The role and place of sport in the history and national unity of Great Britain

б 
бб 
I The role and place of sport in the history and national unity of Great Britain

 

The history of sport probably extends as far back as the existence of people as purposive beings. Sport has always been a useful way for people to increase their mastery of nature and the environment. The history of sport can teach us about social changes and about the nature of sport itself. Sport seems to involve basic human skills being developed and exercised for their own sake in parallel with being exercised for their usefulness. It also shows how society has changed its beliefs and therefore there are changes in the rules.

The history of British sport is very rich and is marked by many of conspicuous world-known sport events. It is common knowledge that there is a great deal of different kinds of sports in Great Britain.  Many kinds of sport originated from Britain. The English say sometimes that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. The thing is that they think that Jack will do his work better if he plays as well, so he is encouraged to do both. “Winning isn’t everything” and “it’s only a game” are still well-known sayings which reflect the amateur approach of the past. The middle-class origins of much British sport means that it began as an amateur pastime- a leisure-time activity which nobody was paid for taking part in.

Even in football, which has been played on a professional basis since 1885, one of the first teams to win the FA (Football Association) Cup was a team of amateur players. In many other sports there has been resistance to professionalism. But to modern professionals, sport is clearly not just a game. These days top players in any sport talk about having a “professional attitude” and  doing their “job” ,even if, officially their sport is still an amateur one.

It is common knowledge that the game that is especially connected with Britain is football. Football is the most popular team game in Britain. The British invented it and it has spread to every corner of the world. There is no British team  England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland compete separately in European and World Cup matches.

British football has traditionally drawn its main following from the working class. In general, the intelligentsia ignored it. But in the last two decades of the twentieth century, it has started to attract wider interest. The appearance of fanzines is an indication of this. Fanzines are magazines written in an informal but often highly intelligent and witty style, published by the fans of some of the clubs. One or two books of literary merit have been written which focus not only on players, teams and tactics but also on the wider social aspects of the game. All this encouraged a huge football terminology spread, football terms have become employed and understood by more and more people.

It is worth mentioning that for the great mass of the British public the eight months of the football season are more important than the four months of cricket. There are plenty of amateur association football clubs, and professional football is big business. The annual Cup Final match, between the two teams which have defeated their opponents in each round of a knock-out contest, dominates the scene, the regular “league” games, organized in four divisions, provide the main entertainment through the season and the basis for the vast system of betting on the football pools.

The game particularly associated with England is cricket. Judging by the numbers of people who play it and watch it cricket is definitely not the national sport of Britain. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, interest in it is largely confined to the middle classes. Only in England and in small part of Wales it is played at top level. And even in England, where its enthusiasts come from all classes, the majority of the population do not understand its rules and its specific terminology. Moreover it is rare for the English national team to be the best in the world.

Cricket is, therefore, the national English game in a symbolic sense. However, to some people cricket is more than just a symbol, it is more than just a sport, cricket is special because it combines competition with the British dream of rural life.

Many other games which are English in origin have been adopted with enthusiasm all over the world, but cricket has been seriously and extensively adopted only in the former British empire, particularly in Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the West Indies and South Africa. Strange as it might seem many Englishmen don’t know how to play cricket, because they don’t understand its rules, the thing is that the intricate terminology of this kind of sport is not available to everybody’s understanding. But nevertheless it is pleasant to watch the players, dressed in white playing on the beautiful green cricket fields.

Traditionally, the favourite sports of the British upper class are hunting, shooting and fishing. The most widespread form of hunting is foxhunting-indeed, that is what the word “hunting” usually means in Britain.

Foxhunting is a popular pastime among some members of the higher social classes and a few people from lower social classes, who often see their participation as a mark of a newly won status. The hunting on horses has been associated through the centuries with ownership of land. The hounds chase the fox, followed by people riding horses, wearing black or red coats and conforming with various rules and customs.

Apart from being hunted, another way in which animals are used in sport is when they race. Horse –racing is a long-established and popular sport in Britain, both “flat racing” and “national hunt” racing (where there are jumps for the horses). The former became known as “the sport of kings” in the seventeenth century, and modern British royalty has close connections with sport that involves horses.

The chief attraction of horse-racing for most people is the opportunity it provides for gambling.  Every year, billions of pounds are bet on horse races. This activity is so well-known to everybody in the country, that even those with no interest in horse-racing, would understand the meaning of the question such as “who won the 2.30 at Chester?” The central role of horse-racing in gambling is also shown by one of the names used to denote companies and individuals whose business it is to take bets. Although these are generally known as “bookmakers”, they sometimes call themselves “turf accountants” (turf is a word for ground where grass grows).

Speaking about team games, it goes without saying that The British have a great preference for them. Individual sports such as athletics, cycling, gymnastics and swimming have comparatively small followings. Large numbers of people become interested in them only when British competitors do well in international events. For example Conker Contest and British Marbles Championship attract large number of spectators from all over the world. Every year, usually on the Wednesday nearest to 20^th October, about a hundred competitors gather to take part in the annual conker competition in a chosen place. The conkers are collected by children from an avenue of chestnut trees. The conkers are carefully examined and numbered on their flat sides, then bored and threaded on nylon cord. Each competitor is allowed an agreed number of “strikes”, and a referee is present to see fair play. There are prizes for winners and runners-up.

It is said that in Elizabethan times two suitors for a village beauty settled the matter by means of a marbles contest. What is now the Marble Championship is believed to be a survival of that contest. The game of marbles dates back to Roman times. Teams of six compete on a circular, sanded rink. Forty-nine marbles are placed in the centre of the rink, and the players try to knock out as many as possible with their marble. The marble is rested on the index finger and flicked with the thumb. The two highest individual scores battle for the championship with only thirteen marbles on the rink. Similar contests are now held in some other English-speaking countries.

Association football, or soccer is one of the most popular games in the British Isles played from late August until the beginning of May. In summer the English national sport is cricket. When the English say: ”that’s not cricket” it means “that’s not fair”, “to play the game” means “to be fair”.

Golf is Scotland’s chief contribution to British sport. It is worth noting here an interesting feature of sporting life in Britain, namely, its frequently close connection with social class of the players or spectators except where a game may be said to be a “national” sport. This is the case with cricket in England which is played and watched by all classes. This is true of golf, which is everywhere in the British Isles a middle-class activity. Association football is a working-class sport as are boxing, wrestling, darts and dog-racing.

Walking and swimming are the two most popular sporting activities, being almost equally undertaken by men and women. Pool and darts are the next most popular sports among men. Aerobics and yoga, squash and cycling are among the sports where participation has been increasing in recent years.

 

II   Structural-semantic and functional adaptation of sport borrowings

a) Language globalization and its reflection in the contemporary Russian language

 

The contemporary sport terminology is diverse in its structure. This structure encompasses terms, professionalisms and jargons. They are usually employed by sportsmen, journalists and numerable sport-amateurs all over the world. It is a matter of common knowledge that each kind of sport has its own peculiar terminology, its own set of professional and jargon words and expressions. At the same time there are a large number of terms which serve the needs of several kinds of sport and finally a considerable group of general sport terms is recognized within the structure of sport terminology.

        The peculiarities of sport terminology are the following:

• sport is the sphere of development of human’s physical possibilities. Sport knowledge gets fixed in terms, that is why sport terminology performs accumulative function as many other terms;
• sport lexis possesses a distinctive attractiveness;

-       as a result sport terminology is represented by different stylistic layers;

• the mass character of contemporary sport determines wide and common use of new borrowings, that contributes to internationalization of English sport terminology.

The mass media have recently provided the quick development of Russian sport’s culture and internationalization of sport lexis. Television, radio and the press make sport an indispensable part of life for a very wide audience. The mass media highlight nearly every conspicuous sport event. That is why the mass media promote greatly the spread of sport lexis.

The sport advertising is also considered to be one of the main sources of enrichment of sport linguistic culture with new words and new meanings. Due to sport advertisements the sport markers have the deafening success all over the world. As s result we face a phenomenon when a word (it’s formal side) penetrates the language earlier than the notion it denotes. Alongside sport as such the sport terminology overcomes boundaries between countries.

The end of the twentieth century brought about a great deal of technical innovations into human life. One of them is undoubtedly the Internet – an unprecedented means of intercultural communication. The Internet allows to enrich sport lexicon with new words necessary for denoting new notions, for improving professional language competence. Besides that it also promotes the internationalization of sport space and globalization of the English language as an international sport language.

b) Types of structural semantic adaptation of borrowed sport terminology 

 

At the end of the twentieth century Russian sport terminology was greatly enriched by anglicisms. One of the main criteria of the novelty of the word is the fact that the word has only recently been fixed in the dictionaries or has not yet entered the dictionary. During the 1990-ies approximately 736¹ new lexical units were adopted and borrowed from the English language to the Russian one.

According to the thematic principle English sport borrowings in the Russian language during this period can be divided into the following eight groups:

1. the names of sport activities: армрестлинг (arm wrestling), бейсбол (baseball), дайвинг (diving), сноубордиг (snowboarding), конкур (conkourt).
2. The names of sportsmen and sport personnel: таймкипер (timekeeper), жокей (jockey), свипер (sweeper), беттер (batter), вингер (winger), глайдер (glider).
3. The names of technical elements, movements, positions, conditions: дайв (dive), страйк (strike), тачдаун (touch down), фэйс оф (face off), хоум ран (home run), гейт (gait);
4. The names of sport equipment and appliances: айрон (iron), лиш (leash), вуд (wood), серфборд (surfboard), скрэтч (scratch).
5. Names of errors and punishments: даблфол (double foul), клипинг (clipping), опен хэнд (open hand).
6. Names of sports ground and names of their parts: тачлайн (touchline), спот (spot), пайп (pipe), хавпайп (half pipe).
7. The names of types and parts of contest: даун (down), плейофф (playoff), энд (end), овертайм (overtime).
8. Names of commands: «Болл!» (Ball), «Даун!» (Down), «Комплит!» (Complete).

The interaction between the Russian and the English linguistic cultures gives a large scope of material which should undoubtedly be systematized. There are several variants of classification of sport aglicisms of the end of the twentieth century:

          -anglicisms according to the sphere of use

          - anglisisms in general use

          - non-commonly used anglicisms

          -exotisms

The classification of anglicisms according to the sphere of use has a certain importance for comprehending the specific character of structural semantic adaptation of borrowings. According to this classification anglicisms are divided into commonly used (in general use) and not commonly used (not in general use).  The latter in their turn break into two classes. These are: professionalisms (which comprise terms with a restricted sphere of usage and professional slang) and exotisms.

The group of  anglisisms in general use includes words which are completely assimilated by the Russian language. These are first of all terms in general use (for example: бейсбол, гольф, сноуборд, фитнесс, шейпинг) and more specialised terms (for example: боулер, серфер, скайдайвер).

Non-commonly used anglicisms are not fully assimilated by the Russian language. The group of professionalisms encompasses terms with a restricted sphere of usage (as a rule these are the notions of positions, conditions, movements: дайв, бординг; the notions of equipment: скретч, вуд, брасси, the notions of contest and its parts: плэй офф, овер тайм, даун).

Exotisms represent a separate lexical class of borrowings from Anlgo American sport terminology. As a rule exotisms are not considered to be terms. It is notable that an exotism denotes a notion, which is associated with another culture: the word borrowed earlier than a object it denotes (for example: дастинг кросс).

The analisys of contemporary interlanguage interaction within the framework of sport interculture allows us to say that in the course of structural semantic adaptation borrowings undergo the following processes of word changes:

1. stabilization of pronunciation;
2. lexico-semantic adaptation.

The stabilization of pronunciation of an English borrowing is closely connected with the process of its phonological adaptation. The phonological adaptation of a foreign word consists in the adoptation to the sound laws of Russian phonological system and norms of pronunciation. The orphographical assimilation is closely connected with the phonological adaptation, its assimilation contributes largely to a quick and full adoption of the sound composition of a foreign word. Variations in the forms of a foreign word and instability of its spelling and pronunciation are characteristic of the first period of its usage in the target language, for example; arm wrestler – армрестлер, армлеслер, big air – биг-эйр, бикаир, биг аир, grind – гринд, грайнд, climbing – клайминг, климбинг, half pipe – хавпайп, халфпайп, хав-пайп, халф-пайп.

During the process of lexico-semantic adaptation of borrowings definite borders of lexical meaning of the word are established. Sport terms which have only one meaning in the English language tend to preserve monosemy in the Russian language. Here we can find such terms as, for example: айрон, бинбол, бордер кросс, кетчер, оффенс etc. These terms are semantically stable and are attached to a certain functional sphere as they sport games, kinds of sport, names of sport players, names of various kinds of equipment. All these notions constitute the bigger part of the English sport borrowings of the end of the twentieth century.

As a rule polysemantic English words are subject to the process of narrowing of lexical meaning during lexico-semantic adaptation. Here we observe two different types of narrowing:

1. polysemantic words preserve the part of their meanings. Some of them denote up to seven new concepts, which entered the Russian sport terminoology during the last decade, example: фристайл (имрповизация в различных современных музыкальных направлениях, например в стиле рэп).
2. polysemantic words in the English language are borrowed into the Russian language only in one meaning, example: аутлендинг, инфайтинг, футы, бенди.

During the process of integration into the system of Russian language sport anglicisms realize their word building possibilities, forming derivates according to productive models of Russian language. English language borrowings of the last decade gave up to 3000 derivates to the Russian language, 72% of which are formed according to morphological word-building means and 28%- as a result of blending of morphological and non-morphological word-building types².

 

 

III. Horse racing terminology. The grouping of the vocabulary according to the lexical meaning. The main word-building models.

 Horseracing is an equestrian sport which has been practiced over the centuries. It is often inextricably associated with gambling. The common nickname for horse racing is The Sport of Kings. Horseracing is another kind of sport which is considered to be predominantly British. Horseracing is hugely popular in Britain.  Every year over five million British nationals visit their country's racecourses.  Horseracing is the second largest spectator sport in the nation after football. Great Britain has a rich history of horseracing. Organized horseracing in Britain began in the 17^th century.  James I took the sport under royal patronage after a royal palace was built near Newmarket.  Royal Court members who had followed horseracing in Scotland pushed to establish Newmarket as the center for organized horseracing in Britain.  Soon after, public races were run throughout England. “Bell Courses” was a popular spot for horse races.  Silver bells comprised the prizes at this location.  Eventually heightened enthusiasm by royals and the public fostered the breeding of Thoroughbreds, which can trace their lineage to one of the three imported Arabian stallions who were bred with British mares in order to bear the ultimate racehorse.  The Jockey Club was formed in the 18th century in order to regulate the popular sport and horseracing became the first regulated sport in Britain. 
Standing the test of time and trial horseracing was one of the few sports that were practised during both world wars; After WWII the photo finish and starting stalls for flat races further advanced the sport.  Television contributed to the popularity of sport since spectators had the opportunity to watch races from home.  In fact, in Britain, horseracing is the second most televised sport after football. Great Britain is the only country which has provided the majority of the sport’s greatest jockeys, most notably Gordon Richards, Michael Grouns etc.  

This kind of sport is considered by many to have a very complex structure. There are approximately 25 forms of horse racing, 17 types of racing; Moreover, it should be noted  that horseracing rules can vary depending on the country where the races are held. No wonder the terminology employed in this kind of sport can be comprehended only by well-informed knowledgable horseracing admirers. The origin of  this kind of sport also contributes to this fact. Horse racing has always been regarded as a prestigious kind of sport intended only for the representatives of upper society classes, not for ordinary people (manual workers etc).

To be versed in horse racing terminology, to understand adequately the rules it is indispensable  to know the spelling and the lexical meaning of the most common terms.

First of all most important terms are those related to the horse equipment:

1. Saddle - O.E. sadol "seat for a rider," from P.Gmc. *sathulaz Fig. phrase in the saddle "in an active position of management" is attested from 1660. A saddle is a supportive structure for a rider or other load, fastened to an animal's back. The most common type is the equestrian saddle designed for a horse. The earliest saddles were simple pads attached with a surcingle seen by 800 BC, with the saddle tree coming into use circa 200 BC, and paired stirrups by 322 A.D. Saddles in the styles seen today date back to the 18th and 19th centuries, the appearance of the term also dates back to the 18-th century.
2. Saddlecloth - A cloth placed under the saddle of a racehorse and bearing its number. The term appeared at the very beginning of the 20^th century. This type of equipment was called a horseblanket before. The word ‘’saddlecloth’’ is build of two stems which occur in the language as free forms: saddle, cloth.
3. Bandage - is a type of wrap used on the lower legs of a horse. A  bandage runs from just below the knee to the bottom of the fetlock joint, and protects the cannon bone, tendons of the lower leg, and fetlock joint.
4. Boots - protective leggear, as of leather or rubber, covering the horse’s leg. Such a piece of equipment was called ’’leather protection tool” but as a means of brevity this protection appliance was called so on the analogy of person’s boots in the 70-s of the 20-th century.
5. Bridle - a head gear with which the horse is governed. The verb meaning "to throw up the head" (as a horse does when reined in) is from 1460. So the term can be used both as a noun and as a verb. The non was formed from the verb by means of conversion.
6. Halters - a rope or leather band that fastens around a horse's head, usually used to lead the horse.
7. Harness - TTBa set of leather bands used to control a horse or to attach it to a vehicle it is pulling.

         in harness British English doing your usual work:

I felt glad to be back in harness.

  in harness (with somebody) British English working closely with another person or group

8. Blinkers- Br- E. equipment worn on a bridle to restrict a horse’s vision on the sides to help maintain attention and avoid distractions. Blinders -American English
9. Bat -  a jockey's whip. It is called so because it resembles the bat, this kind of whip was introduced by spanish jockeys in the 70-s of the 20-th century
10. BIT - Bar in horse's mouth by which he is guided and controlled

Terminology related to the track:

1. Paddock -  especially British-English a piece of ground where the horses are are saddled and viewed before post time.
2. Post Parade - Horses going from the paddock to the starting gate passing the stands. The word “post parade” is build of two stems which occur in the language as free forms: post, parade.
3. Bull ring - a small race track less than one mile around. It is called so because it resembles the place where a bullfight is held. The word ‘’bull ring’’ is build of two stems which occur in the language as free forms: bull, ring.
4. Cuppy - a track surface that breaks away under a horse’s hoof. This term is a neologism which has recently enriched horseracing vocabulary. It originated from the word “to cup”, which means to make a shape like a cup, so horse hoofs leave a cup like trace on the surface.
5. Easily - running or winning without being pressed by the jockey or opposition. This word is an adverb but only in horseracing terminology it is used as a noun. This is a formal term and is usually used in a newspaper style. The word was formed by means of conversion.
6. Evenly - neither gaining nor losing position or distance during a race. This is an adverb but in horse racing terminology the word is employed as another type of speech-the noun. The word was formed by means of conversion.
7. Neck - a unit of measurement about the length of a horse’s neck, a quarter of a length.
8. Dark Day - a day when no racing is scheduled. The most unpleasent day for horse-racing admirors. The word ‘’Dark Day’’ is build of two stems which occur in the language as free forms: dark, day.
9. Breakdown - When a horse suffers a potentially career-ending injury. The occurrence of injury or lameness in a horse in a race or workout.
10. Slow - a track with some moisture in that is not fast, between good and heavy.  This is an adjective but in horse racing terminology the word is employed as a noun. The word was formed by means of conversion.
11. All-out – a horse that is trying to the best of his ability. The original meaning of the word is- done in a very determined way, and involving a lot of energy or anger.
12. Checked – a horse pulled up by his jockey for an instant because he is cut off or in tight quarters. The word was formed by means of conversion. This participle II is used as a noun in the horseracing terminology.
13. Flatten out - when a horse drops his head almost on straight line with body, generally from exhaustion. The word was formed by means of conversion.
14. Posting - an American term which refers to rising trot. Interestingly it is an old English term, no longer used in England. It originates from the “post” riders on carriage horses (still seen on royal carriages), who found that riding long distances at the trot was easier if they rode on each alternate stride.
15. DOGS - Wooden barrier (or rubber traffic cones) placed a certain distance out from the inner rail, to prevent horses during workout period, when track is wet, muddy, soft yielding or heavy, from churning the footing along the rail.
16. FIRST TURN - Bend in the track beyond the starting point
17. GOOD TRACK - Condition between fast and slow
18. Flat Race - race on level ground as opposed to a hurdles race or steeplechase racing
19. All Weather Racing - Racing that takes place on an artificial surface
20. CRIBBER (A WIND SUCKER) - A horse who clings to objects with his teeth and sucks air into his stomach. To crib- A vicious habit of a horse; crib-biting. The horse lays hold of the crib or manger with his teeth and draws air into the stomach with a grunting sound.
21. DEAD-HEAT - Br. slang,  two or more horses finishing in an exact tie at the wire. The term appeared approximately in the 90-s of the 20-th century. It is called so because at this very morning the temperature of the horse rises up to 45 degrees.