pure sugar and fluff ([info]fairymage) wrote,
@ 2008-09-05 19:16:00
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Fandom & Language
This poll is going everywhere I can post it, and I'd really appreciate it if you asked around for me.

Is there a particular language that fandom - particularly that of manga, anime, and games - favors?
Is English a preferred language for fans, or are most fans in non-English speaking countries speakers of their native language?
Do people learn or use English to communicate more often in forums, communities, scanlations, and fansubs than other languages?
What role does the English language play in the creation of fandom communities across country/national lines?

I've phrased the question multiple ways, to give people different ways of thinking about it. Unfortunately, I'm inherently limited in that I am only capable of interacting in English-speaking fandom and posting this in English.

I would greatly appreciate feedback.

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[info]e_chi
2008-09-06 05:31 am UTC (link)
Usually it's just English? I dunno, I'm on some Dutch fora, but they're often just about anime/manga/games in general, not particularly about one fandom. Also... I always read English fics, English subs, etc. Unless in some magical way anime in Dutch gets released on dvd of course, but that nearly never happens and they're often not of such a good quality... which is a shame. ;_;' But I think English will most often be the most popular language, unless the teaching of English is really bad in a country and the anime/manga/game still reaches it and gets popular for some reason. (for example Pokémon for everywhere, but you can also see it in Japan since ... well, I think they have kinda big fandoms as well? I just don't know for sure...)

I used to write fics in Dutch though, but that's way back when I was still into Gundam Wing xD That's also the only thing I've ever written fics in, haha. But yes, English fics... I've always read them, even then.

Anyway, I think people just learn English in school and then stroll around and pick up some more skills while they're at it... can't say I'm activily learning English anymore. XD;

blahblahblah, yes

(Reply to this)


[info]shirochan
2008-09-06 05:56 am UTC (link)
Wow, this is kinda difficult. Okay, to start of. I'm mainly a participant in English fandom. (I'm a Malaysian chinese. Multilingual. .-.)
Chinese fandom is where I know people go to get all the stuff they want. (Recently released dramas, cds, anime, subs, etc.) Chinese fandom is also known to be the fastest and best way to get stuff, so knowing chinese and being able to be part of their forums is probably also good? Usually those who don't know chinese may get their hands on particular files from the bilingual/multilingual fans who lurk in english and chinese forums.
I'm not familiar with file sharing on the side of Japanese fandom. I only participate by going to their websites to read fanfics and look at their fanart.
----
I can't say what language a fandom favors? I favor English because typing in Chinese makes me feel like hanging myself.

I think English is a preferred language for fans. But I do know people who prefer Chinese fandom.

Do people learn or use English to communicate more often in forums, communities, scanlations, and fansubs than other languages?
I know of one file sharing/interaction forum where there are Japanese and Chinese who join, despite not being familiar with English. They do still type in English and they do hang around.

I'm only familiar with two languages for fandom. I think both English and Chinese have a very strong fandom base. But English fandom probably has more people partake in it internationally because it's.. well, an international language and it's far easier to learn English than Chinese. (And this answers the fourth question. *sweat*)

I hope I made sense. this is long. .-.;;

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[info]rainmage
2008-09-06 10:58 am UTC (link)
I think it depends of the language and the type of fandom. For instance, the Japanese fandoms are pretty much hermetic and self-sufficient; while you CAN see Japanese-speaking people hanging around in English-speaking fandoms, especially in LJ, that's not the norm. Most Japanese fans won't bother to learn another language, not even when they're Western fandoms -if it's a Japanese fandom like manganime and videogames, then there's not even a question. This is why there are so many fansites in Japanese only, with fanworks made by and for Japanese fandom.



Now speaking for Spanish fandoms, it really does depend of the kind of fandom we're talking about. Anime/manga fandoms prosper and grow to be extremely popular only if the series is broadcasted on TV (in several countries). You rarely see a full-grown fandom in Spanish for a series you can only watch via fansubs or for a manga -be it licensed where you live or not. Of course there are exceptions: there were solid fanbases for stuff like Naruto and Bleach from before, but again it's normally for long shounen or massive mangaka like CLAMP. With the tiny fandoms, you might see people commenting on it and even discussions, but not... like, too many fanworks (and p0rn) in Spanish. This might be why those who can speak even a bit of English might jump to those way larger fandoms in English to get their fix or write around, but people who can't speak it will prefer to stay in their other big Spanish fandoms instead of checking out small(er) fandoms in English or creating them in Spanish.

With videogames I have no idea how Spanish fandoms work. All I see around are generic gaming forums/blogs full of fanboys not unlike in English. I bet there's shipping and slash and shipping wars, but it's not easy to find. Keep in mind that in Latin America we get games untranslated and not everyone can get a console, so most gaming fangirls know more than enough English to join the English-speaking fandoms. Exception is Spain because Europe is weird like that. I have no idea what non-English Spaniards fangirls do about.

With books... there's a Spanish Harry Potter fandom, and it's quite large. I doubt other book series might have this kind of full-fleshed fandom. And yet, I know that a lot of Spanish-speaking fans still check out the English one if what they like is too obscure or they're fluid (I know Laurus does go to English corners).

With real life fandoms like TV shows and movies? Well, the thing is I don't hang around these fans a lot. I know that in LJ there are a lot of TV-addicts who keep themselves up to date with the shows via downloads and cable TV, and they friend each other and have their little groups, and ship characters around. But for large fandoms (House, Who, SPN, anything by Josh Whedon...) I have no clue if they have their own communities, or if they do fanworks (and whether they're in Spanish or English), or what non-English-speaking people do besides interacting with their flist -those fans CAN be almost as updated as the other fans, thanks to soft subs and downloaded episodes. I can theorize, however, that smaller shows are not going to have a solid Spanish fandom, and those who can will flock to the already tiny English fandom not unlike anime fans. But again, the few Spanish friends I have into TV and movies are fluid in English and just join directly the English fandoms, so I really don't know enough.

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[info]rainmage
2008-09-06 11:02 am UTC (link)
I meant life action, not real life. I'm still a bit sleepy.

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