Search

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

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. 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.

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. 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.