Radio sports commentary

1. Radio sports commentary How do sports commentators use and adapt language to communicate with their audience?

2. 1948 Grand National- cinema film2012 Grand National – television clip • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rE6jPZWor0 • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur_hgbhX5gg&feature=related • What are the aims of sports commentators on tv and film? • Why was sport on the radio in the early days of broadcasting?

4. Aims of the Radio commentator • To convey accurate information & analyse the skills and attitudes of competitors • To paint a picture in words for the listener • To convey atmosphere – of the ground/pitch setting – creating a rapport & relationship with listening audience • To entertain and to generate excitement and passionate energy which will help listener identify with programme (offer an authentic emotional experience) • To create a mini-culture – a sub-culture with its own idiolect – therefore offer a sense of inclusion to the listener – a world of knowledge and shared interests • Share pleasure and love for a particular sport or event

5. In their own words.... • “We are very much at the sharp but unglamorous end of sports broadcasting, following our teams wherever they go. It is a labour of love. Sometimes the long journeys home can be late into the evening when we’re tired, hungry and, if Essex have had a bad day, somewhat dispirited. But it’s worth it all because we love what we do and I think that comes across in the commentaries. • “Via their e-mail comments, the appreciative response from listeners is overwhelming and, on occasions, quite humbling: we know that we are conveying the atmosphere of a match, as well as the basic score information, to enthusiasts in every corner of the globe. It’s the e-mails from servicemen and women in areas of conflict abroad which probably give us the most satisfaction and the greatest sense of achievement.”

6. What does the audience expect from a radio broadcast? • Information about sporting event • Entertainment through the nature of the broadcaster’s delivery (content and tone/pitch) • Gaining a sense of identification/belonging with others in society • Finding a basis for conversation and interaction with others • Emotional release

7. Language on the radio • It is spoken not written, therefore different rules apply and we can see that spontaneous nature of the speech can create all kinds of interesting effects e.g. • Humour • Repetition

8. The Grand National • Why might you have listened to the race on radio instead of watching it on t.v.? • The context of the race is important – its fame, its national appeal, the amount of money so many people bet ...... • Listen to some of the commentary and see what you notice about the way language is used

9. Other topics/areas to consider • The changing voices of radio commentators reflecting shifts in public attitudes to spoken language – RP v dialect in recent years • The gender issue – Eleanor Oldroyd first BBC female presenter of Sports Report – prejudice in male-dominated world (Andy Gray incident) • Humour arising from spontaneous quips and blunders (Coleman-balls) • Repressed Jingoism – the only ‘safe’ outlet for tribal passions (Norwegian guy)

10. What the students need to show they know and can analyse • The aims of sports radio broadcasters – the ways they use language in spontaneous talk • The attitudes of the presenters towards their sport and their audience (realtionships)and how their language is adapted as a consequence • The reasons anyone might have for listening • The ways audiences might respond to the cues given by commentators • What the changes in sports broadcasting reveal about changes in society and changes in attitudes to spoken language

11. How to teach • Create a title specific for the group – such as? • Decide how many areas/topics you expect them to cover ( more able to explore sociolects and cultural subgroups as well as obvious stuff?) • Base lessons around transcripts – annotating and discussing the ideas outlined previously • Get class to create own transcript by playing an extract and ‘sharing’ the copying down – teacher might collect in and type up the whole piece?

12. Plan an essay structure which they can ‘imitate’ (not a scaffold but close) Intro: what are the aims of radio sports journalism? Describing and informing – analyse two examples Exciting and engaging audience – two examples Entertaining us - errors – word play – Coleman balls and perhaps an extract which delights through enthusiasm or wit Difference between live and retrospective? (Clare Balding /Frankie Dettori) Revealing changing attitudes in society – gender/power/ RP Creating patriotic fervour – uniting the country – inducing a sense of pride Offering listeners a comforting friendly world – a sub-culture which might reassure or give them identity (cricket/tennis/footie)

13. What are the language and prosodic features we want them to spot and explore? • Spontaneous speech does not necessarily obey rules of syntax • Pace, tone and rhythm of delivery • Pitch • Subject specific vocab – jargon? • Ellipsis and pauses for effect • Repetition • First and second person • Colloquial expression mixed with poetic power?

14. Blumler and Katz's 1974 "Uses and Gratifications" theory – the purposes of media texts – for audience? • Information:finding out about relevant events and conditions in immediate surroundings, society and the worldFinding reinforcement for personal values:finding models of behaviourGaining insight into circumstances of others; social empathy:identifying with others and gaining a sense of belongingfinding a basis for conversation and social interactionhaving a substitute for real-life companionshiphelping to carry out social rolesenabling one to connect with family, friends and societyEntertainmentEscaping, or being diverted, from problems:relaxinggetting intrinsic cultural or aesthetic enjoymentfilling timeemotional release