ERIC Number: EJ1476514
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Jul
Pages: 26
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0167-8507
EISSN: EISSN-1613-3684
Available Date: 2025-04-02
Language Management in Semi-Peripheral Game Production: How Foreign Workers in Czech Video Game Studios Experience the Use of English, Czech, and Other Slavic Languages
Multilingua: Journal of Cross-Cultural and Interlanguage Communication, v44 n4 p485-510 2025
The paper applies language management theory to study the interactions of international with local workers (simple management) and language policies (organised management) in 10 Czech video game studios. By longitudinally interviewing foreign game developers from Central-Eastern and Western Europe, as well as North and South America, I identified the languages they reportedly encountered and used in their jobs. I distinguished 3 categories: Czech-dominant studios, dominant language mix, and English-dominant studios. In the first category, the Czech language was said to be the language of studio communication and to serve as an instrument of exclusion and glass ceiling for internationals' promotion. In the second category, language use divided between English, Czech, and other Slavic languages, resulting in more inclusionary work practices but, Slavic versus English linguistic clusters in informal communication. In the third category, English was the lingua franca but Czechs' insufficient English proficiency was identified as an issue on the micro level. Overall, a dichotomous thinking about languages was problematised. While Czech as the dominant language was detrimental for the hiring of internationals, companies managed to include workers using Slavic languages other than Czech. Thus, English was not the only language of inclusion but a one of several language choices in Czech game companies.
Descriptors: Video Games, Slavic Languages, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Language Proficiency, Language Planning, Longitudinal Studies, Computer Software, Intercultural Communication, Language Usage, Work Environment, Multilingualism, Business Communication, Career Development, Foreign Nationals, Language Attitudes, Corporations, Foreign Countries, Employee Attitudes, Equal Opportunities (Jobs)
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Czech Republic; Europe; North America; South America
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1The Institute of Communication Studies and Journalism, Faculty of Social Sciences, Prague, Czechia