Deciphering a language for the world’s game

Ronaldinho, the Brazil astro, fantasista, harrypotter, treqartista and bandiera of the jogo bonito, thrills tifosi and ultras alike with not just vaselinas, lollipops and robertos but also peles, kakas, zizous, elasticos, chicle and ronaldinhos.

Huh? Try this.

Ronaldinho, the Brazil superstar, creative maestro, football wizard, playmaker and symbol of the “beautiful game,” thrills fans and hooligans alike with not just chips, step-overs and banana-kicks but also bicycle-kicks, volleys, Zidane-style 360-degree spin-turns, mesmerizing footwork, mazy, snake-like dribbling with the ball seemingly stuck to his feet and, of course, his own trademark: passes made without appearing to look.

Better?

For whom?

Certainly not for Ted Freedman and Ignacio van Gelderen.

The English schoolboy and Argentinean-Dutch-American student have collaborated on what they hope will one day become the world’s language for the world’s game — soccer.

Freedman and van Gelderen are co-editors of Socceranto: Birth Of A Language. Its release coincided with the beginning of the 2006 World Cup, a gathering of 32 nations that share 18 official languages, excluding any and all local dialects that actually might be spoken on the pitch.
“Things are all very well when, say, Ecuador plays Costa Rica or Ghana meets the USA,” Freedman, 16, says in a press release. “But what about when Japan plays Brazil or Ukraine meets Saudi Arabia?”

Good question.

Enter Socceranto.

Exit confusion.

The book is a combination plate of dictionary and phrasebook. The name Socceranto is part soccer, part Esperanto, the latter the language Ludwig Zamenhof, a Jewish doctor in Poland, invented in 1887 in an attempt at developing a new international language.

At the core of Socceranto are six languages — Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French, German and English. The thread that binds them is the seven nations that have won the World Cup to date — Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Italy, France, Germany and England.

Socceranto is a blend of names of famous players and soccer slang and jargon. Its mixture also has produced some new words.

Such as:

rono: n. a non-Brazilian player who nonetheless displays sufficient skill and flair to be deemed an honorary Brazilian.

[Derivation: abbreviation and composite of the names of such Brazilian players as Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Robinho, etc.]

Socceranto is a work in progress.

“This is just the launch of a long-term project,” van Gelderen, 21, says in the press release. “Or, as we say in Socceranto, it’s ‘early doors’ (early in the game). We hope that Socceranto will develop over time into a richer, more international, more distinct and fully-fledged language. And that this World Cup will help.”

It already has.

“One new term that will definitely need to be added, ‘WAGS,’ which is the name given by British press for the bevy of ‘Wives And Girlfriends’ of the players who are following in their wake and shopping up a storm,” Susan MacTavish Best of Best Public Relations, writes in an e-mail.
Freedman, van Gelderen and Peter Freedman, the third editor, are open for suggestions.

Really.

Anyone can contribute his or her ideas to an online forum at www.lulu.com/soccerantodev.

“Soccer,” van Gelderen says, “has become the most international game in the world and the most globalized industry.”

Soon, that world might have its own, singular language.

Or, in the words of Socceranto:

The jogo bonito won’t need a mourhino to describe an alberto that has a nation over the moon.

Understand?

Don’t worry. One day, you will.


SOCCERANTO: AN INTRODUCTION

A sampling of Socceranto: Birth Of A Language. Socceranto is equal parts dictionary and phrasebook, basing words on names of famous players, soccer slang and jargon, while coining new words:

camille: n. a melodramatic performance by an injured player, as if performing the death-scene from the opera, Camille

[Derivation: Camille, the most tear-jerking opera of all time.]

chorro: n. a really old player or veteran; one well past his prime

[Derivation: Argentine/Spanish slang for “thief.” Players that are way past their prime are often referred to as thieves in Latin America because they get a good salary due to past rather than present performances.]

eyebrows: n. a flicked header

[Derivation: Credited to Ron Atkinson, the English football commentator and TV pundit; another example of “Ronglish.”]

fliegenfanger: n. useless goalkeeper

[Derivation: German for “flycatcher,” and so the German word for useless goalkeeper.] i.e. Some Brazilian goalkeepers down the years have been rated as fliegenfangers.

hairdryer treatment: n. to shout in the face of your own players

[Derivation: Refers to the habit of Alex Ferguson, longtime manager of Manchester United, of shouting at his own players from close-quarters, such that his breath feels like a hairdryer.]

handbags: n. a verbal spat on the field between players, sometimes escalating to pushing and posturing

[Derivation: English football slang, as in the phrase, “Handbags at ten paces,” popularized by English football TV commentators but derived originally from Monty Python, the BBC TV comedy series of the 1970s, which featured male actors dressed in drag, battling each other with handbags.]

klinsmann: v. dive

[Derivation: From the German striker Jurgen Klinsmann, accused by opponents of diving in the box to win penalties. Klinsmann starred for German in the 1980s and 1990s and was on the sideline Friday, leading Germany to a penalty-kick shootout victory over Argentina in a quarterfinal of the World Cup. When playing for Tottenham in England in the 1980s, he poked fun at his own reputation for diving by celebrating a goal with an elaborately choreographed dive.]

jogo bonito n. beautiful game

[Derivation: Portuguese for beautiful game.] e.g. jogo bonito is used to describe a style of play involving skillful, flowing football, epitomized by Brazil at their best. e.g. The great Brazil team of 1970 played jogo bonito.

kaka: n. volley

[Derivation: Named after Kaka, the current Brazil and AC Milan midfielder, famed for his superb volleying of the ball and many memorable goals scored on the volley.]

maradona: n. a goal scored with the illegal use of the hand

[Derivation: Argentine player Diego Maradona, who scored the first goal of the game vs. England for the 1986 World Cup quarterfinals using his hand. After the game he referred to this as “The Hand of God.”]

nakata: n. an overrated player

[Derivation: Japanese player Hidetoshi Nakata was considered for many years a pearl of the Asian continent but he failed to show his talent at every club he played in Europe. He jumped from club to club but never managed to make much impact. He began playing in the 1990s and is still playing today.]

nutmeg: v. to kick the ball between the legs of an opposing player

[Derivation: English football slang, possibly taken from cockney rhyming slang where nutmegs is said to equal “legs.”]

pecho frio: n. timid or faint-hearted player; one lacking aggression and commitment

[Derivation: Spanish slang, means “cold chest,” used to describe a player who is not aggressive or seems scared of attacking the ball or taking responsibility.]

roberto: n. banana-kick

[Derivation: Named after two Brazilian greats, both famed for their banana-kicks: Roberto Rivelino, who starred for Brazil in the 1970s, and Roberto Carlos, the great Brazilian and Real Madrid defender. The latter’s famous, long-range bananakick scored against France in 1998 prompted one scientist to study it because it appeared to defy the laws of physics.]

rustico: n. player with little skills, a donkey

[Derivation: Spanish, meaning “rustic.” Used primarily in Latin America to describe players who lack finesse and become known for hoofing the ball upfield or into the stands.]

zizou (also know as a “roulette or “360”):  n. a piece of skill which involves a player bamboozling an opposing player by turning 360 degrees while keeping his foot on the ball, before passing it

[Derivation: Zizou is the nickname of Zinedine Zidane, the French superstar with whom this skill has become most associated.]

I want to read and/or post comments on this story