Shoes or Boots? Field or Pitch? Zero-zero or nil-nil? Etc.

[sebakoole]

Originally posted by AndyMead
I've always been a bit of a linquistic Zelig.

Andy, funny you should say that. Watching Zelig again was what prompted me to start this thread to begin with. My favorite line from that movie: "Amazing what you can accomplish when you're a complete psychotic!"

I enjoyed reading everyone's response. Some might find the topic completely boring, but not me. The "into touch" vs. "out of touch" vs. "out of bounds" debate was quite insightful, but I have to admit I've always saved myself the trouble and just said "it was out".

IMO, the game of soccer is beautiful and universal enough to transcend the semantics. I don't really care what terms anyone uses I just find it interesting to hear what terms people choose to use and why.

[Sachin]

I tend to use a mixture of "Britishisms" and "Americanisms" depending on how drunk I am. I do use "supporters club" instead of "fan club" pretty much all the time.

And I always say soccer. I never call it football unless I'm referring to the FA or something like that.

Sachin

[BackOtheNet!]

More importantly is it Ape shite or Bananas?

[bungadiri]

Ape s_h_i_t. Learned at my daddy's knee, and it's pure American.

[kenntomasch]

I think you're a bunch of cigarettes. Not that there's anything wrong with that. ;)

[Nook1]

Originally posted by GoDC
You are doing the right thing. Speak American, not English.

Amen! I have done play-by-play of soccer at all levels (high school, college, USL and MLS), and I use a strictly American vocabulary: field, shoes, nothing, out of bounds, on target (instead of 'on frame'). I am an American broadcasting to Americans, so why should I use a different dialect? The American style of soccer broadcasting is still evolving, and my influence is very Latin, since I'm bilingual.

[Maczebus]

Originally posted by Nook1


on target (instead of 'on frame'

We say 'on frame'?

It's the first I've heard of it.

[lion]

Originally posted by empennage


It is pretty strange that we (americans) can use the concept differently in the same sentance. For example:

England is winning today because they are playing well.


That sounds perfectly normal to me, but if you change the "is" after England into an "are" it would sound totally wrong to me.


No, I constantly hear commentators on ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 saying things like:
"Bayern are ..."
"Brazil are ..."

In my experience, the "is" is used somewhat less often.

[mpruitt]

great thread! thank you guys for a good explination of supporter vs. fan, i agree that it probably has to do with the club-like nature in which most english soccer teams were formed. american teams call themselves clubs but the fac tthats how many, if not call?? EPL teamas started ot its really interesting.

my lingo: I'll say "kit" when taking to soccer fan, to me kit means the jersey/shirt socks, cleats and whatever the whole outfit.

i've never understood understood where "pitch" came from, it seems like a confusing term to me, but ill use it when talkign about the quality of the pitch, not the play on the feild.

never use boots.

i'm an american, americans say soccer. thinking that usuing soccer as a term is somehow is inadequate is wrong thereare many differences in american english and british english. thats just one of them. however, i will say football and socce pretty intercangiably when talking with a european about soccer. usually once in the flow of the conversation.

its out of bounds when it goes past the touch line.

i'll say goalie more frequenlty than keeper. but normally describe someone as a good keeper, where as a goalie will have just made a nice save.

fun stuff guys. great thread.

[mpruitt]

Originally posted by lion



No, I constantly hear commentators on ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 saying things like:
"Bayern are ..."
"Brazil are ..."

In my experience, the "is" is used somewhat less often.

the is vs. are thing bugs me a team is singlar no matter what therefor i think should be used with is. however, i think that differences in usuage are due to either the announcers beign loose with grammar or he broadcast's particlar style guide. all newspapers have a style guide which they fallow, sort of subtle but loose gramatical rules which they try to us in a consistent way. i assume braodcast networks do the same. btw most paper's follow what's called AP Style, the Associate Press.

[lion]

Actually, I use "soccer" in front of anybody and everybody, and people from countries that use "football" seem to be fine with that.

Nobody from these other countries has ever made any comments about it.

[kenntomasch]

Originally posted by lion
Actually, I use "soccer" in front of anybody and everybody, and people from countries that use "football" seem to be fine with that.

Nobody from these other countries has ever made any comments about it.

Because it's usually posers who do. Europosers and American WannabeEuroposers.

[GoDC]

Originally posted by kenntomasch
I think you're a bunch of cigarettes. Not that there's anything wrong with that. ;)

:D Good stuff famous man!!

[Mattbro]

Originally posted by bungadiri
However, I do think that people who spell it "axe" instead of "ax" are pretentious *********************s.;)

Unless you're talking about a guitar, in which case "axe" is the correct spelling.

[Mattbro]

Originally posted by kenntomasch


Because it's usually posers who do. Europosers and American WannabeEuroposers.

Amen to that - except that it's spelled "poseurs". Sheesh, get it right man!

[bocatuna]

Good thread.

Why is the U.S team referred to as the USNATS ?

If commentators are called annoucers, what do call the the fella in the satdium who reads out the teams and asks you shift your car because its blocking an entrance ?

There is difference between a fan and a supporter , but it's hard to define - it's more of feeling then anything else.

Intresting to know if fans in Argentina use the same terms as fans in Spain.

No real point to this post, except if I don't post what I'm thinking my brain starts to hurt.

[Mattbro]

Originally posted by bocatuna
Good thread.

Why is the U.S team referred to as the USNATS ?

"Nats" = national team


If commentators are called annoucers, what do call the the fella in the satdium who reads out the teams and asks you shift your car because its blocking an entrance ?


Public adress (or p.a.) announcer. This guy is called the "Stadionsprecher" - literally "stadium speaker" - in German. We do say commentators too, though, in the U.S. At least I think we do.

[superdave]

Originally posted by Auriaprottu
How many people go to the rural South from elsewhere, and gain an accent after living there for a few years?
You meant "lose an accent." Southerners don't have accents.

[sydtheeagle]

Originally posted by sebakoole
I'm sure there was probably a thread like this before the BS crash, but since I can't find one post-crash I'd like to get people's input on this subject. I'm putting this in the Business & Media forum
because that's where the contrasts in terminology seem to be most pronounced (so to speak). I'm just curious what terms you use, when you started using them and where you learned them from. I grew up in the late 70's in a suburb of DC and learned my vocab from my coaches. They used shoes instead of boots, field instead of pitch, zero-zero instead of nil-nil, etc. I'm sure there are some out there who grew up at about the same time, but maybe had non-American coaches who used the British-English words. I don't have any preference nor do I have any axe to grind, but I would like to hear from those who do have a preference and who do have an axe to grind and why that is.

If you have no football tradition (and the only traditions worth imitating are your own, anyway) then make one. Speak whatever language works for the game in your country, and don't be ashamed of it. That'll in time become as traditional as the language of football anywhere else.

It doesn't, however, sound affected when a Yank says "pitch", or "nil", or "boot". Why should it? They're just words, and the right words to use in the broader context of the soccer universe as a whole when talking about the game. You're just being unnecessarily self conscious if you think your American accent somehow disqualifies using from using the standard lingo of the game. I may sound pretty stupid talking about gridiron with my English accent, but if I'm gonna talk about it I might as well use the phrases that actually apply to the sport, whether they're common in my own country or not.

[Mattbro]

Originally posted by Own Goal Hat-Trick
wow, people actually care about this...

does it REALLY matter if you say cleats or boots or even shoes or kit or shirt or stripe or jersey or nil or zero or nothing or zilch or pitch or field or team or side or mannschaft or supporters or fans or stadium or ground or football or soccer or futbol or fotbol or fussball or calcio.



The only thing that gives me pause is that I think it's a short step from saying "I'm from East Rutherford, NJ, and I say football instead of soccer," to "I'm from East Rutherford, NJ, and my favorite team is Man Yoo."

Know what I mean? The affectations can go a little too far if you're not careful. But if you're an American living in the States and your favorite team is an MLS team, you can say whatever the hell you want as far as I'm concerned.