Comparison of formation processes in English and Czech sports terminologies

Abstract

Language represents one of the main factors that determine the distinctiveness and cultural identity of each branch of sport. Its rich lexicon is an indication of its diffusion and status in the society. A large number of professional and trade jargons such as coaching jargon, sports training terminologies, the language of sport sciences, sport medicine and athletes’ and sport fans’ slang have emerged from the area of sport. Each of these reflects phonetic, stylistic and morphological features of its national language. Given that English has undoubtedly become the source language of sports terminology with a vast influence on other languages, the aim of this paper is to compare the formation processes in both Czech and English sports terminologies, emphasizing the influence of English on the formation of Czech sports terms.