ludolect

From ludo- +‎ -lect.

ludolect (plural ludolects)

1. (linguistics) A lect (language variety) among players of a game, such as a physical or digital roleplaying game or any of many online video games.

   Meronym: gamer word

   • 2017 [2012], Astrid Ensslin, “Words and meanings”, in The Language of Gaming‎^[1], Palgrave Macmillan, page 66:

     Clearly, there are subtle nuances between a highly technical jargon or 'tech-speak' (McGrath, 1998, p. 144) used by professional game developers and academic ludologists at one end of the spectrum, and general, popular discourse about games and gaming on the other. The former is an expert code, which requires in-depth insider knowledge and expertise, whereas the latter is largely a mainstream form of standard English, interspersed with gaming-related lexical items. In between the two sits what we may refer to as ‘ludolect’, or 'gamer slang'. There are a diversity of ludolects, some of which are closer to expert jargon, and others closer to mainstream varieties, and they also differ according to which game and game genre is being referred to.

   • 2022, Steve Wilcox, “Games, language, and persuasion”, in Jeanne Fahnestock, Randy Allen Harris, editors, The Routledge Handbook of Language and Persuasion‎^[2], Taylor and Francis, →ISBN, page 398:

     22.5.1 Ludolects. A ludolect (Ensslin, 2012) refers to the language and communicative styles that emerge as a player plays and discusses games with a community of players. Ensslin, citing Eric Raymond's definition of hacker culture, writes that "ludolects operate as an in-group code used by a 'loosely networked collection of subcultures that is nevertheless conscious of some important shared experiences, shared roots, and shared values (Raymond, 1996, p. 1)" (Ensslin, 2012, p. 66). Insofar as games create shared experiences among players, they also create the grounds for a shared ludolect or way of communicating with others about games. More specifically, ludolects reflect the unique language, terminology, and forms of expression used by game players, meaning that ludolects are shaped by the kinds of games one plays and the kinds of communities one participates in. In board and card games, for instance, players […] Digital games, which draw on and permutate linguistic and discursive practices of online culture more broadly, have given rise to varied and distinct terms and phrases.