A Comparison of the Syntax of Football Match Reports in British Newspapers

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• Introduction
• Field of Research
  • Current State of Scientific Research
  • Outline of Newspapers Used in the Study
    • Tabloids
    • Mid-Market Tabloids
    • Broadsheets
    • Circulation
    • Readership Profiles
• The Language of Sports in the Media
  • The Language of Newspapers
  • The Term "Language of Sports"
  • The Football Match Report
• Analysis and Database
  • Methodology
    • Corpus Linguistics
    • Corpus Compilation
  • Sentences
    • Sentence Length
    • Sentence Fragments
    • Complexity of Sentences
  • Use of Active / Passive Voice
  • Type / Token Ratio
  • The Use of That
    • That-Complement Clauses
    • Post Modifiers – That as a Relative Pronoun
    • Demonstrative Determiners
    • Demonstrative Pronouns
    • Distribution of That – Result
      • Distribution of That in Relation to Absolute Number of That in Each Newspaper
      • Distribution of That in Relation to the Sub-Corpus
      • The Distribution of That – A Comparison of Broadsheets and Tabloids

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This diploma thesis aims to investigate the syntactic differences in football match reports published in British broadsheets and tabloids. By comparing the language used in these different types of newspapers, the study seeks to understand whether the targeted readership influences the complexity and style of writing in football match reports.

• The syntax of football match reports in British newspapers.
• Similarities and differences between broadsheets and tabloids.
• The impact of readership on language style and complexity.
• The influence of other media, like radio and television, on the written language of sports reporting.
• The role of jargon and specialized language in football match reports.

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

The first chapter introduces the thesis and outlines its main objectives. It also discusses the ongoing debate about the language of print media, highlighting the dynamic and evolving nature of language, and emphasizing the importance of investigating the syntax of newspaper articles.

The second chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the field of research, focusing on previous studies that examined the language of sports reporting. It examines the findings of prominent scholars like Crystal and Davy, Kroppach, Simon-Vandenbergen, Ghadessy, Jucker, Knobbe, and Westin, who have contributed significantly to understanding the language of sports in the media.

The third chapter dives deeper into the specific language of sports in the media, analyzing the characteristics of the language of newspapers, the language of football, and the unique features of the football match report. It discusses the impact of time constraints on writing style and the evolving role of newspapers in the modern media landscape.

The fourth chapter introduces the methodology and database used in the thesis. It discusses the use of corpus linguistics and the compilation of two main corpora, each consisting of 40,000 words, extracted from broadsheet and tabloid newspapers. The chapter then describes the various syntactic criteria investigated, including sentence length, complexity of sentences, type/token ratio, the use of active/passive voice, and the frequency of the word “that”.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

The key focus of this thesis lies in the comparison of the syntax of football match reports in British newspapers, specifically examining broadsheets and tabloids. The investigation delves into key concepts like corpus linguistics, sentence complexity, type/token ratio, passive voice, and the use of "that". The study aims to provide insights into the language of sports reporting, particularly the influence of readership on style and complexity, and the potential impact of other media types on the written language.