The Discourse of Sport: Analyses from Social Linguistics

This book presents an innovative collection of research from socially-oriented applied linguists working on the topic of sport. Drawing on a range of contemporary approaches to applied linguistics (e.g. corpus linguistics, systemic functional linguistics, critical discourse analysis and interactional sociolinguistics), this book provides readers with in-depth analyses of actual instances of sport discourse, that is, language-in-use in the context of sport, and interprets them in terms of larger issues of sport culture and practice. With contributions from scholars from around the world (e.g. UK, Germany, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand and US), it engages with a range of sports (e.g. football [soccer], Australian Rules football, rugby union and netball), and a range of sporting contexts, from the action-oriented (e.g. the ‘on-field’ language practices of players, referees and coaches), to the reflective (e.g. commentary, post-match interviews and print media). In essence, this collection identifies, analyses and interprets the language practices which comprise our contemporary sporting landscape. It is an essential reference for any student, researcher or practitioner with an interest in applied linguistics, discourse analysis, sport communication, and the related fields of sport management, journalism and media studies.