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Investigating translanguaging strategies and online self-presentation through internet slang on Douyin (Chinese TikTok)

  • Ziqi Li and Li Wang ORCID logo EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: February 19, 2024

Abstract

This study explores the translanguaging strategies used in internet slang on Douyin, a popular social media platform in China. By analyzing 331 examples (encompassing 313 translanguaging strategies), we investigate how individuals utilize various translanguaging resources, including multimodal, multilingual, multisemiotic, and multisensory resources, to manage their online self-presentation. Our findings suggest that multilingual resources, such as new Chinglish, Pinyin initialism, and hybrid words (combining Chinese, English, and Arabic numerals), were the most frequently used strategies. Additionally, we found that multisensory resources, including homophonic puns and modal particles, were also commonly utilized. In contrast, multimodal resources, such as emojis, and multisemiotic resources, such as keyboard-generated emoticon, hashtag, and punctuation mark, were less frequently employed. These findings reveal that Chinese internet users display a high degree of creativity and adaptability in their online communication, drawing on a wide range of linguistic and semiotic resources to express their identities and project their desired image. Overall, this study highlights the importance of translanguaging in online communication and its role in shaping self-presentation in the digital age.


Corresponding author: Li Wang, School of Foreign Languages, 12544 Shanghai Normal University , Shanghai, China, E-mail:

Funding source: Shanghai Normal University’s “Comparative Linguistics and International Communication of Chinese” Innovation Team

Award Identifier / Grant number: 202106140059

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Received: 2023-05-08
Accepted: 2023-12-29
Published Online: 2024-02-19
Published in Print: 2024-11-26

© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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