international fandom represent!

[noracharles]

When I first started out in online fandom, it was a bad idea to admit to not having English as your first language. People would ignore your fic, assuming it to be poorly written, or they would interpret what you wrote in very strange ways, thinking you couldn't mean to say what you actually wrote, since you wouldn't understand what it meant.

After some years fandom had become international enough that a lot of people who had been passing as first language English speakers came out, some subtly by using their .de or .se email addys and website URLs, some boldly stating their first language.

But that's only English language fandom. rodo has posted this interesting poll about different language fandoms, and the language background of fans. Please take part, no essay questions, simple check boxes/radio buttons.

I've been passive in non-English language fandoms, such as Danish, French, German, and Japanese movies and TV shows, followed canon for English language media translated or dubbed, and even read fic and meta in Danish (Norwegian, Swedish), German (Dutch, Afrikaans) and Spanish (French, Portuguese, Italian, Latin).

I could imagine writing fic in Danish for a specifically Danish fandom, but most of the stuff I've felt fannish about has been aimed very squarely at kids, and I would feel weird and out of place writing adult fic in for example Freddy og monstrene. Some has been aimed at adults, and has an international presence, such as Riget and Little Soldier, and while I could write in those fandoms in Danish, that would needlessly restrict my already very small audience.

As for Swedish language fandoms like Alla vi barn i Bullerbyn and Mumintrollen which I've read exclusively in Danish translation, I could write fic in Danish, and other Scandinavians could probably struggle their way through it, but honestly I think English is more likely to be understood and appreciated.

I can't imagine writing a fic in German or Spanish. The few German fandoms I'm into have an international presence, and I'm not into any Spanish language fandoms.

Okay, now I've gotten all interested in Lindgren fic - the fantasy worlds she's created in Mio, min Mio, Bröderna Lejonhjärta and Ronja Rövardotter lend themselves excellently to fic, and don't have the drawbacks of unfamiliarity with the setting like Bullerbyn, Emil, Madicken and Kalle Blomkvist would have for non-Swedes (and young Swedes, maybe).

Comments

[noracharles]

I think you are right, it is a question of privilege. Not necessarily American privilege, I just happened to be on several mailing lists for American/Canadian shows. I've encountered the same hostile "native English speakers only" attitude in the UK.

In Spain on the other hand, people are grateful and appreciative of anyone making the effort to speak to them in their own language, and can be hostile of foreigners unable or unwilling to. In Catalunya the people I spoke to were nice, but it freaked them out that I spoke castellano, and they tried to keep conversations short and to the point. In Euskadi, many Basques were outright hostile, ranting at me, even screaming me in the face.

So in an English speaking country, insisting on speaking on an equal level is challenging to their privilege, and in a marginalized and oppressed linguistic community they have no privilege and are fighting hard to achieve equality. In Latin America Spanish is less privileged than English, but in no way under threat, so no one wins anything by defending and demanding a high level of Spanish.

[probing-grays.livejournal.com]

Hmm. That's really interesting. I never thought of how oppressed linguistic groups would react. But I agree, native English speakers who are hostile to non-native speakers always struck me as lashing out from a position of privilege.

I mean, it might also vary by country, and not by region. Many of the people I spoke to who were Chilean on the board had very positive views of the US. There is an element of class, too; in Chile (I am told) a visit to Disneyland is seen as a marker of status. (Which is weird to me because I tend to associate Disneyland with the American lower middle class, but whatever.) If I had been on a board that was about a different country, I might have had to hide that I was an American.

In addition, it might be a class thing, given that the fandom is probably not accessible to a lot of Chileans who don't come from a privileged class background.

[noracharles]

The reasons why and the ways in which people defend their privilege are so complex. I do think it is a class thing, yes, but also that that's simplifying it a tiny bit.

In my experience the upper and upper middle classes like to see themselves as cosmopolitan, so it's necessary for their self-image to show solidarity with privileged foreigners, but it's often a thin veneer of solidarity and it certainly doesn't extend to unprivileged foreigners.

In Chile, which is richer than most of Latin America, Americans are privileged and American culture is admired and emulated so a certain degree - I'd be interested to learn more about that.

I can tell you what it's like in Denmark. Here Americans are privileged, and American culture is admired and emulated. However people are class-conscious, and want only the "good parts". Which are the "good parts" depends on which class and subculture the person identifies with. Also ignorance of American culture and social nuance can make distinguishing difficult for Danes.

Generally Disney is considered children's entertainment of good, but not the best, quality. In the typical Danish view, there *is* no American children's entertainment of the best quality, since Americans are thought to lack the necessary nuanced and sophisticated world view to produce it. And because all American culture by definition is unnuanced and unsophisticated, adults who gladly take their families to any and all amusement parks in Denmark would never admit in polite company to going to Euro Disney, which is the closest Disney amusement park. Going to Disney Land or Disney World is okay, as long as you make it clear that it's for the kids, not the adults and it's so you can experience local culture, since Disney is oh-so-typical and representative of America.

Yes, listening to this tiresome, unnuanced and unsophisticated stereo-typical view of America gets very old very fast >_<
But I'll take it over the total unwillingness to deal with Americans, other than to yell "Yankee go home!", which I've encountered in some places.