The growing interest in the Spanish language and culture in China has brought about the emergence of new channels for learning, such as translating reggaeton songs, according to a study by UPF

Arecent study by UPF examines an emerging informal practice among the Chinese community learning Spanish: the translation of Hispanic songs, many of them reggaeton, into Chinese through the country’s main music streaming platform, NECM (NetEase Cloud Music), which allows its users to cooperate. Non-professional translators and fans of Spanish and Latin music, of Chinese origin, take advantage of this opportunity to share and comment on their translations on the platform.

This topic is the subject of a scientific article published in the journal Language and Intercultural Communication in March. It is the result of research by Li Yuan-Cloris, a researcher at the Department of Translation and Language Sciences (TiCL), led by Daniel Cassany, coordinator of the research group on Language Learning and Teaching (GR@EL). Yuan-Cloris is one of 81 students of Chinese origin studying Translation and Language Sciences at UPF, 37% more than five years ago. Like her, most are doing doctoral (51) or master's degree (20) studies. The Department’s master's degree with the highest concentration of students of Chinese origin is Translation between Global Languages: Chinese-Spanish. 

UPF can itself testify to Chinese students’ interest in learning the Spanish language and about Spanish culture. In addition to Translation and Language Sciences, during the last five years, the number of Chinese students of all disciplines taught at UPF has also grown by 32%, currently standing at 275 (102 taking bachelor’s degrees, 71 master's degrees, and 102 are pursuing their doctoral degree).

Apart from the students who have the opportunity to study a portion of their studies in Spain, many more would like to do so from their country of origin. The problem is that in China, there is a lack of formal educational resources to learn Spanish, compared to English. In view of this shortcoming, more and more Chinese are turning to informal digital tools to learn Spanish in a recreational way through virtual communities of people with shared interests, such as music.

Some translators already have more than 2 million views

The research by UPF focuses on this emerging, scarcely studied practice, analysing the case of two non-professional translators on NECM, who have been interviewed in depth. One of them, Benito (pseudonym), has 1,300 followers on the platform and his translations have been viewed more than 2 million times; and the other is Lia (pseudonym), with about 800 subscribers. Specifically, 60 of their translations (30 by each) of the following musical genres have been examined: reggaeton (38 songs), ballads (11), pop (6) and trap (5). In addition, the behaviour of the translators’ followers and their 500 or so comments or responses have been analysed. The research has combined content and discourse analysis techniques.

The results of the study reveal that the translators use various intercultural mediation strategies in their translations to make it easier for the Chinese public to understand the meaning of songs in Spanish. It should be noted that the translated songs contain a total of 183 items with cultural specificities (CSI), referring to concepts of Hispanic culture that have no Chinese equivalent.

What intercultural mediation strategies do fan translators use?

The strategy most commonly used by translators (68% of cases) is domestication, with which these CSI are replaced by other terms that are nearer the Chinese imaginary. For example, to translate the expression “get stood up”, they use a Chinese expression “放鸽子”, which we would literally translate as “free[ing] a dove”. Doves have traditionally been considered messengers and, in the Chinese imaginary, releasing a dove that does not come back is associated with a broken promise.

Another strategy is euphemisms, which are used to circumvent Spanish concepts that are especially sensitive in the Chinese community and can be subject to censorship. In fact, all the sexual references identified in the original songs (34 explicit or implicit) have been translated using euphemisms. For example, to translate “f*ck” or “do[ing] it”, they use expressions such as 占有 (possess[ing]) or 交欢 (exchange/ing pleasure).

Other strategies involve the use of non-standard forms of spelling (tranßcripting). For example, to translate the expression  “caliente” (in English, “horny”), they combine two words, equivalent to the Anglicisms “sexy” (性感) and “hot” (火辣). But to circumvent censorship, the translators insert asterisks between the characters of each word (性*感/火*辣). One particular feature of Chinese is that neither different words nor the characters of the same word are separated by a space. Thus, the insertion of asterisks makes it especially difficult for the platform’s algorithms to identify the real meaning of the words.

“The translators themselves also accompany the texts of their translations with paratexts, annotations or comments, to explain the Hispanic cultural elements to the Chinese audience and thus promote the intercultural understanding by the Chinese community of Spanish culture”, researcher Li Yuan-Cloris (UPF) explains.

An informal learning practice that should be considered by foreign language teachers

According to the study, this intercultural mediation exercise has significant potential to promote cultural and linguistic diversity. At the same time, it enhances the multilingual and multicultural skills of translators of Spanish, Chinese (by making advanced use of the language) and English (intermediate language) language and culture. Translators also take advantage of their work to gain influence on the platform, which brings them emotional benefits and influences their identity.

In view of the many benefits of non-professional translation, the study concludes that language teaching professionals should foster students’ autonomy and encourage them to get involved in these activities.

Reference article:

Yuan-Cloris Li & Daniel Cassany (10 Mar 2025): From ‘fuck’ to ‘possess’: intercultural mediation and identity construction in Chinese fan translations of Spanish-language songs, Language and Intercultural Communication, DOI: 10.1080/14708477.2025.2470300