Linguistic Change

Players launch it over the bar or thrill spectators with step-overs and nutmegs. Not many people other than football (soccer) fans would know what you were talking about here, but the “Dictionary of Football Language” by Armin Burkhardt could be of help.

Mr. Burkhardt, what niche are you trying to fill here?

There are encyclopedias of sport in general, but a dictionary that explains the lingo used in a particular sport, in this case football, didn’t exist. And regular dictionaries only cover a small portion of the words commonly used.

What distinguishes football language?

Sporting language is generally pretty descriptive. In football it just seems to be most developed in this regard because it is so often in the media. People talk about football more than other sports. What happens in each game can be very different as well, so you end up needing the language to describe the action.

There seems to be a tendency to use fighting or war terminology? Why?

Many people find it a bit vulgar, which I can easily understand. Some go too far when they talk about missiles or rockets. But on the other hand, football, like many other sports, often deals with two people facing off against each other fighting it out – a sort of “civilized violence” if you will. It lends itself to fighting metaphors, I suppose. Power is also a big part of the game.

There is other less war-like vocabulary, however, that doesn’t always make one think directly of football: diving, sombrero or nutmeg, for example. Is football lingo predestined for metaphors?

You can see that just in the sheer number of them. Reporters, especially on the radio, can be very creative. The jargon is very imaginative, taking analogies and putting them into metaphors. Football has changed over the years, too. New tricks and game situations have brought about new language and terms. If a player comes up with new techniques with the ball to get around an opposing player, for example by faking one way but going the other, you get terms like the step-over.

2,200 entries are a lot. Where did you find them, and where did you find the evidence for their origins?

I read a lot of newspaper articles and then later looked specifically for new words in other places because newspapers don’t have everything. I knew there were words that belonged more in the spoken language and less in sport reporting. One example would be ball hog, a player who holds on to the ball too long and dribbles himself into trouble. You wouldn’t find it in the newspaper but you can Google it.

You differentiate between fan lingo, official football language and journalistic jargon in football reporting. In what ways are they related?

These bodies of language are different at their core, but have commonalities around the edges. There is no 100% distinction, of course, because people such as sports reporters who talk about football feel at home in all of these milieus. They use everything in their written and oral reporting.

Official language mainly has to do with the rules. Things that happen in the game are clearly defined. But they aren’t used in normal parlance. In official language it would be called a penalty or penalty kick – much less metaphoric. In slang, on the other hand, it becomes a bit less rigid. A penalty may be called a PK or a spot kick, and the ball may be called the pill or the rock.

Where is the line drawn as far as bad taste goes, though, when emotional fans hold up banners and chant at teams?

The lingo you hear from fans and from football in general can often be a bit rough. If you have a problem with swear words like shit, asshole and wanker you’re probably better off not going to the stadium. I don’t like that kind of language either, but in the end it’s all sort of ritualistic, a way to channel emotions. The same goes for chants like “Death and hate to XY team”. It’s just a way of expressing rivalry and only becomes problematic when the perpetrators begin to take it too seriously and too literally.

Your dictionary is not a boring reference book but an entertaining read. Why do you first explain in the book what the entries don’t mean?

I wanted to create a readable dictionary in which you can find words but in which you also get caught up and enjoy reading the information. The fun factor is built on the bits of evidence on the one hand. They are authentic and sometimes truly funny in themselves. The other amusing feature is what the words don’t mean. That is where my own humor combines with linguistics. I get to play with the multiple meanings of words and have some fun with the book.

You also wanted to reach non-German speakers with the book. What inspired that?

Well, I’m aware of the difficulties for foreigners and I know how much the Chinese, for example, are interested in German football. So I thought it could also be a handy resource for students. They stumble across loads of words and meanings on the Internet that are not explained in regular dictionaries. They don’t learn in German class what a ball hog is, or a banana kick or a slide tackle.