Gendered Language in Sport

Gendered Language in Sport

Irrespective of your view on sexism, it cannot be denied that sport, and in particular football, is dominated by males. This is shown in the language used by male and female athletes, spectators and broadcasters.

In broadcasting, it is evident that only the very top female sports broadcasters can give coverage of sport to the same level as men. Once you start to explore the less than elite level, you begin to discover the differences in the language used. For example, women in sports broadcasting are likely to use fillers more often. They are also inclined to use less field specific lexis. This is particularly evident in live broadcasting; the unscripted nature of the relaying of live sporting events leaves all broadcasters susceptible to mistakes, and it is thought that women tend to make more, especially those that are less specialised in the subject. According to Bell (1991), broadcasters use 'audience design'. This is a sociolinguistic theory which states that the kind of style that a speaker uses is primarily dependent on the audience with whom they are speaking to. This applies to gendered sports broadcasting because in predominantly male dominated sports, female broadcasters will often use language more appropriate to males and vice versa.

One study conducted by Messner (1993) investigated male sports commentary on three women's games and three men's games. It was discovered that the commentators would refer to females as 'girls' or young ladies' even if they happened to be in their thirties. This was seen to be giving the women a lower status, than the men, whom the commentators would refer to as 'men' and 'young fellas', but never 'boys'.  This infantilisation of female athletes portrays the male commentator's attitudes towards their abilities, whether it be conscious or subconscious.   

Gendered language can also be seen in sports amongst the athletes themselves. It is thought that male and female athletes speak in different manners when performing. In team sports such as football, the general consensus appears to be that males will speak more aggressively to their own teammates and those of the opposing team and are also more likely to use taboo lexis. In contrast, female athletes are shown to use more encouraging language to their own teammates.

How the Language of Television News Broadcasting is shaped by Audience Design by Mary Anne Robertson - http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/fss/courses/ling/ling201/res/diss/robertson.pdf

Marginalization and Trivialization of Female Athletes and Women's Sports through Commentator Discourse - https://www.american.edu/soc/communication/upload/Wendy-Tanner.pdf

George Humphreys