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
The result's identifiers
Result code in IS VaVaI
<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216208%3A11230%2F25%3A10502039" target="_blank" >RIV/00216208:11230/25:10502039 - isvavai.cz</a>
Result on the web
<a href="https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=wuR2-E33FG" target="_blank" >https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=wuR2-E33FG</a>
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/multi-2024-0146" target="_blank" >10.1515/multi-2024-0146</a>
Alternative languages
Result language
angličtina
Original language name
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
Original language description
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.
Czech name
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Czech description
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Classification
Type
J<sub>imp</sub> - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database
CEP classification
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OECD FORD branch
50802 - Media and socio-cultural communication
Result continuities
Project
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Continuities
S - Specificky vyzkum na vysokych skolach<br>I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace
Others
Publication year
2025
Confidentiality
S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů
Data specific for result type
Name of the periodical
Multilingua
ISSN
0167-8507
e-ISSN
1613-3684
Volume of the periodical
44
Issue of the periodical within the volume
4
Country of publishing house
DE - GERMANY
Number of pages
26
Pages from-to
485-510
UT code for WoS article
001456157000001
EID of the result in the Scopus database
2-s2.0-105001730825