Beth: I'm Beth.
Neil: And I'm Neil.
Beth: If you really love something,
maybe a sport or a hobby, a music band or a TV show,
you might call yourself a 'fan'.
Neil: Nowadays, thanks to the internet,
fans from around the world can meet online to share their passion,
and this has led to a new word: 'fandom'.
Fandom is more than simply being a fan –
it's a whole culture created by a community of people
to share their love of the same thing.
Beth: What's more, fandom has started to develop its own language.
In this programme, we'll be taking a trip into the world of fandoms,
and, as usual, we'll be learning some new and useful vocabulary too.
But before that, I have a question for you, Neil.
The original word 'fan' was first used about Americans in the early 20th century.
But what were these Americans fans of? Was it:
a) Hollywood movie stars?
b) Baseball? or,
c) Disney cartoons ?