English influence on (the latest) sports terminology – theoretical assumptions of the project

The article introduces theoretical and methodological assumptions of the project recently launched at the WSB Merito University in Poznan. The project aims at an orderly and in-depth analysis of the English influence on Polish sports jargon. The analysis will be based on live coverage of the major sports events broadcast on the widely known streaming platforms. The study will focus on the most up-to-date language of sport by examining the terminology used by sports commentators in a variety of disciplines, not only the widely known ones, such as tennis or football, but also sports which have been introduced to Poland in the recent years, such as futsal or lacrosse. The particular sub-corpora (related to individual disciplines) will be obtained from the coverage of a number of international events, such as the Olympic Games, the World Games, World or European Championships (in respective disciplines). The examination of the language of commentators (who often are former competitors) assures access to the proper jargon used within a particular discipline, both with respect to the formal and colloquial registers. Additionally, it is believed that, since commentators often work under the pressure of time, they are responsible for the introduction of a number of neologisms, many of which might not have been recorded in dictionaries yet.