Spoken language Study: The Language of TV Sports
Commentators.
Starter
Spoken Language: About the Controlled assessment...
•10% of language total•Up to about 1,000 words•Up to 4 lessons/3 hours writing•You should have some of your own data... •Topic (for ALL Yr 10 classes) is based on TV sports commentators
Working title:By what means and how well do TV sports commentators use language
and delivery to inform and entertain their target audiences?
Remember – sports commentaries are largelyLIVE
SPONTANEOUSUNSCRIPTED
Although elements may be prepared, this is NOT planned speech...
By what means and how well do TV sports commentators use
language and delivery to inform and entertain their target
audiences?
Rhetorical devices to describe/involve/
entertain
Prosodic Features of Spontaneous Speech (things
you hear, delivery)
Non-fluency features of
spontaneous speech
What was the prime
purpose?
Who is/are the target
audience(s)?
Use terms
Discuss effect achieved and
evaluate impact
Paralinguistic Features (what you
see)
You can talk about a commentator’s use of…
Rhetorical devices to describe/involve/
entertain
Repetition
Inclusive phrases and
pronouns
Rule of three
Emotive lexis
Non-fluency features of
spontaneous speech(Noises)
Mispronunciations
Incomplete utterances
Varied utterance
length
Prosodic Features of Spontaneous Speech
(things you hear, delivery)
Pauses
Imagery
Ellipsis
Stress, emphasis
Pitch
Tone
Pace
Volume
Crescendos
Rhythm
Ambiguities
Repairs
Repetition
Remember to discuss the effect produced.
Jargon specific to sport
Compressed language
“Bloopers”
Hesitations
The mark scheme
You are marked out of 20 in 5 bands (you need around 57% of marks to achieve a grade C)
• Band 1 – ‘Limited’ comments (F/E)
• Band 2 – ‘Some’ relevant comments(E/D)
• Band 3 – ‘Clear, consistent’ expression of ideas (D/C/B)
• Band 4 – ‘Confident, assured’ presentation of ideas(B/A)
• Band 5 – ‘Sophisticated, impressive’ presentation of thoughtful ideas (A/A*)
Each band has three bullet points that rank how well you can:
• explain radio sports commentators’ use of spoken language and how this usage has been adapted to specific purposes, depending on the sport, its context and its audiences
• understand and explore features in spoken language data (i.e. the transcripts and sound clips)
• show awareness and explore public attitudes to this genre of spoken language.
You are being assessed on how well you can:
• Understand variations in spoken language, explaining why language changes according to the context
• Evaluate the impact of a commentator’s spoken language choices – on their original listeners, and on you now.
How the bands “feel” -
• Band 1 – ‘Limited’ comments = D/E• Band 2 – ‘Some’ relevant comments = C/D• Band 3 – ‘Clear, consistent’ expression of ideas = B/C• Band 4 – ‘Confident, assured’ presentation of ideas = A/B• Band 5 – ‘Sophisticated, impressive’ presentation of thoughtful ideas = A/A*
The start of an essay which might get just a C grade – can you see why?
To improve:
1. PLAN - to organise ideas. This is rather “random” and lacks purpose.
2.USE QUOTES – this is too vague in places, too descriptive – it needs specific examples, quotes of the utterances and features, so the student has something to analyse for effect on listeners, using terms., rather than just saying “this is good”.
3. THINK MORE/MORE DEEPLY – consider less obvious and alternative interpretations for what happens
An extract from an essay which has A/A* characteristics – see the difference?The student is using terms, quoting and is analysing the utterances, lexis and devices for effect. They have an eye on the purpose and audience.
TRANSCRIPT REFERRED TO IN THIS ESSAY(speech is interspersed with sounds of crowd cheering, applause, conversations, tannoy announcements) Commentator: Florence Griffith Joyner wasn’t just the track world’s fastest woman (.) she was also its flashiest (1.0) her racing attire included eye catching boy hugging gold lame tops and black bikini briefs (1.0) Flo Jo had speed and style to burn (.) and she saved her most fiery performance for the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul (.) Korea...
The commentary
•Language used•The prosodics used in delivery (pace, pitch, intonation, volume, pauses and hesitations) •Degree of formality used/created – the tone, how “friendly” the commentator is
The features/style of the sport
The personality of the commentator(s)
The context
Typical features of the genre
Listener expectations
To inform
To meet expectations of
more knowledgeable
listeners
To entertain
To convey and share an (often)
emotional experience
with the listeners
The commentary•Language used•The prosodics used in delivery (pace, pitch, intonation, volume, pauses and hesitations) •Degree of formality used/created – the tone, how “friendly” the commentator is•Any paralinguistic features contributing to the effect of the delivery, if the commentator is on camera.
To inform
To meet expectations of
more knowledgeable
listeners
To entertain
To convey and share an (often)
emotional experience
with the listeners
Evaluate effect achieved
•What was the main aim of the commentary? Why? Was it achieved?•Who was the target audience? Do you feel their needs and expectations were met? •What did the commentator’s language choices and delivery add to the action? If they are held in high regard, can you now see why? How far are the prosodic (and
paralinguistic) devices spontaneous, how far are
they used consciously?
By what means and how well do TV sports commentators use language
and delivery to inform and entertain their target audiences?
You should focus on and explore one aspect which interests you, to get the depth... E.g.
•Change over time/to meet new audience expectations•Differences between commentaries on various sports and why they differ – our expectations•The skill of commentators – what are the challenges of their task and how/how well do they overcome them? •What makes for a really good piece of sports commentary?
Choose an “angle”. You then need to select 2, 3 or 4 transcripts to go with your own. Remember it is DEPTH That matters – it’s PQEE, working out what is influencing the spoken language and what effect is achieved on the audience.
Middle paragraphs
Talk about your freshly ANNOTATED
transcripts
You should listen to your own again once (at
home if necessary) and any of our shared ones you’ve chosen. What
aspects of each will you discuss, using terms and PQEE-ing? Make notes on your planning sheet
in class.
Introduction
Say which aspect of this huge area you are
focusing on and why you are interested.
Include facts, statistics, results of your mini-
surveys...
By what means and how well do sports commentators use language and delivery to inform and entertain their target audiences?
Conclusion
Answer your question! What have you learnt
whilst studying this topic? Did you learn
anything surprising/especially
interesting? What were your thoughts on TV
sports commentary at the start – have they
changed?
Your transcript
1st chosen transcript – similarities/ differences to yours? Why?
2nd chosen transcript – similarities/ differences to yours?
Why?
3rd/4th chosen transcript – similarities/ differences to yours?
Why?
The first edition of The Radio Times 28 September 1923
It wasn't until 2 November 1936, with the start of the first 405-line high-definition service, that The
Radio Times became the world's first television listings magazine.
Two pages a week sufficed at first!Radio or TV?What some TV viewers do...
Audience profilesEffect of well-known presenters...
How it began
Captain Henry Blythe Thornhill Wakelam - January 1927
First football commentary – on radio. Part of an interview, where a commentator compares then and now.
Accents at the BBC
Received Pronunciation
Just not cricket (parody)
Welcome to the Stadium of Delight
How it began...
Why do styles of commentating change?
"Goalgasm"!
The story of Women at the BBC...
Gabby Logan TV documentary
Athletics- an example of sexism in sport (let alone in sports commentary) – a prepared speech on 100m world-record holder Florence Griffith Joyner (“Flo Jo”) at the Seoul Olympics, 1988 (sorry, no clip of this extract, but there are clips of the race mentioned on Youtube where the camera focuses on her amazing nails and she’s called a “girl”... Are the men ever called “boys”?)
(comments interspersed with sounds of cheering, applause, conversations, tannoy announcements) Voice over: florence griffith joyner wasn’t just the track world’s fastest woman (.) she was also its flashiest (1.0) her racing attire included eye catching boy hugging gold lame tops and black bikini briefs (1.0) flo jo had speed and style to burn (.) and she saved her most fiery performance for the 1988 olympic games in seoul (.) korea...
Article on sexism in sport in Britain
Andy Gray and Richard Keays on Sky TV although, see how they are successful once again... Effect of well-known presenters...
Attitudes and values: women in sport – a reflection of society?
By what means and how well do TV sports commentators use language
and delivery to inform and entertain their target audiences?
Remember – sports commentaries are LIVE
SPONTANEOUSUNSCRIPTED
Although elements may be prepared, this is NOT planned speech...