Teamwork in the Soccer National Team - Assignment Example

Teamwork (The Discourse on my being in the soccer national team) Discourse analysis is a fairly new science and is very useful in sociology studies. It has been used to analyze written, spoken, sign and body language. It also deals with the lingo used by a particular group to indicate belongingness. In other words, those who do not use or understand the meaning of certain terminologies used by the group are not to be considered insiders or members of that tight group. Language is a vital part of culture and is used primarily to convey certain messages and meanings.

Language informs us of the values a society holds dear, what is important and what the implication is. It can be alternatively used to indicate hierarchy, prejudices, friendship, camaraderie, anger, hate or hostility and the whole range of emotions humans are capable of. In sum, language serves many purposes; to include some people or to exclude someone, for example. The slang often indicates sociability and more importantly, acceptance into the group. My paper is focused on my membership in the national soccer team and these are some of the observations I made regarding all members of the team as a group dedicated to our sports and the language we used, their meanings and their implications.

Soccer players have developed their own unique language understandable only to them. Doublespeak – saying one thing but intending to mean something else, a diplomatic way to hide one’s true intentions “How’s the practice?” – often means a team member did poorly that he needed to have additional practice than the other members as instructed by the coach “Where’s the coach?” (manager) – asking on the whereabouts of the coach but actually making sure that when something is said that is derogatory, he will not be overheard by the coach, like making an uncomplimentary remark or a complaint.

“Got a bum knee!” – claiming a bum knee as a good excuse to explain a very poor performance or to have a valid reason to skip practice sessions. “Warm those muscles.” – it means do a little warm-up before stretching. So a little jogging around the field is required before real practice can begin. “You are doing great!” – this means more practice is required than what has already been done to improve a player’s performance. Body Language – the non-verbal form of communication using gestures, postures, eye contact, hand movements, pointing, touching, waving, etc.

High-Fives – this means each member is very pleased with the outcome of what they had just done, either doing well in practice or winning an important game. Hands on Hips – indicates a feeling of superiority over the other player, whether a team member or someone from the opposing team. It means this player think he is much better than that other player and so better listen to what is being said. Most players also use this type of body language to dispute a referee’s call. Eye Contact – either a coded signal for a team member to execute a certain game plan such as intercepting the midfielder or trying to block the fullback.

Forefinger up in the air – indicates that a player made a very brilliant move. Glaring at an Opponent – it means the person glaring is not afraid of the other player and that he is angry at something that had just happened. Jumping High in the Air – a gesture of triumph universally acknowledged as a sign of euphoria or extreme joy, such as scoring an important goal. Pat on the Back – considered as a gesture of friendship and a congratulatory message that someone is satisfied with the performance or what he just saw.

Hugging on the field – team members congratulate themselves on winning without even speaking a single word of complimenting each other. Unspoken Meanings – sometimes, what is left unsaid or undone is also equally or even more significant than what is said and done. Asking if a team member is free this weekend – this means another member is extending an invitation to the player being asked. This indicates trust and more importantly, camaraderie and friendship, such as inviting him to the house to meet the wife and kids or even the whole family of relatives, parents, grandparents, etc.

Invitations can be very exclusionary; those who were not invited felt left out of the loop and deemed unworthy of being invited, for some reason or another. Refusal to talk or avoiding to meet a player unless absolutely necessary – this means the player doing the avoiding is not too eager to interact with that other player, perhaps due to some mistake committed on the field. By refusing to talk, the player seems to think any discussion is not necessary or even totally useless. Refusal to pick the tab – some players may not want to pay a team’s members tab during a party at a restaurant or some other gathering held to celebrate something.

Other important occasions are birthday parties for a team member when the whole team should have spent for the expenses of holding the party. An outright refusal could indicate latent hostility to the offended party and a coach should right away take some action because it indicates tension within the team. Euphemisms – these are substitute words or expressions to lessen the impact of what is being said, such as something offensive. These are very similar to metaphors and often used to show politeness, such as in politics and diplomacy.

So instead of saying someone has died, euphemism is used like “he had passed away” or another example would be a person who has reformed his ways and so we say “he had seen the light” or seen the truth “I'm not feeling well today.” - an indication that a player does not like to engage in practice by claiming to be sick or something. This is because a direct refusal to practice could certainly have negative prospects for a player's sporting career. “Get well soon.” - could often be used to indicate sarcasm or disbelief.

If a person claims to be sick which someone does not really believe to be true, wishing him well is an acknowledgment that his being sick is just simply unbelievable. “Is he really good?” - this could be used to mean the exact opposite. This means the person asking the question has some doubts about a player's actual ability and whether he can contribute anything positive to the whole team. “He will eat crow.” - used to say that a person who had uttered something that is not acceptable will soon have to retract those words.

An example would be some soccer expert who will predict that this team will win and a player from the other team (opposing team) hears it and says that guy will have to eat his own words because they are going to win the soccer match. Preliminary Conclusions – jargon or parlance can have a powerful influence on the dynamic relationships within a group because it indicates acceptance and cohesion. Soccer players can easily understand their meaning but not to outsiders. Some teams have even created their own jargon peculiar only to them and not to other soccer teams.

It can indicate a lot about a group’s internal culture (Landis, Bennett & Bennett, 2004). Work Cited Landis, Dan, Bennett, Janet & Bennett, Milton J. Handbook of Intercultural Training. London, UK: Sage, 2004. Print.