[CfP] Language Diversity in Games Studies
The Open Library of Humanities journal (OLHJ) is looking for abstracts for a special collection on Language Diversity in Game Studies.
The first aim of this issue is to increase our knowledge of language diversity in game studies. We would like to explore the dominant role of English in our field (e.g., the ubiquity of English game studies terms), just as the national and international uses of other languages (e.g., the use of Spanish in Ibero-America). We are interested in the benefits and disadvantages of the current language hierarchy in game studies, as well as its underlying systemic conditions (e.g., the centre–periphery relations in the world system, the intersection of linguistic inequalities and geographic distances, or the dependence of foreign language skills on the academics’ upbringing and social class). All this may also involve a reflection on how game studies is similar or different to other areas of knowledge.
Further, we wish to recognise the diversity within the English language itself. Concepts such as “English as a lingua franca” or “Euro-English” point to the fact that non-native speakers can successfully use English to communicate, creating international versions of this language that are different to national ones (e.g., to US English or British English). There is a certain symmetry in this kind of communication, as opposed to asymmetrical exchanges between a native speaker and a non-native speaker. And not all uses of English necessarily reinforce centro-peripheral hierarchies (Coleman, 2006). For example, if more publications in Central and Eastern Europe were available in English, this might strengthen scholarly communication in game studies within that region (Mochocki, Schreiber, Majewski, & Kot, 2024). Hence, we would like the issue to describe various uses and types of English, and to include some of the differences between countries in which English is an official language – from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom to Nigeria, Kenya, India, New Zealand, and Australia to name a few.
The second aim of the special issue is practical. Not only do we encourage analyses of the problems with language diversity in game studies, but we also hope that the authors will consider some possible solutions. We welcome discussions of large-scale dilemmas (e.g., is there a viable alternative to having a single dominant language? Should the efforts be focused on alternative modes of circulation and collaboration or on “bursting the bubble”? What chances and risks come with machine translation?) and of the nuts and bolts of scholarly work (e.g., journal policies concerning linguistic correctness or the use of English and non-English references).
For more information on the call, visit The Open Library of Humanities. The deadline for abstracts is 10 June 2025.
Source: Amit Ovadia via Unsplash.
This call is not affiliated with Language at Play. We are sharing it here because we think it is important and we would like to see it succeed.
