Commentator: Colloquialism and Commentator Essay example

Submitted By victorquinngaskarth
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Pages: 7
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A commentator’s job is not merely to give information but also adapt their language to keep their audience engaged. Often television commentators will still use metaphorical language even though the audience can see the action on screen. In the kierin transcript the utterance ‘Hoy has already ignited the burners’ reinforces the image the audience are witnessing that the Hoy has injected power into the ace. Furthermore, the dramatic metaphor is exciting and adds to the atmosphere in the Velodrome.
I have also noticed that prosodic features play a key part in engaging an audience, for example in the kierin, at the very end of the transcript ‘Sir Chris Hoy is the o::lympic champion for the kierin’ The emphasis and the stress shows his raised voice and pitch change which creates excitement. Elongation is a frequently used throughout this transcript. Near the beginning the commentator elongates the word long, ‘lo::ng strike’ this shows the clear competition in the race. Elongation is also used again in the middle of the transcript. ‘Hoy hits the line with one lap to go a:::nd the challenge is coming here’ This creates suspense and tension for the viewers. The commentator uses a few pauses in this transcript, some are used a few pauses in this transcript, some are used for dramatic effects and some are used to allow the audience to digest what they are watching. ‘with two and a half remaining (.1).h’ this prepares the audience for the excitement to come and also gives the commentator time to prepare himself because he knows he won’t be able to pause for very long throughout his speech due to the pace of the race. However, ‘to the line (.) Who’s gonna get it (.)’ This pause was used to make the moment more dramatic. Midway through the transcript he takes a sharp intake of breath. ‘The challenge is coming here from levy of Germany .h’ this shows the extremely quick pace of the event.
In the Grand National transcript metaphorical language is used towards the end of the event. ‘Daryl Jacobs may have snatched it’. The commentator is able to use metaphorical language now the race is over as he has time to think. The purpose is to add in some humour so that the transcript is more entertaining. ‘Neptune collonge is di::::ving and h:: o:::hhhhhhh its tight (.) it’s very tight (.)’ the elongation coupled with repetition emphasise the drama and tension of the action as the horses cross the finish line and they reflect the uncertainty of the commentator as to who has won. This is reinforcing the faltering speech of ‘in the’ as the commentator is distracted from his train of thought as he tries to see who the winner is. ‘Commentator:.h one’ The paralinguistic feature here indicates the commentator is so involved with the action he needs to breathe quickly and sharply to maintain tension in the commentary. In both the commentaries that I have looked at I haven’t seen any uses of rhetorical questions. But in other commentaries I expect they get used often. I think the reason for this is because it grabs the attention of the viewer because it is asking them a question.
In both the kierin and the grand national the viewers can see what is going on because they are watching the event on television, so the commentator doesn’t really have to provide the viewer with information that is essential that they may not be able to see for themselves because they are watching the event as the commentary is taking place. On the other hand if you are listening to a radio commentary you will find that it is much more detailed because the viewers aren’t able to see what is going on. It is the commentator’s job to give a detailed running commentary of what’s going on so that the people listening, constantly know what is happening, like it’s as if they were to be watching it on a screen.
Sports commentary often provides audiences with an identity and escapism and commentators adapt their language for this purpose. Often commentators use jargon to speak to
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