Fanspeak is the slang or jargon current in science fiction and fantasy fandom, especially those terms in use among readers and writers of science fiction fanzines. Slang is the non-standard or non-dialectal use of words in a language of a particular social group, and sometimes the creation of new words or importation of words from another language. ... Jargon is a type of terminology which is used in conjunction with a specific activity, e. ... Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is the community of people actively interested in science fiction and fantasy literature, and in contact with one another based upon that interest. ... A fanzine (also called a zine) is an amateur publication created by fans of a particular cultural phenomena (such as a literary genre or type of music) to address or correspond with others who share their interest. ...

Fanspeak is made up of acronyms, blended words, obscure in-jokes, puns, coinages from science fiction novels or films, and archaic or standard English words used in specific ways relevant or amusing to the science fiction community. Acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations formed from the initial letter or letters of words, such as NATO and XHTML, and are pronounced in a way that is distinct from the full pronunciation of what the letters stand for. ... A pun (also known as paronomasia) is a figure of speech which consists of a deliberate confusion of similar words or phrases for rhetorical effect, whether humorous or serious. ...

Evolution

Many terms used in fanspeak have spread to members of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Renaissance Fair participants, and internet gaming and chat fans, due to the social and contextual intersection between the communities. The Society for Creative Anachronism (or SCA for short) is a not-for-profit educational organization devoted to studying and re-creating the Middle Ages and Renaissance. ... Entertainers at the Golden Gate Renaissance Festival 2005. ... Gaming is an umbrella term that includes a number of special hobby game types: Board games Collectible card games Computer and video games Tabletop wargaming (i. ... This Soviet war poster reads: Dont chatter! Gossiping borders on treason (1941). ... Fans of Janet Jackson, at Music Music The word fan refers to someone who has an intense, occasionally overwhelming liking of a person, group of persons, work of art, idea, or trend. ...

Common examples of widespread usages are:

• fen as the plural of fan
• fannish "of or relating to fans and fandom"
• gafiate (verb), an acronym for "getting away from it all"

A few fannish terms have become standard English, such as fanzine (short for "fan magazine", coined by Russ Chauvenet circa 1940 and swiftly replacing the older term fanmag). A fanzine (see also: zine) is a nonprofessional publication produced by fans of a particular subject for the pleasure of others who share their interest. ... Louis Russell Russ Chauvenet (February 12, 1920 - June 24, 2003) was one of the founders of science fiction fandom, as an early member of Bostons Stranger Club. ...

Conversely, some fannish terms have become obsolete due to changes in technology (the decline of the mimeograph has doomed corflu for "correction fluid") or the mere passage of time (slan shack for "a house where a bunch of fans live together" will fade since few younger fans have read "Slan" by A.E. Van Vogt). Alfred Elton van Vogt (April 26, 1912 - January 26, 2000) was a Canadian-born science fiction author. ...

Fanspeak is so interrwoven into the fabric of fandom that it is difficult to discuss fandom without resorting to fannish terms such as fanac "fannish activity" or filk music (originally a typo for "folk music"). Filk is a form of music created from within fandom, and performed generally late at night at science fiction conventions. ...

Other terms frequently encountered include:

• BEM "bug-eyed monster"
• BNF "big name fan"
• FIAWOL "fandom is a way of life"
• LOC "letter of comment"
• sercon "serious and constructive"
• SMOF "secret master of fandom"

(For more terms, see the links to glossaries, below.)

Sociology

Like other forms of jargon, fanspeak serves as a means of inclusion and exclusion within the fannish community. In the 1970s, the use of traditional fanspeak separated the fanzine and convention-throwing subcommunity (sometimes distinguished as trufen or "true fans") from fans of science fiction movies and television shows (mediafen). (Note that the division of the community into trufen and others is rejected by many fans as inherently unfannish; for example, see entry "trufan" at http://stilyagi.org/fanspeak.html). The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... A fanzine (see also: zine) is a nonprofessional publication produced by fans of a particular subject for the pleasure of others who share their interest. ... Science fiction conventions are gatherings of the community of fans (called science fiction fandom) of various forms of science fiction and fantasy. ...

Today, subsets of fanspeak define subcommunities within fandom. For example, ringers for "fans of The Lord of the Rings" is used primarily by fans of the Peter Jackson films (see also Tolkien fandom). The One Ring, as envisaged by Gerald Stiehler This article refers to the novel by J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Peter Jackson in New York (USA), at the premiere of King Kong, December 5, 2005 Peter Jackson CNZM (born October 31, 1961, Pukerua Bay) is a New Zealand-born filmmaker best-known as the director of the epic film trilogy The Lord of the Rings, which he, along with Fran... Tolkien fandom is an international, informal community of fans of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, especially of the Middle-earth legendarium which includes The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and The Silmarillion. ...

External links

• Fancyclopedia I by John Bristol (Jack Speer), the Fantasy Foundation, 1944

• Fancyclopedia II published 1959

• http://fanac.org/Fannish_Reference_Works/Fancyclopedia/Fancyclopedia_III/ Fancyclopedia III] (under construction) Joe Siclari

• Overview of Fanspeak This was originally posted in rec.arts.sf.fandom in 1999 by Cally Soukup.

Glossaries

• Dr. Gafia's Fan Terms by rich brown

• Fandbook No. 1: A key to the terminology of science-fiction fandom by Donald Franson for the National Fantasy Fan Federation, 1962. A classic glossary that predates laser printers, the internet, and media fandom.

• FanSpeak Dictionary of the Ann Arbor Science Fiction Association

• Fanspeak Glossary at ReadersAdvice.com

• Fanspeak Glossary at the NCF Guide

• The Neo-Fan's Guide edited by Bob Tucker (1955) at eFanzines. Another classic glossary that predates laser printers, the internet, and media fandom.