Translanguaging practices among bilingual multiplayer online battle arena players in Indonesia

Abstract

MOBA matches leave players little time to conjugate instructions, although team talk must still do both tactical and interpersonal work. This qualitative case study examined how 15 bilingual or multilingual Indonesian players drew on Indonesian, English, and regional-language resources while playing Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Honor of Kings. The data comprised participant observation, recordings of naturally occurring voice communication, field notes, and brief semi-structured interviews. Three reoccurring applications of translanguaging were found via an iterative thematic analysis. Players used Indonesian commands and common English game phrases to coordinate action swiftly. They utilised slang, compliments and certain terms from regional languages to establish connection. They employed comfort, apologies and redirection to de-escalate tension following errors or disputes. In the observed matches, mixed-language utterances were therefore tied to specific moments and communicative needs, rather than appearing as arbitrary switches between named languages. MOBA play is presented as a platform that reports on multilingual digital interaction and the context-sensitive use of English in out-of-school settings.