Football, Language and Linguistics

This study presents a new approach to the analysis of spoken Language. Its aims are threefold: to make systematic use of video material in order to demonstrate that the conditions under which Language is produced are crucial for its structure. Secondly, to show that timing - the moment an utterance is made in relation to the event it describes - also shapes the linguistic output, and thirdly, to show that verbless structures are an integral part of spoken Language. Their occurrence can be linked to specific extra-linguistic situations and event types. The data consists of English and German Language live radio broadcasts of international football games and video material containing the corresponding TV footage to determine the extra-linguistic events that are referred to in the radio commentaries.