The Language of Live Sports: A Discourse Analysis of Football Commentary

Abstract

Live commentary of football is one of the unique forms of spoken language. It is driven by the fact that there is always a lot of time pressure, the game flow is not predictable and the audience’s immediate expectations. This style, unlike scripted media, is based heavily on quick thinking and a shared cultural background between the commentator and the viewer.This study explores televised football commentary to understand how the certain linguistic selections, sharing of turns between multiple commentators and visual representations interact to make meaning in the context of a live broadcast. Following a qualitative approach, we examine one of the samples of commentary from major international matches. Among the features analyzed are dropped words (ellipsis), evaluative language, and metaphors and the way commentators cope with time restrictions. We have observed that commentators make use of brief and efficient phrasing and visual context to sustain their narrative despite significant pressure. The study illuminates the processes of sports broadcasting, enlarging the current body of knowledge of the spoken language in fast paced media environments.