The Gag City Grammar Police: Language and Algorithmic Community on Stan Twitter

Abstract

Barbz are a group of fans who have formed an online community devoted to Nicki Minaj. Known broadly as a ‘stan’ group, they form speech communities on Twitter/X and present as a closed group despite remaining public. Taking advantage of the algorithm’s composition of an individual’s feed, they use linguistic strategies to conceal the group, while remaining discoverable to a defined and mutable audience. I begin by engaging with sociolinguistic theories of variance and enregisterment to describe language in the social landscape. Then I explore fandom studies, cultural capital, and structural theories of the internet. Observation of nonstandard English use on Twitter showed Barbz discouraging their posts from spreading to the general public. I analyze the spread of memes, showing that Barbz strategically open their community at specific times and in specific ways that are advantageous to them. Finally, I discuss direct mentions of the algorithm. I found that on Twitter, Barbz strategically employ language to manipulate the borders of both their community and their audience. In order to understand group maintenance, formation, and relationality online it is vital to account for the role of the algorithm as companion, rather than rigid structure.