Abstract
Due to an increase in the migration of rugby players, there is a rising number of languages and cultures that co-exist in international rugby teams. Effective communication among these multilingual groups proves to be a challenge – one that needs to be addressed to allow a team to strive for a collective goal and to avoid the negative impact a lack of effective communication could have on the team’s success.
Despite challenges in communication, South African rugby players continually move to France to join local clubs. This requires a process of linguistic and cultural integration. A needs analysis has shown that South African players playing for French teams have a significant need for standardised communication in the local language since these teams generally insist on using French – instead of English that has become the lingua franca in the international sports arena – to communicate. The multilingual nature of teams thus becomes an obstacle rather than an advantage for foreign players.
Although French rugby clubs have implemented several initiatives to facilitate the integration of foreign players, researchers found that many of these initiatives were unsuccessful due to factors such as players’ unpredictable travel schedules that prevent regular class attendance, a lack of motivation to learn, difficulty integrating class sessions with family responsibilities, and players’ observation that the content presented in class was not specialised enough to meet their specific language needs. Communication with teammates, trainers and referees therefore remains frustrating.
A needs analysis conducted among South African rugby players who are playing or have played for French teams confirmed the need for research in the domain of the nature of communication in the rugby environment and available context-specific resources that could be used to improve mastery of another language for a specific purpose. Resources on internet or other platforms that allow self-study of rugby-related content are scarce and players are reliant on French-speaking players to learn words and basic phrases that are used on the field to communicate strategies and commands. Another outcome of the needs analysis is the need for a multilingual resource allowing access to three languages: English, Afrikaans (the most frequently used languages in South African rugby), and French.
Experts suggest that players might benefit from initiatives or resources that focus on the learning of rugby-specific terminology in the target language – knowledge that is central and related to the communicative skills of non-native speakers – while considering the evolutionary nature of the terminology. The implementation of such initiatives or the use of these learning materials should not be bound to a formal classroom environment.
Considering the different elements presented above, this research project focused primarily on the creation of a dynamic, subject-specific and multilingual term list for the identified target group, i.e. South African rugby players pursuing a career in France, in an effort to provide a resource that would meet the identified language needs and that could be accessed regardless of time and place.
Two primary theoretical principles within the domain of terminology were studied during the conceptualisation of this study. Firstly, the impact that learning terminology in a foreign language has on communicative skills, and secondly the domain of terminography, i.e. the documentation and systemisation of lexical items that are subsequently presented as a domain-specific language product. The steps followed in the creation of the term list that supports the mastery of a foreign language (or, in this case, a specific portion thereof) are described in this article.
As part of the mixed-method research design, the first step was to investigate real-life examples of the language variety in practice by observing the use of rugby-specific language in sports magazines, newspaper articles, and television and radio broadcasts of rugby matches in Afrikaans, English, or French). The results were then compiled into a preliminary list and a multilingual approach was followed from the outset. Examples of the use of the terminology in three languages (Afrikaans, English, and French) were included in the process. This was followed by a process of verification for which reviewers had to be selected with care. Due to the sensitivity of the subsequent verification process and to ensure the accuracy of the content, contact was made with a South African rugby club to ensure the inclusion of participants with recent or current ties with French rugby and knowledge of the language used in practice.
In the next phase of the research, input was obtained from the selected participants in the form of questionnaires and documents in which the content of the term list was assessed, reviewed, and supplemented. It was continuously ensured that the compiler of the final product did not work in isolation but facilitated close collaboration with the relevant language community.
As a result of a consolidation process conducted by the compiler, a term list with 13 categories was created to make searching for specific terms easier. The categories were then divided into two groups: the first group consisted of six categories that focused on standardised or general content not necessarily limited to the rugby domain (key individuals and personnel involved; description of the playing field; team attire and training equipment; numbers; body parts; as well as colours) and the second group contained the remaining seven categories that contain terms and phrases specific to the game of rugby (slang; basic commands; skills; events during the match; useful phrases for use after the match; kicking and scrums; and players’ functions and positions in the team).
During the final process of verification, the emphasis was placed on the second group of categories, i.e. those closely related to the rugby domain, since the content of this group is more dynamic and specialised than that of the first group which contains standardised content that is not expected to vary. Reviewers were tasked with critically examining the content and evaluating the accuracy of the terms with respect to their use in practice, with new terms being added or terms being eliminated due to disuse. This resulted in a final product with 14 categories (the category “scoring” was added to the second group) and a total of 432 entries – 164 in group 1 and 265 in group 2.
This terminographic product is presented as a parallel term list, which means that each entry provides a corresponding translation in English, Afrikaans, and French, which renders this learning resource more accessible and user-friendly. It is important to note that the proposed list is dynamic and should be continually updated to reflect the development of rugby language at international level. Therefore, through regular monitoring, outdated terms should be eliminated, and new phrases and terms (especially slang) should be added, ensuring that players who use this tool can rely on its validity.
This study makes a unique contribution to the research fields of sports communication, terminology, and translation studies alike in that no previous research has been conducted on rugby language as a language variety in these language combinations. This created the opportunity to develop a specialised resource for this target group. The article also provides practical guidelines for those who face similar challenges in other specialised fields and with other language combinations, where the compilation of a term list could provide a solution.
Keywords: French for specific purposes; parallel subject-specific term list; rugby language; terminology acquisition