Live TV sports commentaries: specific syntactic structures and general constraints
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Sandra Augendre
Abstract
The aim of this chapter is to examine the linguistic specificities of live TV sports commentary as a discourse genre. We first analyze syntactic structures from the commentary of a rugby match. In order to provide a more fine-grained analysis of the data, we adopt the division of the discourse into “play-by-play” (simultaneous narration of game actions) and “color-commentary” (“non-activity- tied freely spoken part”). Results show that the distribution of structures is not identical in the two cases. They we compare these syntactic structures with those extracted from the commentaries of a soccer match and a 4x100 meter relay race. This comparison enables us to reveal some interesting differences among these three sports, but the analysis shows that, in order to get a better grip on the nature of linguistic invariants in live TV sports commentary as a discourse genre, exploring the oral dimension of live sports commentary (especially prosodic features such as rhythm, pitch and intensity) is necessary. The conclusion is that both syntactic analysis and recognition tests show that linguistic structures are not sufficient to define sports commentary as a discourse genre, even when linguistic productions are linked to contextual information. Because of the visual dimension of live TV sports commentary, the rhythm of the sport and the sequence of actions must be taken into account as constraints which influence the structures in the discourse.
Abstract
The aim of this chapter is to examine the linguistic specificities of live TV sports commentary as a discourse genre. We first analyze syntactic structures from the commentary of a rugby match. In order to provide a more fine-grained analysis of the data, we adopt the division of the discourse into “play-by-play” (simultaneous narration of game actions) and “color-commentary” (“non-activity- tied freely spoken part”). Results show that the distribution of structures is not identical in the two cases. They we compare these syntactic structures with those extracted from the commentaries of a soccer match and a 4x100 meter relay race. This comparison enables us to reveal some interesting differences among these three sports, but the analysis shows that, in order to get a better grip on the nature of linguistic invariants in live TV sports commentary as a discourse genre, exploring the oral dimension of live sports commentary (especially prosodic features such as rhythm, pitch and intensity) is necessary. The conclusion is that both syntactic analysis and recognition tests show that linguistic structures are not sufficient to define sports commentary as a discourse genre, even when linguistic productions are linked to contextual information. Because of the visual dimension of live TV sports commentary, the rhythm of the sport and the sequence of actions must be taken into account as constraints which influence the structures in the discourse.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Grammar of genres and styles: an overview 1
- Text types, audience and thematic organisation in the recent history of English 14
- Reference chains and genre identification 39
- Taking into account coherence relations to describe a textual genre: methodology and application to the discourse of tourist attraction guides 67
- Linguistic features of genre and method variation in translation: a computational perspective 92
- Approaching French theatrical characters by syntactical analysis: a study with motifs and correspondence analysis 118
- Towards a topological grammar of genres and styles: a way to combine paradigmatic quantitative analysis with a syntagmatic approach 140
- The balance between quantitative and qualitative literary stylistics: how the method of “motifs” can help 164
- Live TV sports commentaries: specific syntactic structures and general constraints 194
- Bursts of written language as performance units for the description of genre routines 219
- Index 247
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Grammar of genres and styles: an overview 1
- Text types, audience and thematic organisation in the recent history of English 14
- Reference chains and genre identification 39
- Taking into account coherence relations to describe a textual genre: methodology and application to the discourse of tourist attraction guides 67
- Linguistic features of genre and method variation in translation: a computational perspective 92
- Approaching French theatrical characters by syntactical analysis: a study with motifs and correspondence analysis 118
- Towards a topological grammar of genres and styles: a way to combine paradigmatic quantitative analysis with a syntagmatic approach 140
- The balance between quantitative and qualitative literary stylistics: how the method of “motifs” can help 164
- Live TV sports commentaries: specific syntactic structures and general constraints 194
- Bursts of written language as performance units for the description of genre routines 219
- Index 247
