Analysing English as a Lingua Franca in Video Games

142 Pages·2016·0.82 MB·English

by  Pietro Luigi Iaia

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Linguistic Insights
220
Studies in Language and Communication
This book examines the English lingua-franca
(ELF) uses in a corpus of online and scripted vid-
eo-game interactions. While research generally
explores the playful and technological aspects
s
of computer-mediated communication, this e
study focuses on the strategies of cooperation, m
language simplification and authentication, lex- a
G
ical creativity and meaning negotiation that are

o
generally activated within the “community of
e
practice of gamers” to facilitate cross-cultural d
i
conversations. The scripted exchanges, instead, V
are examined by means of the ALFA Model (Anal- n
i
ysis of Lingua Franca in Audiovisual texts), which
a
is devised to enquire into the extent to which the c
n
non-native participants’ language variations
a
are part of the multimodal actualisation of the r
F
cognitive construct of “non-native speakers”, to
a
which authors resort in order to prompt specific u
g
reactions on the part of the receivers. Finally,
n
since the participants’ turns in both online and i
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scripted interactions are visually represented as
a
written messages on screen, this research also
s
contributes to the development of the descrip- a

tion of written ELF variations, so far not thor- h Pietro Luigi Iaia
s
oughly explored in the literature. i
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n Analysing English
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as a Lingua Franca
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Pietro Luigi Iaia is Researcher of English Linguis- n in Video Games
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tics and Translation at the University of Salento
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(Italy) and holds a Ph.D. in English Linguistics

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applied to Translation Studies. His research in- i Linguistic Features, Experiential and
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terests and publications focus on the cogni- I
Functional Dimensions of Online
tive-semantic and socio-cultural dimensions of gi
audiovisual translation, and on ELF variations in ui and Scripted Interactions
cross-cultural audiovisual and computer-medi- L

o
ated communication.
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ISBN 978-3-0343-2138-9 g
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9 783034 321389 e
www.peterlang.com P
li220 li220
li
Linguistic Insights
220
Studies in Language and Communication
This book examines the English lingua-franca
(ELF) uses in a corpus of online and scripted vid-
eo-game interactions. While research generally
explores the playful and technological aspects
s
of computer-mediated communication, this e
study focuses on the strategies of cooperation, m
language simplification and authentication, lex- a
G
ical creativity and meaning negotiation that are

o
generally activated within the “community of
e
practice of gamers” to facilitate cross-cultural d
i
conversations. The scripted exchanges, instead, V
are examined by means of the ALFA Model (Anal- n
i
ysis of Lingua Franca in Audiovisual texts), which
a
is devised to enquire into the extent to which the c
n
non-native participants’ language variations
a
are part of the multimodal actualisation of the r
F
cognitive construct of “non-native speakers”, to
a
which authors resort in order to prompt specific u
g
reactions on the part of the receivers. Finally,
n
since the participants’ turns in both online and i
L
scripted interactions are visually represented as
a
written messages on screen, this research also
s
contributes to the development of the descrip- a

tion of written ELF variations, so far not thor- h Pietro Luigi Iaia
s
oughly explored in the literature. i
l
g
n Analysing English
E

g
n
as a Lingua Franca
i
s
y
l
a
Pietro Luigi Iaia is Researcher of English Linguis- n in Video Games
A
tics and Translation at the University of Salento
•
(Italy) and holds a Ph.D. in English Linguistics

a
applied to Translation Studies. His research in- i Linguistic Features, Experiential and
a
terests and publications focus on the cogni- I
Functional Dimensions of Online
tive-semantic and socio-cultural dimensions of gi
audiovisual translation, and on ELF variations in ui and Scripted Interactions
cross-cultural audiovisual and computer-medi- L

o
ated communication.
r
t
e
i
P
g
n
a
L

r
e
t
e
P
Analysing English
as a Lingua Franca
in Video Games
Linguistic Insights
Studies in Language and Communication
Edited by Maurizio Gotti,
University of Bergamo
Volume 220
AdVISORY BOARd
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Matti Rissanen (Helsinki)
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PETER LANG
Bern • Berlin • Bruxelles • Frankfurt am Main • New York • Oxford • Wien
Pietro Luigi Iaia
Analysing English
as a Lingua Franca
in Video Games
Linguistic Features, Experiential and
Functional dimensions of Online
and Scripted Interactions
PETER LANG
Bern • Berlin • Bruxelles • Frankfurt am Main • New York • Oxford • Wien
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Contents
Introduction ...........................................................................................7
1. Book objectives .......................................................................9
2. Structure of the book .............................................................11
Theoretical Model
1. Exploration of English as a Lingua Franca ..................................15
1.1 English as a Lingua Franca: contextualisation ......................15
1.2 From speakers to ELF speakers ............................................18
1.3 ELF research from present to future .....................................21
2. Human dimension of Computer-Mediated Communication ........27
2.1 Video-game studies ...............................................................28
2.2 The translation of video games .............................................31
2.3 Individual and social identities in online interactions ...........33
3. An introduction to the analysis of the
selected corpus of interactions ......................................................39
3.1 The socio-cultural grounds of human communication .........39
3.2 The selected corpus of video games .....................................45
3.3 Conclusions ...........................................................................47
Analysis of in-game interactions
4. Analysis of typographic deviations from standard norms .............51
4.1 Analysis of the selected corpus of interactions .....................51
4.2 Conclusions ...........................................................................60
5. Analysis of lexical and structural deviations .................................63
5.1 Analysis of the selected corpus of interactions .....................63
5.2 Actualisation of the native linguacultural background .........70
5.3 Conclusions ...........................................................................77
6. Analysis of speakers’ behaviour ....................................................79
6.1 Analysis of lexical creativity .................................................79
6.2 Analysis of speakers’ behaviour ............................................83
6.3 Conclusions ...........................................................................90
Analysis of in-game scripted interactions
7. In-game scripted interactions ........................................................95
7.1 ALFA Model: rationale .........................................................95
7.2 ALFA Model: description .....................................................97
7.3 The selected corpus of video games ...................................102
8. Analysis of in-game scripted interactions ...................................105
8.1 Analysis of Final Fantasy IX ...............................................105
8.2 Analysis of Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 .......................109
8.3 Analysis of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim .............................112
8.4 Analysis of Alpha Prime and League of Legends ...............115
8.5 Analysis of Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the
Chosen and Dragon Quest Heroes ......................................120
8.6 Conclusions .........................................................................123
Conclusions .......................................................................................125
1. Summary and results of the analyses ..................................125
2. Evolution of this research ....................................................128
References .........................................................................................129
6
Introduction
Technological development is allowing human beings to be in touch
anywhere in the world, to tear down the spatial distance by activating
interactions between participants that do not need to live in the same
country, or even in the same hemisphere, but who may feel that the
exchange is taking place as if senders and recipients were conversing in
the same room. Yet, this communicative dimension originated from the
mediation of technology could not have been fully exploited, if humans
had not resorted to a shared language that enables cross-cultural com-
munication, and which generally coincides with English.
In this sense, the international use of English has determined a shift
from local speakers to cross-cultural speakers, who develop specific
strategies to use, model, re-invent and re-shape this linguistic means
in order to pursue specific communicative functions. The research area
that goes under the label of “English as a Lingua Franca” (ELF) inves-
tigates the distinguishing aspects of cross-cultural encounters, detailing
the linguistic and communicative characteristics of human commu-
nication when different linguacultural backgrounds interact (cf. Jen-
kins 2000, 2007; Seidlhofer 2011; Guido / Seidlhofer 2014). ELF
research enquires into how English is constructed, modified, adapted,
“authenticated” (Widdowson 1979) due to the influence of the speak-
ers’ native linguistic and cultural backgrounds on the features of their
lingua-franca variations. Scholars explore the influence of the political,
economic, social, and cultural factors on the characteristics of the ELF
variations that are actively selected and used by the participants. Aca-
demic research focuses on a number of specific communicative con-
texts, such as education (Mauranen 2012; Gotti 2014; Jenkins 2014),
cross-cultural unequal encounters (Guido 2008) and computer-mediated
business interactions (Poppi 2014). At the same time, audiovisual com-
munication and translation are being included in the group of fields
that are explored, in particular for the production and translation of film
scripts, to investigate the rendering into dubbing and subtitles of the
ELF variations found in the “migration movies” (Iaia / Sperti 2013; Iaia
2015a), which deal with the life conditions and issues of migrant work-
ers and families in foreign countries.
In general terms, the studies on English as a Lingua Franca contend
that non-native speakers do not resort to English as a second language
that is acquired through education or personal experience. In fact, their
uses of English are meant to activate intercultural communication by
means of an interactive relationship between the schema dimensions and
the semantic, syntactic and pragmatic structures of the speakers’ native
language. In other words, it is claimed that in the course of cross-cul-
tural interactions, ELF speakers tend to transfer their native structures
to the English variations that they use (Guido / Seidlhofer 2014: 10).
In this way, some deviations from the standard norms – generally at
the lexical and structural levels – should not be considered as defective
English uses, but as active processes of negotiation of the meaning and
structures of Standard English, in order to convey the sender’s will in
the most accessible way. It seems obvious, then, that the achievement of
intelligibility in cross-cultural interactions requires an effort on the part
of both senders and receivers to cooperate in order to refer and infer
the appropriate semantic and communicative dimensions. Hence, native
and non-native speakers have specific roles to allow successful commu-
nication: the latter can be seen as creative contributors that aim at pur-
suing the “fullest communication possible” (Seidlhofer 2011: 18-19),
justifying in this light the differences from the standard norms; native
speakers are expected to show a peculiar attitude towards the deviations
that inform the non-native speakers’ English variations, or towards the
activation of symmetric exchanges, according to which the cooperative
imperative prevails over the territorial one (Widdowson 1983). Due to
the cooperative imperative, achieving a successful conveyance of the
speakers’ intentionality is more important than notifying and correcting
misspellings or mispronunciations, which may pass unnoticed (Mau-
ranen 2012) along with the lexical and syntactic deviations. In other
words, the participants in cross-cultural ELF interactions are members
of communities of discourse and practice that share a common com-
municative purpose (Swales 1990; Seidlhofer 2011: 87), according to
which the illocutionary forces and perlocutionary effects (Austin 1962)
8