Published 2020-09-04
Keywords
- football terminology, research, French, dictionary, translation, meaning
Abstract
The purpose of the paper is to provide thematic, lexico-semantic and structural analysis of the features of football terms which are formed using the verbs “avoir” and “être” in French.
The methods of continuous selection, vocabulary definition analysis, structural, descriptive, translation and general scientific ones are the main used in our research. To achieve this goal, we have analyzed a number of dictionaries that have been published in Europe over the last 20 years. 39 phrases with “avoir” and 34 phrases with “être” have been selected.
Results. The terms were divided into the following thematic groups – characteristics of game, result, actions of players, team and referees. It has been established that in many terminological units the meaning is understandable: avoir du style; être motivé. However, further explanation is needed, for example, for être lanterne rouge. The distinctive features of the studied term groups are the use of metaphor: avoir un super banc or être à la baguette; the use of argot: cerise, f → avoir la cerise / aller aux cerises; the use of borrowings from English: être fair-play. The above-mentioned groups are immanent for another kinds of sports. The following structural models with the verb “avoir” are dominant: “avoir” + noun; adjective, noun; noun, adjective (avoir la bougeotte; avoir des gants en peau de pêche; avoir la grande forme; avoir une défense étanche). In fact, one can see a similar pattern with the verb “être”: “être” + noun; adjective; adjective, noun; noun, adjective (être remplaçant; être aux portes; être court; être en pleine bourre; être lanterne rouge).
Conclusions. The verbs “avoir” and “être” in French are included into the base of terms which are use to designate all aspects of football game. In the vast majority of cases, the meaning is understandable, but some of them need the explanation. There are the use of metaphor, argot and borrowings from English. The structure of the terms is following: “avoir” / “être” + noun, -s; adjective, -s.