Video game dialogue as input for language learning. An analysis of lexical coverage

The impact of extramural encounters with English in video games on L2 English learning is high. However, linguistic analysis of the language of the scripted dialogue in video games is still scarce. The current study investigates the lexical coverage of the lines of non-player characters in a small corpus of nine games from three different genres. The analyses show a lexical coverage comparable to that of British and American films. Furthermore, our data suggest that lexical coverage differences largely depend on individual games rather than genre, although setting may play some role.