Translanguaging on online platforms: a netnographic study on K-Pop Stan Twitter

Abstract

The world is facing an era of technological expansion, in which our offline and online lives are blending and in mutual transformation. The youth is highly connected and social media have allowed them to interact with people beyond geographical borders. Fans of different idols may build communities of practice (CoP) online, towards achieving a common goal: supporting the artists and making bonds. Twitter is a platform where people can easily interact with others who share similar interests, regardless of where they are from, and allowing for language exchange. It is in this online environment that this final thesis aims to analyze how Brazilian fans of K-Pop use translanguaging in their fandom practices online. To achieve this, an outline of the History of K-Pop was drawn in order to understand how this musical genre became popular among Brazilians. Then, the existing literature on translanguaging was reviewed to provide an overview on how people use language to perform social practices. Finally, a qualitative netnographic research method was applied to analyze how Brazilian K-Pop fans resource to translanguaging practices on stan Twitter. The generated data suggests that Brazilian K-Pop fans interact as a community of practice, making use of different translanguaging strategies in their online activities.