The Culture of Trash Talks Among Dota Players: An Ethnography

The study aimed to identify the trash talks observed among DOTA players, the speech acts of trash talks and how trash talks shape the culture of DOTA players. This ethnographic research involved DOTA players, friends, and the operator of the internet café. Participant observation and in-depth interview were done to gather the needed data. Results revealed that trash talks among DOTA players were associated with devil, mother, sex/ sex organ, animals/ beasts/ mythological creatures, challenge/ command/ threat, intimidation/ humiliation /teasing, level of intellect/capacity, sanity/ psychological state, death/killing, dirt/defecation, physical appearance and homosexuality/gays. Moreover, this study proved that trash talks help in shaping the culture of the DOTA players for the following reasons: Trash talk is a feature of DOTA gamin; it serves a purpose in the culture of DOTA players; and it contributes to the kind of environment DOTA culture has.