Gaming variables in linguistic research: Italian scale validation and a Minecraft pilot study

Duccio Piccardi; Fabio Ardolino

doi:10.17469/O2108AISV000016

Authors

Duccio Piccardi Dipartimento di Filologia e Critica delle Letterature Antiche e Moderne, Università degli Studi di Siena – Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Università degli Studi di Pavia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4985-4360
Fabio Ardolino Dipartimento di Filologia e Critica delle Letterature Antiche e Moderne, Università degli Studi di Siena – Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia, Università degli Studi di Trento https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7683-7905

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17469/O2108AISV000016

Keywords:

gamification, User Engagement, Gaming Literacy, Minecraft, Florentine gorgia

Abstract

This paper deals with the concept of gamified science and its recent applications to the linguistic field. We argue that, albeit promising, this paradigm still lacks analytical tools to model the effects of the peculiar experimental setting on the results obtained. After a theoretical introduction to the User Engagement and Gaming Literacy constructs, we present two validated Italian translations of scales representing them. Lastly, we test these two gaming variables in a pilot study on the postvocalic realizations of /k t/ in the Florentine variety. Results show that both variables positively condition the production of non-continuants (i.e., emphasized words) but through different underlying mechanisms.