Queerly Said: a Linguistic Analysis of Gender Expression Variations in Queer Thai-to-Japanese Translated Media

The Thai and Japanese languages allow speakers to express their gender and sexuality linguistically. Speakers can either conform to the binary language rules of masculinity and feminity or use a nonbinary combination of rules that best express their individual identity. However, while both languages are gendered, Thai has greater flexibility in its gendering, which is especially evident when translating media from one language to another. Because Thai and Japanese both have similar gender markers, yet the latter is less flexible, translations from Thai to Japanese are often altered to best adapt Thai gender ideologies and expectations to Japanese ones. To investigate the differences in linguistic gender expressions, I will be analyzing fictional Thai dialogue that has been translated into Japanese. More specifically, I will be looking at queer television dramas which have gained significant popularity in Japan amongst teenagers and young adults, prompting an effort from fans to unofficially translate and provide subtitles for these shows. I argue that fan translations are an example of the morphing of Thai and Japanese language practices and are adapted to conform to the binary cis-heteronormative ideologies found in the Japanese language, often altering the dynamics and portrayals of the characters’ identities.