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Article In: Pragmatics and Society: Online-First Articles

Chinese danmuers’ perception of sex‑related language in the American TV sitcom Friends

A critical discourse analysis of subtitle comments in Bilibili

ORCiD logo with link | Sun Yat-sen University | Guangxi University
 | The University of New South Wales
 | Sun Yat-sen University
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
This article explores how Chinese danmuers perceive sex-related language in contemporary China through a critical discourse analysis of danmu comments on the subtitling in the first season of Friends, a renowned American TV sitcom re-broadcast in 2022 by one of the Chinese video-sharing platforms, Bilibili. Linguistically, the study examines danmuers’ attitudes towards subtitled sexual content. In particular, these danmuers have demonstrated their understanding of institutional censorship and, more interestingly, negotiated cultural exchanges from individual perspectives. Ideologically, cultural values such as Confucianism and Chinese hegemonic masculinity are crucial in (re)shaping danmuers’ perceptions. The analysis reveals that Chinese danmuers have exhibited flexibility and creativity in expressing their attitudes towards sex-related language, which should be considered indispensable for assessing media subtitles in an evolving society.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
    • 2.1Subtitling sex-related language as a media product
    • 2.2Researching danmu comments about reception to subtitling sex-related language
  • 3.Method and material
  • 4.Data analysis
    • 4.1Appraising the subtitling quality as product consumers
    • 4.2Understanding institutional censorship in the Chinese context
    • 4.3Negotiating intercultural exchanges with individual perspectives
  • 5.Discussion and implications
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Author queries
  • References
References (66)
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