1887
Volume 3, Issue 1
  • ISSN 2542-3851
  • E-ISSN: 2542-386X
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

Abstract

This article undertakes the first linguistic analysis of the innovative online pseudonyms (e.g., <smollouisandtolharry>, <00Q007Narry>, <b0yfriendsinl0ve>) used by fanfiction authors. Specifically, this research explores the most frequent lexical formation processes employed when creating pseudonyms, why these processes are used, and what they reveal about authorial identity in fanfiction communities. The most common formation methods identified across the 600 names analysed are compounding, blending, and variant spellings. All three of these processes allow authors to create memorable and unique names which distinguish their work from that of other writers in their community. Indeed, despite their use of pseudonyms, these authors are still highlighting their individual authorial identities, and they do this by turning the process of creating a pseudonym into a ludic experiment in linguistic innovation. Consequently, future studies should further explore the relationship between self-selected names and the articulation of identity.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/ip.00040.don
2019-12-13
2025-02-13
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Aleksiejuk, Katarzyna
    2016 “Pseudonyms.” InThe Oxford Handbook of Names and Naming, ed. byCarole Hough, 438–452. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Alley, Henry
    1997The Quest for Anonymity: The Novels of George Eliot. London: Associated University Presses.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Anderson, Leon
    2006 “Analytic autoethnography.” Journal of Contemporary Ethnography35(4): 373–395. 10.1177/0891241605280449
    https://doi.org/10.1177/0891241605280449 [Google Scholar]
  4. Archive of Our Own [Ao3] 2019 “Archive FAQ > pseuds.” https://archiveofourown.org/faq/pseuds (accessed24 February 2019).
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Bauer, Laurie
    1983English Word-Formation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9781139165846
    https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139165846 [Google Scholar]
  6. Bechar-Israeli, Haya
    1995 “From <Bonehead> to <cLoNehEAd>: Nicknames, play, and identity on internet relay chat.” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication1(2). doi:  10.1111/j.1083‑6101.1995.tb00325.x
    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.1995.tb00325.x [Google Scholar]
  7. Brill, Rebecca
    2015 “Exploring collective storytelling, sexuality, and diversification in slash fanfiction.” Undergraduate Honors Thesis, Ball State University.
  8. Brooker, Will
    2002Using the Force: Creativity, Community, and Star Wars Fans. New York: Continuum. 10.5040/9781628928495
    https://doi.org/10.5040/9781628928495 [Google Scholar]
  9. Burgess, Janita
    2018 “AO3 celebrates 30,000 fandoms!” www.transformativeworks.org/ao3-celebrates-30000-fandoms/ (accessed24 February 2019).
  10. Carissimo, Justin, and Jess Denham
    2016 “Liam Payne signs solo record deal amid One Direction split fears.” www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/liam-payne-signs-solo-record-deal-a7149146.html (accessed24 February 2019).
  11. Carty, T.  J.
    1995A Dictionary of Literary Pseudonyms in the English Language. London: Mansell.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Chang, Heewon
    2008Autoethnography as Method. Abingdon: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Coppa, Francesca
    2014 “Pop culture, fans, and social media.” InThe Social Media Handbook, ed. byJeremy Hunsinger, and Theresa M. Senft, 76–92. New York: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Cushing, William
    1963Initials and Pseudonyms: A Dictionary of Literary Disguises. Waltham, MA: Mark Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Dare-Edwards, Helena Louise
    2014 “‘Shipping bullshit’: Twitter rumours, fan/celebrity interaction and questions of authenticity.” Celebrity Studies5(4): 521–524. 10.1080/19392397.2014.981370
    https://doi.org/10.1080/19392397.2014.981370 [Google Scholar]
  16. Dokulil, Miloš
    1962Tvoření Slov v Češtine I: Teorie Odvozování Slov [Word Formation in Czech I: Word Theory]. Prague: Nakladatelství ČAV.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Donlan, Lisa
    2017 “From <mrsniall-horan-until-the-end> to <keepingupwith1d>: Online usernames and identity in the One Direction fandom.” Journal of Fandom Studies5(3): 285–300. 10.1386/jfs.5.3.285_1
    https://doi.org/10.1386/jfs.5.3.285_1 [Google Scholar]
  18. Easley, Alexis
    1996 “Authorship, gender and identity: George Eliot in the 1850s.” Women’s Writing3(2): 145–160. 10.1080/0969908960030205
    https://doi.org/10.1080/0969908960030205 [Google Scholar]
  19. Eleá, Ilana
    2012 “Fanfiction and webnovelas: The digital reading and writing of Brazilian adolescent girls.” InThe Handbook of Gender, Sex, and Media, ed. byKaren Ross, 71–87. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell. 10.1002/9781118114254.ch5
    https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118114254.ch5 [Google Scholar]
  20. Ellis, Carolyn, Tony E. Adams, and Arthur P. Bochner
    2011 “Autoethnography: An overview.” Historical Social Research/Historische Sozialforschung36(4): 273–290. www.jstor.org/stable/23032294
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Ezell, Margaret J. M.
    1994 “Reading pseudonyms in seventeenth-century English coterie literature.” Essays in Literature21(1): 14–25.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Fandrych, Ingrid Mina
    2004 “Non-morphematic word-formation processes: A multi-level approach to acronyms, blends, clippings and onomatopoeia.” PhD dissertation, University of the Free State.
  23. Fanlore
    Fanlore 2019a “Larrie.” https://fanlore.org/wiki/Larrie (accessed24 February 2019).
  24. Fanlore
    Fanlore 2019b “Anti-larrie.” https://fanlore.org/wiki/Anti-larrie (accessed24 February 2019).
  25. Fazekas, Angela
    2014 “Queer and unusual space: White supremacy in slash fanfiction.” MA Thesis, Queen’s University.
  26. Foucault, Michel
    1998 “What is an author?” InAesthetics, Method, and Epistemology: Essential Works of Foucault 1954–1984, Vol.2, ed. byJames D. Faubion and trans. byRobert Hurley, and Josué V. Harari, 205–222. New York: The New York Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  27. Gans, Herbert J.
    1999 “Participant observation in the era of ‘ethnography’.” Journal of Contemporary Ethnography28(5): 540–548. 10.1177/089124199129023532
    https://doi.org/10.1177/089124199129023532 [Google Scholar]
  28. Grace, Abbie, Nenagh Kemp, Frances H. Martin, and Rauno Parrila
    2015 “Undergraduates’ attitudes to text messaging language use and intrusions of textisms into formal writing.” New Media & Society17(5): 792–809. 10.1177/1461444813516832
    https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444813516832 [Google Scholar]
  29. Grossman, Lev
    2013 “50 best websites 2013.” techland.time.com/2013/05/06/50-best-websites-2013 (accessed24 February 2019).
  30. Halkett, Samuel, and John Laing
    1882–1888A Dictionary of the Anonymous and Pseudonymous: Literature of Great Britain: Including the Works of Foreigners Written in, or Translated into the English Language. Edinburgh: W. Paterson.
    [Google Scholar]
  31. Hamst, Olphar
    1971Handbook of Fictitious Names: Being a Guide to Authors, Chiefly in the Lighter Literature of the XIXth Century, Who Have Written Under Assumed Names, and to Literary Forgers, Impostors, Plagiarists, and Imitators. Chicheley: Minet.
    [Google Scholar]
  32. Hassa, Samira
    2012 “Projecting, exposing, revealing self in the digital world: Usernames as a social practice in a Moroccan chatroom.” Names: A Journal of Onomastics60(4): 201–209. 10.1179/0027773812Z.00000000031
    https://doi.org/10.1179/0027773812Z.00000000031 [Google Scholar]
  33. Jenkins, Henry
    1992Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture. New York: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  34. 2006Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers: Exploring Participatory Culture. New York: New York University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  35. Judd, Catherine A.
    1995 “Male pseudonyms and female authority.” InLiterature in the Marketplace: Nineteenth-Century British Publishing and Reading Practices, ed. byJohn O. Jordan, and Robert L. Patten, 250–268. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  36. Kawulich, Barbara B.
    2005 “Participant observation as a data collection method.” Forum: Qualitative Social Research6(2). www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/466/996 (accessed22 March 2019).
    [Google Scholar]
  37. Larsen, Katherine, and Lynn S. Zubernis
    2013Fangasm: Supernatural Fangirls. Iowa City, Iowa: University of Iowa Press. 10.2307/j.ctt20q218t
    https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt20q218t [Google Scholar]
  38. Leppänen, Sirpa
    2008 “Cybergirls in trouble? Fan fiction as a discursive space for interrogating gender and sexuality.” InIdentity Trouble: Critical Discourse and Contested Identities, ed. byCarmen Rosa Caldas-Coulthard, and Rick Iedema, 156–179. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 10.1057/9780230593329_9
    https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230593329_9 [Google Scholar]
  39. 2009 “Playing with and policing language use and textuality in fan fiction.” InInternet Fictions, ed. byIngrid Hotz-Davies, Anton Kirchhofer, and Sirpa Leppänen, 62–83. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
    [Google Scholar]
  40. Lindholm, Loukia
    2013 “The maxims of online nicknames.” InPragmatics of Computer-Mediated Communication. ed. bySusan Herring, Dieter Stein, and Tuija Virtanen, 437–462. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. 10.1515/9783110214468.437
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110214468.437 [Google Scholar]
  41. Marshall, Alice Kahler
    1985Pen Names of Women Writers. Camp Hill, PA: Alice Marshall Collection.
    [Google Scholar]
  42. Mazar, Rochelle
    2006 “Slash fiction/fanfiction.” InThe International Handbook of Virtual Learning Environments, Vol.1, ed. byJoel Weiss, Jason Nolan, Jeremy Hunsinger, and Peter Trifonas, 1141–1150. Dordrecht: Springer. 10.1007/978‑1‑4020‑3803‑7_45
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-3803-7_45 [Google Scholar]
  43. Mendelsohn, Kaya
    2014 “Gender in fandom.” Applied Psychology OPUS. https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/appsych/opus/issues/2014/fall/mendelsohn
    [Google Scholar]
  44. Mentxaka, Aintzane Legarreta
    2007 “Fanfic in Ireland.” InIrish Postmodernisms and Popular Culture, ed. byWanda Balzano, Anne Mulhall, and Moynagh Sullivan, 74–84. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 10.1057/9780230800588_6
    https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230800588_6 [Google Scholar]
  45. Noble, William Stafford
    2009 “How does multiple testing correction work?” Nature Biotechnology27(12): 1135–1137. 10.1038/nbt1209‑1135
    https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt1209-1135 [Google Scholar]
  46. Nuessel, Frank
    2014 “A note on the names of selected magicians.” Names: A Journal of Onomastics63(1): 44–54. 10.1179/0027773814Z.000000000104
    https://doi.org/10.1179/0027773814Z.000000000104 [Google Scholar]
  47. Pearson, Jacqueline
    1988The Prostituted Muse: Images of Women & Women Dramatists, 1642–1737. New York: Harvester Wheatsheaf.
    [Google Scholar]
  48. Penley, Constance
    1992 “Feminism, psychoanalysis, and the study of popular culture.” InCultural Studies, ed. byLawrence Grossberg, Cary Nelson, and Paul A. Treichler, 479–511. New York: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  49. Room, Adrian
    2010Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins (5th edn.). Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co.
    [Google Scholar]
  50. Spradley, James P.
    1980Participant Observation. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
    [Google Scholar]
  51. Stefanescu, Catalina, Vance W. Berger, and Scott Hershberger
    2005 “Yates’ correction.” InEncyclopedia of Statistics in Behavioral Science, ed. byBrian S. Everitt, and David C. Howell, 2127–2129. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. 10.1002/0470013192.bsa715
    https://doi.org/10.1002/0470013192.bsa715 [Google Scholar]
  52. Štekauer, Pavol
    1998An Onomasiological Theory of English Word-Formation. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 10.1075/sfsl.46
    https://doi.org/10.1075/sfsl.46 [Google Scholar]
  53. 1999 “Fundamental principles of an onomasiological theory of word-formation in English.” Brno Studies in English25(1): 75–98. https://digilib.phil.muni.cz/handle/11222.digilib/104495
    [Google Scholar]
  54. 2005 “Onomasiological approach to word-formation.” InHandbook of Word-Formation, ed. byPavol Štekauer, and Rochelle Lieber, 207–232. Dordrecht: Springer. 10.1007/1‑4020‑3596‑9_9
    https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3596-9_9 [Google Scholar]
  55. 2016 “Compounding from an onomasiological perspective.” InThe Semantics of Compounding, ed. byPius ten Hacken, 38–53. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9781316163122.004
    https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316163122.004 [Google Scholar]
  56. Stommel, Wyke
    2007 “Mein nick bin ich! Nicknames in a German forum on eating disorders.” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication13(1): 141–162. 10.1111/j.1083‑6101.2007.00390.x
    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00390.x [Google Scholar]
  57. Thurlow, Crispin, and Michele Poff
    2013 “Text messaging.” InPragmatics of Computer-Mediated Communication, ed. bySusan Herring, Dieter Stein, and Tuija Virtanen, 163–190. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. 10.1515/9783110214468.163
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110214468.163 [Google Scholar]
  58. Todd, Breanna M., and Catherine A. Armstrong Soule
    2018 “Fans and brands: Delineating between fandoms, brand communities, and brand publics.” InExploring the Rise of Fandom in Contemporary Consumer Culture, ed. byCheng Lu Wang, 18–34. Hershey, Pennsylvania: IGI Global. 10.4018/978‑1‑5225‑3220‑0.ch002
    https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-3220-0.ch002 [Google Scholar]
  59. Tushnet, Rebecca
    2014 “The yes men and the women men don’t see.” InA World Without Privacy: What Law Can and Should Do, ed. byAustin Sarat, 83–130. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  60. Urbaniak, Geoffrey C., and Scott Plous
    2017 “Research randomizer.” https://www.randomizer.org/ (accessed24 February 2019).
  61. Val Mora (valmora)
    Val Mora (valmora) 2012 “To unspool the secrets of our selves.” archiveofourown.org/works/591496 (accessed24 February 2019).
  62. Zgusta, Ladislav
    1990 “Onomasiological change: Sachen-change reflected by Wörter.” InResearch Guide on Language Change, ed. byEdgar C. Polomé, 389–398. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. 10.1515/9783110875379.389
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110875379.389 [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/ip.00040.don
Loading
/content/journals/10.1075/ip.00040.don
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): fanfiction; identity; lexis; online communities; onomastics; pseudonyms; word formation
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error