Glottolab: A Linguistic Adventure...In Italian!Developing a Gamified Linguistics Activity for the Italian-Speaking Community

Glottolab: A Linguistic Adventure (Cattaneo et al. 2025) is a game-based learning activity developed with RPG Maker MZ and designed to introduce a non-specialized audience to core concepts in linguistics through an interactive and engaging environment. Building on the development and evaluation of the English version of the game, a new Italian version was designed, Glottolab: Un’avventura linguistica. A combination of approaches was employed. Dialogues necessary for the progression of the game were manually translated into Italian; dialogues of the Non-Playable Characters, who represent famous linguists, were generated in Italian using Artificial Intelligence systems, and a set of linguistic puzzles specifically focusing on properties of the Italian language was designed to better align the gameplay with the linguistic knowledge of Italian-speaking participants. The development of the Italian version of the game was embedded within a teaching project carried out in collaboration with students enrolled in the Linguistic Data Lab course of the Master’s Degree in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics at the University of Pavia. Within this educational framework, students contributed to the translation, design, and validation of dialogues and to the creation of Italian-focused linguistic puzzles. The initial results obtained from the English version of Glottolab suggested that the game has significant potential as a tool for the dissemination of linguistic knowledge and for promoting awareness of language structure among non-specialist audiences. The development of the Italian version represents a further step towards expanding the pedagogical and dissemination potential of the project, while also serving as a collaborative learning experience for the university students involved in its design.