Speech genres in Polish media for computer game aficionados

Abstract

Specialized media have not been extensively researched to date with reference to Polish linguistics. However, they deserve a closer analysis due to their popularity and genre diversity. The aim of this article is to show the genre uniqueness of Polish media addressed to computer game enthusiasts. The author presents the types of speech from two perspectives. The immanent point of view draws attention to the genre pattern itself: its basic components (cognitive, pragmatic, compositional, and stylistic), the relationships between them, as well as the ways in which the patterns are produced in text. The discursive point of view highlights the extralinguistic conditions of the pattern, such as cultural, social, or commercial influences. Four Polish Internet portals (GRYOnline.pl, Eurogamer.pl, Gram.pl, Polygamia.pl) and two printed magazines (“CD-Action”, “Pixel”) were analysed. The genres of speech can be divided into four main groups: with the dominant ones being informational, evaluative, educational, and entertaining. The article presents the characteristics of examples that are representative of each group: game review, “production” message, pre-review report, handbook, and overview. These genre patterns and their textual concretizations differ in multiple ways from those in the general media and in other segments of specialized media; they can be considered as new speech genres, a modification or contamination of traditional types. They can also be seen as implementation templates of traditional genres that are characteristic of this sphere. The article also describes how the repertoire, form and content of genres are affected by extralinguistic factors related to games (location of games between the spheres of culture and technology, complexity of games), their production and sale (timeline for the appearance of games and their need for promotion), the context of the Polish gaming market (distance from the largest producers), and the target audience (a digital native who is focused on easy to discern information and seeks interaction and entertainment).