The usage of Sinographs in relational communication about ethnic Chinese identities on YouTube

Abstract This study analyzes the usage of Sinographs (Chinese characters) across globally dispersed user communities on YouTube, and focuses on their usage patterns in relational communication about ethnic Chinese identities. This is achieved by analyzing YouTube comments on the official music video for the Mandopop (Mandarin pop music) song “Fragile” (玻璃心) as a corpus. Firstly, the history and media environment of ethnic Chinese communities are reviewed to provide context for why “Fragile” sparked heated discussion in the YouTube comment section. Then, the methodological approach of corpus pragmatics, the data, and the methodology including corpus analytical process and tools used are discussed. Finally, the analysis results are presented in two parts: the usage of sentence patterns that communicate relationships and identities, and the usage of metamessages that indicate ethnic Chinese identities.