making: K-pop Fans in Vancouver.” International Communication Gazette 81(2): 176–192. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Yus, F. 2019. “Multimodality in memes: A Cyberpragmatic Approach.” In P. Bou-Franch and P. G. Blitvich (eds.), Analyzing Digital Discourse: New Insights and Future Directions, 105–132. Palgrave Macmillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Zhang, W. 2015. “Multilingual Creativity on China’s Internet.” World Englishes 34(2): 231–246. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Zhang, Y. 2020. “Adopting Japanese in Popular Chinese Video-Sharing Website: Heteroglossic and Multilingual Communication by Online Users of Bilibili.com.” International Multilingual Research Journal 14(1): 20–40. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Zhang, Y., and Ren, W. 2020. “‘This is So Skrrrrr’ – Creative Translanguaging by Chinese Micro-Blogging Users.” International Journal of Multilingualism. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Zappavigna, M. 2015. Discourse of Twitter and Social Media: How We Use Language to Create Affiliation on the Web. Continuum.Google Scholar
Cited by (2)

Cited by two other publications

Zhang, Leticia-Tian & Boris Vazquez-Calvo
2024. Fan Translation and Multilingualism. In The Palgrave Handbook of Multilingualism and Language Varieties on Screen, ► pp. 197 ff. DOI logo
Locher, Miriam A. & Thomas C. Messerli
2023. “This is not the place to bother people about BTS”: Pseudo-synchronicity and interaction in timed comments by Hallyu fans on the video streaming platform Viki. Discourse, Context & Media 52 ► pp. 100686 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 13 october 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.