Papers by Leticia Tian Zhang
Convergence, 2024
Extensive research has been conducted on social media and fandom, particularly on how digital pla... more Extensive research has been conducted on social media and fandom, particularly on how digital platforms facilitate community formation and cultural production among fans. However, there remains a gap in understanding how these communities react to and interpret changes such as commercialization or mainstreaming of their platforms. This study addresses this gap by focusing on Bilibili's danmu culture, a vibrant fan community that is transitioning from a subculture to a mainstream entity. The platform culture lies in danmu, a commentary system that allows for video-superimposed moving texts on the screen. Existing research on danmu mainly focuses on the mediated playful and creative audience participation. However, little is understood about the perception and critical evaluation of danmu commenting within its participatory community. This study investigates the vernacular criticism of danmu amongst users on Bilibili by analyzing user discussions around a remix video called "This is danmu culture!". Findings reveal three overarching themes: nostalgia for past danmu creations, criticism of present danmu practices, and negotiation of danmu culture. Central to these themes is the commenters' identification as part of an elite fan community that is gradually fading. Bilibili, once a sanctuary for anime, comic, and game enthusiasts, now finds itself caught in the tension between subculture and mainstream audiences, resulting in increasing polarization.
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Journal of Contrastive Pragmatics, 2023
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El Profesional de la Información, 2023
El auge de la tecnología digital ha brindado nuevas oportunidades para el aprendizaje de lenguas,... more El auge de la tecnología digital ha brindado nuevas oportunidades para el aprendizaje de lenguas, que van más allá de la enseñanza tradicional en el aula. Los proyectos de vídeo han surgido como una herramienta eficaz en la educación de lenguas extranjeras; sin embargo, la investigación sobre la producción de vídeos propios y regulados para el apren- dizaje de lenguas es escasa. Este estudio investiga el fenómeno de los vlogs en español como segunda lengua (L2) en Bilibili, plataforma china donde se comparten vídeos, mediante el análisis de 134 vlogs en español producidos por sinohablantes. El estudio persigue comprender las características de los vlogs, el perfil de los vlogueros y las formas en que utilizan este género discursivo para aprender español. Con principios de la etnografía virtual cualitativa, el estudio revela la sorprendente aparición de estos vlogs en una red social particular de China con lengua vehicular china, y las maneras en que los usuarios interactúan con estos vlogs para aprender español L2. Los resultados revelan varios tipos o subgéneros de vlogs, que incluyen experiencias de la vida diaria y adaptaciones de tendencias populares de YouTube, producidos principalmente por estudiantes universitarios con habilidades de edición avanzadas. Los vlogueros incor- poran conocimientos tanto de la educación formal (p. ej., contenidos de Español Moderno, el libro de texto de español más difundido en China) como de contextos informales. Además de practicar el español oral, los vlogueros que usan L2 emplean varias formas de escritura, como subtítulos en español y su contraparte en chino o recursos multimodalescomo los comentarios danmu que ayudan a incluir correcciones a la producción verbal. Los vlogueros también adoptan estrategias discursivas para interactuar con la comunidad, como comentarios autocríticos, peticiones de feedback o reflexiones metalingüísticas. El estudio destaca el potencial de las plataformas para compartir vídeos como Bilibili como herramientas para el aprendizaje de idiomas, revela varios tipos de aprendizaje en contextos digitales (autosupervisado, interactivo) y da pistas sobre cómo integrar los vlogs y el subtitulado multilingüe en los programas de enseñanza de lenguas, enfatizando la agentividad del aprendiz, el aprendizaje autodirigido en contextos digitales y el desarrollo de alfabetismos transmediáticos.
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The rise of digital technology has provided new opportunities for language learning, extending be... more The rise of digital technology has provided new opportunities for language learning, extending beyond traditional classroom instruction. Video projects have emerged as an effective tool in foreign language education, yet research on self-initiated and regulated video production for language learning is scarce. This study investigates the phenomenon of vlogging in Spanish as a second language on the Chinese video sharing platform Bilibili, by analyzing 134 Chinese-produced Spanish-language vlogs. The study aims to understand the vlogs' characteristics, the vloggers' profile, and the ways they utilize the genre for learning Spanish. Through qualitative virtual ethnography, the study uncovers the presence and learning engagement of Spanish L2 vlogs on Bilibili. The results reveal a diverse range of vlogs, including daily life experiences and adaptations of popular YouTube trends, primarily produced by university students with advanced editing skills. Vloggers incorporate knowledge from both formal education (e.g., the Spanish textbook widely used in China, Español Moderno) and informal contexts. In addition to practicing oral Spanish, L2 vloggers use various forms of writing, including Spanish subtitles and Chinese translation, and mobilize multimodal resources, such as danmu comments for overlaying corrections. Vloggers also adopt discursive strategies for community interaction, such as self-deprecating metalanguage, feedback solicitation, and metalinguistic reflections. The study highlights the potential of video-sharing platforms like Bilibili as tools for language learning, reveals different learning styles in digital environments (self-supervised and interaction-oriented learning), and indicates the direction of integrating daily vlogs and multilingual subtitles into language curricula, emphasizing students' agency, self-directed digital learning, and transmedia literacy development.
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Discourse & Communication, 2024
There have been extensive public and academic debates on the role platform algorithms play in sha... more There have been extensive public and academic debates on the role platform algorithms play in shaping social media (sub)cultures. Little attention, however, has been paid to how platform (sub) cultures are discursively constructed by the design of the platform interface. This study examines Bilibili, a leading Chinese video platform, and investigates how it discursively frames video-sharing culture through platform menu design. We developed a three-level analytical framework that includes: 1) a multimodal social semiotic analysis of Bilibili's menu design; 2) a contrastive analysis of YouTube's video menu, and 3) a focused analysis of guichu or kichiku videos (as a linguistic phenomenon, a transcultural practice and a multimodal semiotic artefact). Our findings reveal that Bilibili discursively frames and legitimizes video-sharing practices by establishing a folk taxonomy of video genres and integrating subculture into its menu design. Furthermore, Bilibili controls access to cultural knowledge through explicit (gatekeeping) and implicit (semiotic) measures, in contrast to YouTube's visual and superficial taxonomy. This study unveils different discursive strategies platforms use to shape unique online video cultures.
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Discourse Context & Media, 2023
50 days of free access until June 23, 2023: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1h12Y7suQFuPC6
Danmu... more 50 days of free access until June 23, 2023: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1h12Y7suQFuPC6
Danmu (anonymous superimposed video comments) is a popular form of communication on Chinese and Japanese video sharing sites. While previous studies primarily focused on the verbal aspects of danmu comments, there is a growing interest in exploring their multimodal features. This study investigates the unique potential of danmu comments to communicate visual meaning, interact with on-screen content, and thereby shape audience perception. Informed by a social semiotic approach to multimodality and relevant pragmatic theories, the study analyzed 50 screenshots of visually significant danmu comments to understand the resources used by commenters to craft visual comments and the relationship between these comments and the screen. Our findings revealed that four key resources were utilized to create visual comments: arrows, kaomoji, context-specific special characters and symbols, and ASCII art. Additionally, five types of relationships were identified between visual danmu comments and the screen, including deictic, emphasizing, complementing, extending, and independent. This study provides an up-to-date examination of the possibilities for visual expression in textual communication and extends previous research on semiotic resources in social media. It also discusses the role of danmu visual play as internet memes and the emergence of danmu visual grammar.
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Multilingua, 2020
Diaspora vloggers-migrants who produce video blogs in the language of their home countries for a ... more Diaspora vloggers-migrants who produce video blogs in the language of their home countries for a transnational diaspora community-have been a largely overlooked group in the studies of social media. This paper focuses on the unique role of Chinese diaspora vloggers during an unprecedented global event-the COVID-19 pandemic. Using manual keyword search (e.g., zhaijia riji, faguo yiqing) and chance sampling (i.e., following platform recommendation), we collected 26 videos (07:44:30) from six Chinese YouTube micro-influencers (1-100k followers) located in Germany, the US, Australia, France, Italy, and Korea. Drawing on theories of narrative and stance-taking, we analyzed how these diaspora vloggers relate their experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results show that vloggers display both universal (e.g., fears) and culturally specific (e.g., mask-wearing) feelings, and invite their viewers to co-construe the emotional experience (e.g., the pronoun ni and address term dajia). Moreover, through different ways of "being Chinese", vloggers orient their discourse to a unique audience-transnational Chinese-speaking diaspora. Our findings point to the emergence of a new form of migrant identity in the age of social media and highlight the importance of understanding such identities in delivering public health information in global emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Although coherence has been widely studied in computer-mediated communication (CMC), insufficient... more Although coherence has been widely studied in computer-mediated communication (CMC), insufficient attention has been paid to emergent multimodal forms. This study analyzes a popular commentary system on Chinese and Japanese video-sharing sites-known as danmu or danmaku-where anonymous comments are superimposed on and scroll across the video frame. Through content and multimodal discourse analysis, we unpack danmu-mediated communication analyzing the newest interface (on Bilibili.com), the comments, the interpersonal interactions and the unusual use of the second-person pronoun. Results show that despite the technological constraints (hidden authorship, unmarked sending date and lack of options to structure comments), users construct order in interactions through repetition, danmu-specific expressions and multimodal references, while using playful language to make fun. This study provides an up-to-date analysis on an increasingly popular CMC medium beyond well-studied social networking sites, and broadens the understanding of coherence in contemporary CMC.
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Revista Española de Lingüística Aplicada/Spanish Journal of Applied Linguistics, 2019
Documentamos y analizamos una comunidad china de fansub, que traduce y subtitula series y películ... more Documentamos y analizamos una comunidad china de fansub, que traduce y subtitula series y películas hispanas, explorando los recursos y estrategias que se utilizan para comprender y transcribir del español y traducir al chino. Con etnografía virtual (Hine, 2000), combinando observación participante, entrevistas en profundidad y análisis de contenido, los resultados describen una comunidad jerárquica, con normas que regulan los procesos colaborativos de escritura y traducción, que incluyen el uso de estrategias multimodales sofisticadas (empleo creativo de recursos técnicos, lingüísticos y webs, prácticas de translanguaging). La comunidad también desarrolla sus propios criterios sobre lo que es una buena traducción, con roles y actitudes de aprendices serios ante los errores cometidos. Dichas prácticas ejemplifican otras características relevantes de las comunidades digitales (productividad fan, mediación cultural, traducción audiovisual y amateur) y ofrecen recursos interesantes para aplicar a la enseñanza formal de L2. Palabras clave: fansub, comprensión y traducción audiovisual, recursos lingüísticos en línea, translanguaging, español como lengua extranjera.
We document and analyze a Chinese fansub community, which translates and subtitles Hispanic series and films, exploring the resources and strategies they use to understand and transcribe Spanish and translate it into Chinese. With virtual ethnography (Hine, 2000), combining participant observation, in-depth interviews and content analysis, the results show a hierarchical community with rules regulating the collaborative processe of writing and translation, including the use of sophisticated multimodal strategies (creative use of technical and language
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Internet Pragmatics, 2019
This paper analyzes humorous comments created through a popular viewing-and- commenting system us... more This paper analyzes humorous comments created through a popular viewing-and- commenting system used in China and Japan, known as danmu (or danmaku). This system enables its users to superimpose anonymous comments on the video frame, which are displayed in subsequent viewing. We collected 327 user- selected “funniest” screenshots of comments from danmu video sharing sites. Using content and discourse analysis, we re-contextualized the comments and identified main mechanisms of humor. Results show that speakers make fun of the plot, characters and of each other, relating to the video frame, Chinese culture and Japanese fandom. They rely on non-aggressive but rather playful teasing, allusions and retorts, and apply multimodal resources such as color, layout, and symbols to enhance the humorous effect. Our study contributes to the emerging research focus on multimodal humor (Yus 2016), social semiotics and a discursive approach to danmu-mediated communication.
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Spanish in Context, 2019
While much research has proved the benefits of subtitled audiovisuals for foreign language learni... more While much research has proved the benefits of subtitled audiovisuals for foreign language learning, few studies address such practices in out-of-classroom settings or focus on Asia-based video-sharing platforms. This study bridges this gap by introducing an increasingly popular viewing-commenting system in Japan and China, known as danmu or danmaku, which displays viewers' timeline-synchronized comments on video content. We analyse the metalinguistic comments which entail viewers' knowledge of the language, their comprehension issues and sociolinguistic attitudes toward its use. Adopting an inductive or data-driven methodology, we extracted and manually coded 390 comments that are related to the Spanish language, Spanish-Chinese translation and learning Spanish. Results show that viewers are mostly interested in linguistic features that differ from Chinese or English (e.g. the complex grammar) and they use danmu to access sociolinguistic issues that are central to daily communication such as the fast speech rate, language varieties, and frequent use of vulgarisms.
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Language Learning and Technology, 2019
Fan practices involving translation open up opportunities to explore language learning practices ... more Fan practices involving translation open up opportunities to explore language learning practices within the fandom (Sauro, 2017). We examine how three fans capitalize on fan translation and language learning. We consider the cases of Selo (an English–Spanish translator of games), Nino (a Japanese–Catalan fansubber of anime, and Alro (an English–Spanish translator of fanfics). A corpus was built consisting of 297 minutes of interviews, 186 screenshots of language learning events from online sites, and 213 minutes of screencast videos of online activity. Drawing upon the conceptual framework of new literacy studies (Barton, 2007), we set four themes to present fans’ literacy practices and language learning: (a) fan translation, (b) understanding the original text, (c) writing and preparing the translation, and (d) tools, resources, and collaborative online practices. Results indicated that the three informants encountered an open space for agency, creativity, and identity building and reinforcement through fan translation. Their translations provided content and represented the generators of the semiotic fabric in their fandoms (Gee, 2005). As fan translators, they learned language in multiple ways, such as peer-to-peer feedback, autodidactism, and creative uses of Google Translate. Future research may attempt to transfer knowledge from digital wilds into formal education.
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While research on Western multimedia platforms, such as YouTube, is prolific and interdisciplinar... more While research on Western multimedia platforms, such as YouTube, is prolific and interdisciplinary, Asian portals remain unknown. We explore this field by analyzing the juvenile and intercultural uses of a popular visualization system in Japan and China, known as " danmaku " or " danmu ". This technology inserts dynamic and contextualized comments on a photogram, with several typographical possibilities. Based on a corpus of 1,590 comments on " The Ministry of Time, " collected from a fandom platform with millions of users, we analyzed the topics that arouse the most interest among Chinese fans. We combine content analysis, which incorporates coding and counting techniques of the categories with the most interventions (n>16), with multimodal discourse analysis (TV series, Asian platform and user comments). Results show that the viewers are most interested in the film genre (time travel), the characters, the plot, certain sociocultural contents, and the Spanish language. Their discussions address issues of interculturality, some topics that are taboo in China and the fandom culture in Asia. Our study illustrates the potential of participation, communication, and learning in Asian social media, and constitutes an interesting and innovative contribution to the field of media and digital literacy, with various suggestions to promote intercultural competence with the use of popular culture.
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Mientras la investigación sobre las plataformas multimedia occidentales, como YouTube, es prolífi... more Mientras la investigación sobre las plataformas multimedia occidentales, como YouTube, es prolífica e interdisciplinaria, los portales asiáticos siguen siendo desconocidos. El presente trabajo explora este campo analizando los usos juveniles e interculturales de un sistema de visualización popular en Japón y China, conocido como «danmaku» o «danmu». Esta tecnología inserta comentarios dinámicos y contextualizados sobre un fotograma, con varias posibilidades tipográficas. Partiendo de un corpus de 1.590 comentarios sobre «El Ministerio del Tiempo», recogidos de una plataforma de «fandom» con millones de seguidores, este artículo analiza los temas que despiertan más interés entre los fans chinos. El análisis de contenido, que incorpora técnicas de «coding and counting» de las categorías con más intervenciones (n>16), se combina con un análisis del discurso multimodal (serie de TV, plataforma asiática y comentarios de usuarios). Los resultados muestran que los espectadores se interesan por el género cinematográfico (viaje del tiempo), los personajes, la trama, determinados contenidos socioculturales y la lengua española. Sus discusiones abordan cuestiones de interculturalidad, algunas cuestiones que son tabú en China y la cultura «fandom» en Asia. El estudio ilustra las potencialidades de participación, comunicación y aprendizaje en las redes sociales asiáticas, y supone una aportación interesante e innovadora al campo de la alfabetización mediática y digital, con varias sugerencias para fomentar la competencia intercultural con el uso de la cultura popular.
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Discurso & Sociedad, 2018
En el presente artículo estudiamos un tipo especial de las tarjetas publicitarias, que bajo la de... more En el presente artículo estudiamos un tipo especial de las tarjetas publicitarias, que bajo la denominación de “tarjetas de masaje oriental” promocionan el servicio sexual en Barcelona, donde la prostitución coactiva es ilegal. Buscamos revelar el proceso persuasivo en la transmisión del mensaje implícito, partiendo de la hipótesis de que en las tarjetas se construyen unos roles femeninos y se establecen unas relaciones narrativas entre ellos y el destinatario. Dentro del marco de la representación de la mujer en la publicidad y la narrativa canónica, empleamos el análisis multimodal para examinar los componentes gráficos y textuales de un corpus compuesto por 33 tarjetas. Descubrimos que las mujeres mostradas corresponden con los prototipos establecidos por Goffman (1979) y Gill (2009). Asimismo, encontramos que la narrativa sugerida llega hasta la fase de competencia, puesto que se considera al receptor de la publicidad como héroe invitado a consumir el producto, la mujer fotografiada, la cual, a su vez se identifica como objeto a salvar.
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Objective. This paper documents and analyzes how the members of an online community of fansubbers... more Objective. This paper documents and analyzes how the members of an online community of fansubbers collaborate to subtitle Hispanic series and films in Chinese. In order to understand how this community organizes itself on the Internet to satisfactorily complete such a complex multimodal and multilingual process, the paper focuses on the community members' roles and chain of production, the virtual spaces in which they work, their self-regulation strategies and the ethical issues they face. Methodology. The authors used qualitative content analysis and discourse analysis of a corpus composed with the help of netnographic techniques, including semi-structured interviews, participant observation and field notes. Results. The community was found to have a hierarchical structure, where a small group of managing members coordinated the others, who completed different tasks (e.g., transcription, synchronization, translation) in the overall collaborative project. The community took advantage of existing virtual spaces (e.g., official forums, social networks, online chats) to organize and promote its work and to develop a complete system of self-regulation, from recruitment to further training and evaluation with performance management. The authors conclude that fansubbers are cautious volunteers who make their own rules to protect and legitimize their community, which consists of freelance translators and technicians who are amateurs but who take their work seriously. These volunteers collaborate efficiently on the Internet, maintaining strict quality standards in their subtitling, and are supported by active audiences. Empowered in the digital age, this community is revolutionizing traditional modalities of reading and writing, recreating media products in an original way to meet the emerging needs of viewers.
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Objectiu: documentar i analitzar la cooperació en línia d'una comunitat digital que subtitula sèr... more Objectiu: documentar i analitzar la cooperació en línia d'una comunitat digital que subtitula sèries i pel·lícules hispanes al xinès; estudiar-ne els rols i les funcions, la cadena de treball, els espais virtuals, les estratègies d'autoregulació i les qüestions ètiques, i conèixer com s'organitzen a la xarxa per complir satisfactòriament una tasca multimodal i plurilingüe tan complexa. Metodologia: anàlisi qualitativa de contingut i anàlisi del discurs sobre un corpus extret mitjançant tècniques de la netnografia, que inclou entrevistes semiestructurades, observació participant i notes de camp. Resultats: la comunitat té una estructura jeràrquica. Una direcció reduïda coordina els altres membres, que exerceixen diferents funcions (transcripció, sincronització, traducció) en el treball col·laboratiu sobre el producte subtitulat; aprofita diferents espais virtuals (el fòrum oficial, les xarxes socials, els xats) per organitzar-se i promocionar-se, i desenvolupa un sistema complet d'autoregulació, des del reclutament fins a la formació i l'avaluació del rendiment de cada membre. Considerem que els fansubbers són voluntaris prudents (elaboren la seva pròpia normativa per tal de legitimar-se), traductors i tècnics aficionats però autònoms i seriosos (cooperen de manera eficient a la xarxa i exerceixen un control de qualitat estricte sobre els subtítols), que s'adrecen a audiències actives i apoderades en l'era digital. Aquesta pràctica revoluciona les modalitats tradicionals de lectura i escriptura, i recrea de manera original els productes mediàtics per satisfer les necessitats emergents dels espectadors.
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Objetivo: documentar y analizar la cooperación en línea de una comunidad digital que subtitula se... more Objetivo: documentar y analizar la cooperación en línea de una comunidad digital que subtitula series y películas hispanas al chino, estudiando los roles y las funciones, la cadena de trabajo, los espacios virtuales, las estrategias de autorregulación y las cuestiones éticas, para conocer cómo se organizan en la red para cumplir satisfactoriamente una tarea multimodal y plurilingüe tan compleja. Metodología: análisis cualitativo de contenido y análisis del discurso sobre un corpus compuesto mediante técnicas de la netnografía, que incluyen entrevistas semiestructuradas, observación participante y notas de campo. Resultados: la comunidad tiene una estructura jerárquica. Una dirección reducida coordina a los demás miembros, que desempeñan distintas funciones (transcripción, sincronización, traducción) en el trabajo colaborativo sobre el producto subtitulado; aprovecha diferentes espacios virtuales (foro oficial, redes sociales, chats) para organizarse y promocionarse, y desarrolla un sistema completo de autorregulación, desde el reclutamiento hasta la formación y evaluación del rendimiento de cada miembro. Consideramos que los fansubbers son voluntarios cautos (elaboran su propia normativa para legitimarse), traductores y técnicos aficionados pero autónomos y serios (cooperan de manera eficiente en la red y ejercen un estricto control de calidad sobre los subtítulos), que se dirigen a audiencias activas y empoderadas en la era digital. Esa práctica revoluciona las modalidades tradicionales de lectura y escritura, recreando de manera original los productos mediáticos para satisfacer las necesidades emergentes de los espectadores.
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Papers by Leticia Tian Zhang
Danmu (anonymous superimposed video comments) is a popular form of communication on Chinese and Japanese video sharing sites. While previous studies primarily focused on the verbal aspects of danmu comments, there is a growing interest in exploring their multimodal features. This study investigates the unique potential of danmu comments to communicate visual meaning, interact with on-screen content, and thereby shape audience perception. Informed by a social semiotic approach to multimodality and relevant pragmatic theories, the study analyzed 50 screenshots of visually significant danmu comments to understand the resources used by commenters to craft visual comments and the relationship between these comments and the screen. Our findings revealed that four key resources were utilized to create visual comments: arrows, kaomoji, context-specific special characters and symbols, and ASCII art. Additionally, five types of relationships were identified between visual danmu comments and the screen, including deictic, emphasizing, complementing, extending, and independent. This study provides an up-to-date examination of the possibilities for visual expression in textual communication and extends previous research on semiotic resources in social media. It also discusses the role of danmu visual play as internet memes and the emergence of danmu visual grammar.
We document and analyze a Chinese fansub community, which translates and subtitles Hispanic series and films, exploring the resources and strategies they use to understand and transcribe Spanish and translate it into Chinese. With virtual ethnography (Hine, 2000), combining participant observation, in-depth interviews and content analysis, the results show a hierarchical community with rules regulating the collaborative processe of writing and translation, including the use of sophisticated multimodal strategies (creative use of technical and language
Danmu (anonymous superimposed video comments) is a popular form of communication on Chinese and Japanese video sharing sites. While previous studies primarily focused on the verbal aspects of danmu comments, there is a growing interest in exploring their multimodal features. This study investigates the unique potential of danmu comments to communicate visual meaning, interact with on-screen content, and thereby shape audience perception. Informed by a social semiotic approach to multimodality and relevant pragmatic theories, the study analyzed 50 screenshots of visually significant danmu comments to understand the resources used by commenters to craft visual comments and the relationship between these comments and the screen. Our findings revealed that four key resources were utilized to create visual comments: arrows, kaomoji, context-specific special characters and symbols, and ASCII art. Additionally, five types of relationships were identified between visual danmu comments and the screen, including deictic, emphasizing, complementing, extending, and independent. This study provides an up-to-date examination of the possibilities for visual expression in textual communication and extends previous research on semiotic resources in social media. It also discusses the role of danmu visual play as internet memes and the emergence of danmu visual grammar.
We document and analyze a Chinese fansub community, which translates and subtitles Hispanic series and films, exploring the resources and strategies they use to understand and transcribe Spanish and translate it into Chinese. With virtual ethnography (Hine, 2000), combining participant observation, in-depth interviews and content analysis, the results show a hierarchical community with rules regulating the collaborative processe of writing and translation, including the use of sophisticated multimodal strategies (creative use of technical and language