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Sports Communication: The University at the Stadium

In the summer semester, linguists at the University of Bremen are organizing the first linguistic lecture series on the topic of "Sports Communication. Language, Media, Culture – Interdisciplinary Perspectives." Some of the events will take place in the Ostkurvensaal of the Weser Stadium.

Will there be a "beautiful goal" to watch? Is that a good term? Or is it more descriptive when live commentator Wolff-Christoph Fuss recognizes that one team is not yet "at operating temperature" while another is "simply holding their lead"? Does he say it loudly or quietly? Does he shout or remain calmly factual? On April 27, 2022, the lecture by Saarbrücken scientist Dr. Jürgen Trouvain will deal with phonetic phrases, intonation, and volume of soccer commentators.

Anyone interested can learn about a variety of similar exciting topics and research methods in the lecture series "Sports Communication. Language, Media, Culture – Interdisciplinary Perspectives" (“Sportkommunikation. Sprache, Medien, Kultur – Interdisziplinäre Perspektiven”). Prof. Marcus Callies and Dr. Inke Du Bois from Faculty 10: Linguistics and Literary Studies at the University of Bremen are organizing the series.
Together with her colleague Axel Schmid (IDS Mannheim), Dr. Inke Du Bois works as a video analyst. The duo show that what we may see on television as an ARD sports report of a Bundesliga match is an abbreviated version of the real match that has been artfully tailored by many people for the greatest drama and rhetoric. Both of them will take a close look at the complex interactions of camera, editing, directing, and commentary in creating a sports feature on June 22, 2022.

Several of the lectures will take place in the Ostkurvensaal of the Weser Stadium. At least that is what the fans call it, although the stadium has long since been given the name "wohninvest." The Frankfurt fans also naturally prefer the name "Waldstadion," even though it is officially called "Deutsche Bank Park," and the Borussia Dortmund ultras, who flock to their Westfalenstadion, have nothing but ridicule for the name "Signal Iduna Park." On June 29, Dr. Cornelia Gerhardt from Saarland University will be dealing with the linguistics of stadium renaming between local tradition and big business.

Ex-Werder man Per Mertesacker became the talk of the town partly because of his unusual interview immediately after a match against Algeria during the 2014 World Cup, when he said he just wanted to spend "three days in an ice bath." Immediately after the match, some players are only able to stammer, some drone phrases or gloss over their performance, now and then someone is funny. Such post-match interviews have long existed around the world. A comparative analysis is to be provided by Dr. Kieran File from the renowned English University of Warwick as part of the lecture series. These are just some of the fascinating lectures and discussions held by German and international scholars.

 

Further Information:

https://www.callies.uni-bremen.de/RVL_SportkommunikationSS2022.pdf

Contact:

Dr. Inke Du Bois
Faculty of Linguistics and Literary Studies
English-Speaking Cultures
Englisch Linguistics Unit
University of Bremen
Phone: +49 421 218-68186
Email: Duboisprotect me ?!uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de

Microphone on TV moderation desk in soccer stadium
In the summer semester, linguists at the University of Bremen are organizing the first linguistic lecture series on the topic of "Sports Communication. Language, Media, Culture – Interdisciplinary Perspectives."