Football and World Languages
Football and World Languages
I am not a football (or soccer) fanatic but World Cup fascinates me always. The official campaign of FIFA says “Football unites the world.” For me, World Cup unites my family. I remember staying late and watching matches with my parents during my childhood years. With 62 games now done and dusted, just two matches are yet to be played at the World Cup in Qatar. My parents, who are now in their seventies, and I are still so keen to wake up for the 3:00 am matches.
There are 32 nations qualified for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, and fans from all over the world flogged to Qatar for this international extravaganza, one can imagine the vast amount of different languages you could hear in Qatar. Let us look at the World Cup from the language perspective. This year in Qatar, there’re 8 English-speaking teams, 6 Spanish-speaking teams, 4 French-speaking teams, 4 Arabic-speaking teams (including Tunisia), 3 German-speaking teams, 2 Portuguese-speaking teams, and others. Do you know who they are?
If you are already a football fan, you might know the football-related terminologies in your own language. But what if you also learn them in other languages? Knowing them will surely help when you converse with new friends who are also football fans from other countries. Let’s get ready for another round of football fever.
TYPES OF MATCH
Today will be the semi-final where Croatia is to play against Morocco for the 3rd place in World Cup 2022. “Finale” will be held on 18-Dec-2022.
English | German | Spanish | French | Italian | Chinese |
preliminary round | Gruppenphase | Eliminación | tour préliminaire | turno preliminare | 初賽 |
second round | zweite Runde | Ronda preliminar | deuxième tour | secondo round | 第二輪 |
quarterfinal | Viertelfinale | Segunda ronda | quart de finale | quarti di finale | 八強賽 |
semifinal | Halbfinale | Cuartos de final | demi-finale | semi finale | 準決賽 |
final | Finale | Semifinal | finale | finale | 決賽 |
ROLES
Before each match, we would check the team lineup to see who is where, right?
English | German | Spanish | French | Italian | Chinese |
goalkeeper | Torwart | Portero | gardien de but | portiere | 守門員 |
captain | Kapitän | Capitan | capitaine | Capitano | 隊長 |
defense | Abwehr | Defensa | la défense | difesa | 防守 |
defender | Abwehrspieler | Defensor | défenseur | difensore | 後衛 |
midfielder | Mittelfeldspieler | Mediocampista | milieu de terrain | centrocampista | 前衛 |
winger | Außenstürmer | Laterales/ Cierre | ailier | ala | 邊鋒 |
forward | Stürmer | Delantero | avant-centre | inoltrare | 前鋒 |
coach | Trainer | Técnico | entraîneur | allenatore | 教練 |
linesman | Linienrichter | Árbitro asistente | juge de touche | guardalinea | 巡邊員 |
referee | Schiedsrichter | Árbitro | arbitre | arbitro | 裁判 |
first team player | Spieler der ersten Mannschaft | Primer equipo en jugar | premier joueur de l’équipe | giocatore della prima squadra | 先發球員 |
substitute | Austauschspieler | Sustituto | remplaçant | sostituto | 替補球員 |
MOTION JARGONS
We need to catch these important words during the matches in order to gain a better understanding.
English | German | Spanish | French | Italian | Chinese |
clearance | abwehren | — | autorisation | liquidazione | 間隙 |
corner kick | Eckstoß | Tiro de esquina | corner | calcio d’angolo | 角球 |
throw in | Einwurf | Saque | lancer de touche | buttare dentro | 擲球入場 |
free kick | Freistoß | Tiro libre | coup franc | calcio libero | 自由球 |
save | retten | Salvado | enregistrer | Salvare | 救球 |
handball | Handball | Mano | faute de main | palla a mano | 手球 |
penalty | Strafstoß (also: Elfmeter) | Penalty | penalty | pena | 罰球 |
header | Kopfball | Cabezazo / Pase de cabeza | tête | intestazione | 用頭頂球 |
offside | abseits | Fuera de juego | hors-jeu | fuorigioco | 越位 |
move | sich bewegen | Movimiento | mouvement | muoversi | 移位 |
pass | passen | Pase | passer | passaggio | 傳球 |
own goal | Eigentor | Auto gol | propre but | autogol | 烏龍球 |
bicycle kick | Fallrückzieher | Patada /Puntapié | roue | rovesciata | 倒掛金鉤 |
ball juggling | Mit dem Ball jonglieren | Mantener la pelota | balle de jonglage | giocoleria con la palla | 挑球 |
dive | Schwalbe | Fingir una falta | plonger | tuffo | 假摔 |
score a hat trick | Einen Hattrick schießen | — | réussir un coup du chapeau | segnare una tripletta | 帽子戲法 |
GENERAL TERMINOLOGIES
English | German | Spanish | French | Italian | Chinese |
team | Mannschaft | Equipo | équipe | squadra | 球隊 |
opposing team | Gegner | Equipo contrario | équipe adverse | squadra avversaria | 對手團隊 |
player | Spieler | Jugador | joueur | giocatore | 球員 |
lineup | Mannschaftsaufstellung | Alineación | s’aligner | allineare | 陣容 |
midfield | Mittelfeld | Medio campo | milieu de terrain | centrocampo | 中場 |
goal scorer | Torschütze | Goleador | buteur | capocannoniere | 進球員 |
scoreboard | Anzeigetafel | Marcador | tableau de bord | tabellone | 記分牌 |
score | Spielstand | Marcador | score | punto | 得分 |
first half | erste Hälfte | Primera mitad | première mi-temps | primo tempo | 上半場 |
second half | zweite Hälfte | Segunda mitad | seconde mi-temps | secondo tempo | 下半場 |
replay | Wiederholung | Repetición | seconde mi-temps | replay | 重播 |
foul | Foulspiel | Falta | faute | fallo | 犯規 |
national team | Nationalmannschaft | Selección nacional | équipe nationale | squadra nazionale | 國家隊 |
stadium | Stadion | Estadio | stade | stadio | 體育場 |
red card | rote Karte | Tarjeta roja | carte rouge | cartellino rosso | 紅牌 |
yellow card | gelbe Karte | Tarjeta amarilla | carte jaune | Carta gialla | 黃牌 |
draw | unentschieden | Empate (1-1) | egalité | disegno | 平手 |
match | Spiel | Juego/Partido | rencontre | incontro | 比賽 |
bench | Bank | Banca | banc | panchina | 替補球員 |
pitch | Spielfeld | Cancha / Campo | terrain | intonazione | 足球場 |
goal post | Tor | Palo /Poste | poteau de but | palo della porta | 球門柱 |
penalty shoot-out | Elfmeter schießen | Tiro/Lanzamiento de penales | tir au pénalty | calcio di rigore | PK戰 |
flag post | Eckfahne | Banderín de la esquina | poteau de drapeau | postazione di bandiera | 旗桿 |
defeat | Niederlage | Derrota | défaite | sconfitta | 落敗 |
victory | Sieg | Victoria | la victoire | vittoria | 獲勝 |
extra time | Verlängerung | Tiempo extra | temps supplémentaire | tempo extra | 加時賽 |
changing rooms | Kabine | Vestidores | vestiaire | spogliatoi | 更衣室 |
trophy | Pokal (also: Preis) | Trofeo | trophée | trofeo | 獎盃 |
Football and foreign languages have many things in common, ranging from communication to having the power to bring cultures together. Let our passion for footbal drive us further in our language learning journey. As football unites the world, we become multilingual and mulicultural. Now, we are ready to enjoy the football matches anywhere and can talk about them with our friends from around the world. Bravo!!
Want to learn more? Immerse Languages, have a series of courses for different ages. Just drop us a line or call us for more information.
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