Annotations

Multilingual Communication in a Video Game Environment

The thesis focuses on the aspect of multilingualism among digital game players in online environments, its impact on communication with other players and computer-controlled characters (NPCs), and code-switching ability. By analyzing in-game communication between players, the thesis explores how code switching serves strategic and social functions in digital space and in the use of digital identity. Through discourse analysis and corpus data collection, it explores linguistic patterns in player interactions in real time. The thesis further focuses on the aspect of communication between the player and computer-controlled characters and the specificities of code switching in this situation. It evaluates how AI-powered NPCs facilitate multilingual interaction and language learning, contributing to broader discussions on digital communication and second language acquisition. This research also briefly discusses globalized gamer communities and the impact of video game localization on their communication. The aim of this thesis is to improve understanding of multilingual digital discourse and the potential of video games as a space for natural language development.

The aim of the dissertation is a terminological analysis of terms and expressions of fine arts texts, perceived as characteristic and specific for the French linguistic context and which can be equivalent or non-equivalent from the Slovak point of view, with an emphasis on the second type of French terminological units. The research will focus on four areas: literary science, visual arts, musicology and cinematography, as systematic contrastive terminological research is absent in these areas. Primarily, the research will focus on the creation of a corpus of French terminological units excerpted from selected texts (specialized articles, scientific studies, monographs), to which an equivalent will be sought in the Slovak professional texts of the given fields. The work will be based on the already existing secondary literature, which partly reflects the problem of French terminology and Slovak equivalents (e.g. Truhlářová, 2007, 2020; Rybárová, 2024, etc.). In the case of non-equivalent terms, the search for an equivalent or its creation will rely on translation strategies and terminological neology (Humbley, 2018). The output of the dissertation will be a theoretical treatment of the issue and a bilingual interpretive terminology glossary.

Political Metaphors in Contemporary Austrian and German Public Discourse

The dissertation project will examine and map innovative (creative) political metaphors that emerge ad hoc during periods of significant geopolitical and intra-societal change, as well as so-called discourse metaphors, which are stabilized and embedded in contemporary Austrian and German public discourse. The primary material will consist of political debates, statements, and speeches by politicians, as well as statements from political parties and representatives of political movements, disseminated through both traditional and social media. Methodologically, the thesis will be grounded in pragmatic approaches to metaphor studies (D. Sperber & D. Wilson, J. R. Searle, among others). In analyzing the relationship between metaphor and discourse, the theoretical frameworks of A. Musolff, J. Zinken, Z. Kövecses, and others will be applied. The ideal candidate should have an advanced command of German and a strong understanding of English.