A Netnographic Approach to Amateur Subtitling Networks (2017) by Dang Li

Audiovisual Translation, Publications, Publications, Translation Studies
A Netnographic Approach to Amateur Subtitling Networks (2017)

by Dang Li (Baker Centre for Translation and Intercultural Studies, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China)

in David Orrego-Carmona and Yvonne Lee (eds) Non-Professional Subtitling, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 37-62

Abstract

This article sets out to explore the usability of netnography for investigating amateur subtitling, a phenomenon that occurs within the broader movement of participatory culture in the age of media convergence. Drawing on the author’s netnographic fieldwork that employed participant observation, archival data collection and an online questionnaire to examine the use of digital technologies by Chinese fansubbers to organise their subtitling activities, this chapter illustrates how the present online fieldwork was conducted. It specifically examines the challenges encountered during the fieldwork and strategies developed to address them. In doing so, this chapter offers insights into the practical management of methodological challenges likely to be encountered by researchers with similar research interests and inclinations.

Photo by Flickr user Gabriel Espinoza Macedo (see original), used under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 2.0 licence.