Article published In: Pop culture in applied linguistics: International perspectives: Special issue of ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics 173:2 (2022)
Edited by Valentin Werner
[ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics 173:2] 2022
► pp. 197–227
“¿Triste estás? I don’t know nan molla”
Multilingual pop song fandubs by @miree_music
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.
For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.
Published online: 10 May 2022
https://doi.org/10.1075/itl.21007.zha
https://doi.org/10.1075/itl.21007.zha
Abstract
Fandubbing, or dubbing made by fans of any audiovisual product, is a linguistically and technologically
sophisticated enterprise enacted by many devoted fans. This study presents the case of Miree, a 24-year-old fandubber with more than 1 million subscribers on YouTube and more than 300 multilingual fandubbed songs. Using a
qualitative-interpretive approach, we conducted an in-depth interview with Miree and analyzed her top 30 videos by views to reveal
how Miree performed fandubbing, how she expressed her fan identity through fandubbing, and which were some of the implications of
fandubbing for language learning. Results show that Miree realized both interlinguistic genuine fandubbing and
intralinguistic parodic fandubbing, strategically adopting translanguaging to orchestrate a multimodal
performance, engage her fanbase, and activate several informal language learning opportunities and contexts afforded by
fandubbing.
Keywords: fandub, dubbing, fan translation, informal language learning, translanguaging, identity
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Conceptual framework and literature review
- 3.Methodology
- 3.1Miree, the fandubber
- 3.2Data collection and corpus
- 3.2.1Miree’s top 30 videos by views
- 3.2.2Semi-structured interview
- 3.3Data analysis
- 3.4Ethical statement
- 4.Findings
- 4.1A fandubber of songs
- 4.2Translanguaging, multimodality, and collective identity in Miree’s fandubbing
- 4.2.1Interlinguistic genuine fandubbing and translanguaging
- 4.2.2Intralinguistic parodic fandubbing and multimodality
- 4.3Informal language learning opportunities in fandubbing
- 5.Discussion and concluding remarks
- Acknowledgements
- Notes
References
References (61)
Androutsopoulos, J. (2018). Online
data collection. In C. Mallinson, B. Childs, & G. Van Herk (Eds.), Data
collection in sociolinguistics: Methods and
applications (pp. 233–244). Routledge.
Aisyah, A., & Jin, N. Y. (2017). K-Pop
V fansubs, V LIVE and NAVER dictionary: Fansubbers’ synergy in minimising language
barriers. 3L: The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language
Studies, 23(4), 112–127.
Baños, R. (2019). Fandubbing
across time and space. In I. Ranzato, & S. Zanotti (Eds.), Reassessing
dubbing: Historical approaches and current
trends (pp. 145–148). John Benjamins.
(2020). Fandubbing. In B. Łukasz, & M. Deckert (Eds.), The
Palgrave handbook of audiovisual translation and media
accessibility (pp. 209–226). Palgrave Macmillan.
Barton, D., & Lee, C. (2013). Language
online: Investigating digital texts and practices. Routledge.
Barton, D., & Papen, U. (2010). The
anthropology of writing: Understanding textually mediated
worlds. Continuum.
Beer, D., & Burrows, R. (2013). Popular
culture, digital archives and the new social life of data. Theory, Culture &
Society, 30(4), 47–71.
Benson, P. (2015). Commenting
to learn: Evidence of language and intercultural learning in comments on YouTube
videos. Language Learning &
Technology, 19(3), 88–105.
Black, R. W. (2007). Fanfiction
writing and the construction of space. E-Learning and Digital
Media, 4(4), 384–397.
Cenoz, J., & Gorter, D. (2020). Teaching
English through pedagogical translanguaging. World
Englishes, 39(2), 300–311.
Council of Europe. 2020. Common European
Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment – companion
volume. Council of Europe Publishing.
Cruz, A. G. B., Seo, Y., & Binay, I. (2019). Cultural
globalization from the periphery: Translation practices of English-speaking K-pop fans. Journal
of Consumer Culture, 21(3), 638–659.
Davies, E. E., & Bentahila, A. (2008). Translation
and code switching in the lyrics of bilingual popular songs. The
Translator, 14(2), 247–272.
Díaz-Cintas, J. (2018). “Subtitling’s
a carnival”: New practices in cyberspace. Jostrans: The Journal of Specialised
Translation, 301, 127–149. [URL]
Dörnyei, Z. (2010). Researching
motivation: From integrativeness to the ideal L2 self. In S. Huston, & D. Oakey (Eds.), Introducing
applied linguistics: Concepts and
skills (pp. 74–83). Routledge.
Dwyer, T. (2018). Audiovisual
translation and fandom. In L. Pérez-González (Ed.), The
Routledge handbook of audiovisual
translation (pp. 436–452). Routledge.
Flyvbjerg, B. (2006). Five
misunderstandings about case-study research. Qualitative
Inquiry, 12(2), 219–245.
García, O., & Li, W. (2014). Translanguaging:
Language, bilingualism and education. Palgrave Macmillan.
Gee, J. P. (2005). Semiotic
social spaces and affinity spaces: From the age of mythology to today’s
schools. In D. Barton, & K. Tusting (Eds.), Beyond
communities of
practice (pp. 214–232). Cambridge University Press.
Gilmore, A. (2007). Authentic
materials and authenticity in foreign language learning. Language
Teaching, 40(2), 97–118.
Hafner, C. A. (2019). Digital
literacies for English language learners. In X. Gao (Ed.), Second
handbook of English language
teaching (pp. 1–20). Springer.
Jenkins, H., Mizujko, I., & boyd, d. (2015). Participatory
culture in a networked era: A conversation on youth, learning, commerce, and
politics. Polity.
Knobel, M., & Lankshear, C. (2014). Studying
new literacies. Journal of Adolescent & Adult
Literacy, 58(2), 97–101.
Leadbeater, C., & Miller, P. (2004). The
Pro-Am revolution: How enthusiasts are changing our society and
economy. Demos.
Lee, J. S. (2020). The
role of informal digital learning of English and a high-stakes English test on perceptions of English as an international
language. Australasian Journal of Educational
Technology, 36(2), 155–168.
Lin, A. (2014). Hip-hop
heteroglossia as practice, pleasure, and public pedagogy: Translanguaging in the lyrical poetics of “24 Herbs” in Hong
Kong. In A. Blackledge, & A. Creese (Eds.), Heteroglossia
as practice and
pedagogy (pp. 119–136). Springer.
Markham, A., & Buchanan, E. (2012). Ethical
decision-making and Internet research: Recommendations from the AoIR ethics working committee (version
2.0). [URL]
McLaren, C., & Dal Yong, J. I. N. (2020). “You
can’t help but love them”: BTS, transcultural fandom, and affective identities. Korea
Journal, 60(1), 100–127.
Muir, C., Dörnyei, Z., & Adolphs, S. (2021). Role
models in language learning: Results of a large-scale international survey. Applied
Linguistics, 42(1), 1–23.
O’Hagan, M. (2012). From
fan translation to crowdsourcing: Consequences of web 2.0 user empowerment in audiovisual
translation. In A. Remael, P. Orero, & M. Carroll (Eds.), Audiovisual
translation and media accessibility at the
crossroads (pp. 23–41). Brill.
Pavia, N., Webb, S., & Faez, F. (2019). Incidental
vocabulary learning through listening to songs. Studies in Second Language
Acquisition, 41(4), 745–768.
Reinhardt, J., & Thorne, S. L. (2019). Digital
literacies as emergent multifarious literacies. In N. Arnold, & L. Ducate (Eds.), Engaging
language learners through
CALL (pp. 208–239). Equinox. . Feb 2019
Ruiz, E. M., Febrer, M. O., Pascual, C. T., & Cassany, D. (2020). «¿Qué deberá poner allí?»: Del du-rama y el K-pop a un curso de coreano [“What does it say?” From du-rama and K-pop to a Korean language course]. Didacticae:
Revista de Investigación En Didácticas
Específicas, 81, 99–117.
Sauro, S. (2014). Lessons
from the fandom: Technology-mediated tasks for language
learning. In M. González-Lloret, & L. Ortega (Eds.), Technology-mediated
TBLT: Researching technology and
tasks (pp. 239–262). John Benjamins.
(2019). Fan
fiction and informal language learning. In M. Dressman & R. W. Sadler (Eds.), The
handbook of informal language
learning (pp. 139–151). Wiley-Blackwell.
Sauro, S., & Zourou, K. (2019). What
are the digital wilds? Language Learning &
Technology, 23(1), 1–7.
Sauro, S., & Thorne, S. L. (2021). Pedagogically
mediating engagement in the wild: Trajectories of fandom-based curricular
innovation. In V. Werner, & F. Tegge (Eds.), Pop
culture in language education: Theory, research,
practice (pp. 226–237). Routledge.
Schreiber, B. R. (2015). “I
am what I am”: Multilingual identity and digital translanguaging. Language Learning &
Technology, 19(3), 69–87.
Shafirova, L., & Cassany, D. (2019). Bronies
learning English in the digital wild. Language Learning &
Technology, 23(1), 127–144.
Strmel, M. (2014). Magical
me: Self-insertion fanfiction as literary critique. [Unpublished bachelor’s
thesis]. Scripps College. [URL]
Švelch, J. (2013). The
delicate art of criticizing a saviour: “Silent gratitude” and the limits of participation in the evaluation of fan
translation. Convergence, 19(3), 303–310.
Thorne, S. L., Fischer, I., & Lu, X. (2012). The
semiotic ecology and linguistic complexity of an online game
world. ReCALL, 24(3), 279–301.
Torrego-González, A., Vazquez-Calvo, B., & García-Marín, D. (2021). The
fandom of Blue Jeans: Online reading and literary
socialization. Ocnos, 20(1), 65–81.
Vazquez-Calvo, B. (2018). The
online ecology of literacy and language practices of a gamer. Educational Technology &
Society, 21(3), 199–212.
(2020). Guerrilla
fan translation, language learning, and metalinguistic discussion in a Catalan-speaking community of
gamers. ReCALL.
Vazquez-Calvo, B., & Cassany, D. (2017). Aprender lengua con el traductor automático en la escuela secundaria: un diálogo
necesario [Machine translation as a tool for foreign language learning in
secondary schools: A necessary
dialogue]. Calidoscópio, 15(1), 180–189.
Vazquez-Calvo, B., Zhang, L.-T., Pascual, M., & Cassany, D. (2019). Fan
translation of games, anime, and fanfiction. Language Learning &
Technology, 23(1), 49–71.
Wang, D., & Zhang, X. (2016). The
cult for dubbing and beyond: Fandubbing in China. In R. Antonini & C. Bucaria (Eds.), Non-professional
interpreting and translation in the
media (pp. 173–192). Lang.
Washbourne, K. (2012). Teaching
and learning of translation. In C. A. Chapelle (Ed.), The
encyclopedia of applied
linguistics (pp. 1–7). Wiley.
Werner, V. (2018). Linguistics
and pop culture: Setting the scene(s). In V. Werner (Ed.), The
language of pop
culture (pp. 3–26). Routledge.
Werner, V., & Tegge, F. (2021). Learning
languages through pop culture/learning about pop culture through language
education. In V. Werner & F. Tegge (Eds.), Pop
culture in language education: Theory, research,
practice (pp. 1–28). Routledge.
Yeo, A., Legard, R., Keegan, J., Ward, K., McNaughton Nicholls, C., & Lewis, J. (2014). In-depth
interviews. In J. Ritchie, J. Lewis, C. MacNaughton Nicholls, & R. Ormston (Eds.), Qualitative
research practice: A guide for social science students and
researchers (pp. 178–210). Sage.
Yus, F. (2016). Discourse,
contextualization and identity shaping the case of social networking sites and virtual
worlds. In M. Carrió-Pastor (Ed.), Technology
implementation in second language teaching and translation
studies (pp. 71–88). Springer.
Zhang, L.-T., & Cassany, D. (2016). Fansubbing del español al chino: Organización, roles y normas en la escritura
colaborativa [Fansubbing from Spanish to Chinese: Organization, roles and
norms in collaborative writing]. BiD: textos universitaris de biblioteconomia i
documentació, 371(desembre).
(2019). “Is
it always so fast?”: Chinese perceptions of Spanish through danmu video
comments. Spanish in
Context, 16(2), 217–242.
Cited by (10)
Cited by ten other publications
Vazquez-Calvo, Boris
Zhang, Leticia-Tian
Baños, Rocío
Baños, Rocío & Jorge Díaz-Cintas
Shafirova, Liudmila & Maria Helena Araújo e Sá
Shafirova, Liudmila & Maria Helena Araújo e Sá
Zhang, Leticia-Tian & Boris Vazquez-Calvo
Li, Yuan-Cloris & Daniel Cassany
Zhang, Leticia-Tian, Boris Vázquez-Calvo & Daniel Cassany
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 30 march 2026. 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.
