Investment in transnational identity to become microcelebrities in China: on American uploaders’ success in a Chinese video-sharing website

ABSTRACT

Based on Darvin & Norton’s (2015) model of investment, this study conducted a qualitative discourse analysis on 212 videos uploaded by three American microcelebrities on a Chinese video-sharing social media Bilibili. The study explored how the Americans invested in local language and cultural practices, elicited previously possessed affordances as sociocultural capital to enhance their transnational identities, and gained legitimate membership as microcelebrities in the Chinese digitalised third space. The findings may provide implications for intercultural communicators on how to incorporate linguistic, cultural, multimodal and other sociocultural resources to negotiate power to speak in host culture either online or offline.

基于Darvin 和Norton (2015)的投资理论，本文对中国社交媒体Bilibili上3名美国网红发布的212段视频进行了定性话语分析, 阐释其如何通过投资当地语言文化，调动已有社会文化资本强化自身跨国身份，进而获取在华网络第三空间的合法身份。

KEYWORDS:

• Investment
• transnational identity
• capital
• microcelebrity
• digitalised third space

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Xingsong Shi

Xingsong Shi is a professor, PhD in the field of sociolinguistics, second language acquisition, and intercultural communication. She is the Chair of the Research Center on Intercultural Business Communication in the School of International Studies at the University of International Business and Economics. She has published in some distinguished international journals, such as the Modern Language Journal, Journal of Pragmatics, etc., and published extensively in Chinese journals. She led four projects funded by the nation or the Chinese Ministry of Education and was awarded the honor of New Century Excellent Talent by Chinese Ministry of Education.

Yujie Chang

Yujie Chang is a PhD candidate in the School of International Studies at the University of International Business and Economics, majoring in sociolinguistics and intercultural communication.

Jiawei Gao

Jiawei Gao is a graduate student in the School of International Studies at the University of International Business and Economics, majoring in sociolinguistics and intercultural communication.