I have a number of Turkish friends, and I often use English to communicate with them. As a result, one of my primary tasks has been explaining baseball references. Almost always, I'll use one without realizing, and the puzzled expression on a friends face will cue an elaborate definition. Kenneth G. Wilson explains the conundrum of an American English speaker thusly, in The Columbia Guide to Standard American English:
The vocabulary of baseball, probably more than that of any other sport, is as popular in figurative use throughout the society as is the argot of the theater and other entertainments or the cant of the underworld. To strike out, to be a bush leaguer [or just to be bush], to balk, to bat three hundred [or, hyperbolically, a thousand], to give [or] get an assist, to pinch hit, to score, to shut out, to begin a whole new ball game, or to be off base, to be in left field, or to be a screwball, to have somebody throw you a curve, and many, many more words and phrases have come into the general vocabulary from baseball’s slang and argot, to a point where many people use them who may not really be very sure about the nuances of the game itself. Indeed, many people who have never even seen a major or minor league or college game, even on television, use baseball terms, probably some without even being aware of the origins of the expressions they employ. Some of these baseball terms have become Informal or Semiformal and Conversational in the general vocabulary (to throw someone a curve, to drop the ball), others remain slang (to whiff, to throw a slurve), and a few indeed may have reached full Standard status (to make a hit, to swing and miss). Use only the language your audience will understand.
I really appreciate his last piece of advice, to use "only the language your audience will understand".
Of course, I appreciate it only to the extent that I think it's crap. As a person who derives pleasure from language, from the use of language separate from meaning, I'd really have to dumb things down while speaking to most people in Turkey... and I would probably be a much less happier person, as a result. Also, I see it as my important contribution, perhaps, my calling from God, to bolster an English-learners vocabulary with essential baseball references and other flowery slang. English is, after all, the international language.
I decided to make a list of all the slang terminology I use, that I know comes from baseball. It was longer than I thought it would be:
ball park
base, first/second/third/home
bush-league
double (see 'bases')
charley horse
cover your bases
home run
league, in/out
left field, in/out of
play ball
play hardball
pickle, in a
pinch hit
pitching vs. catching
rain check
single (see 'bases')
step up to the plate
strike out
switch hitter
same team
touch base
triple (see 'bases')
I'm not even certain if this is the full list. I decided that, rather than defining them all, it would be fun to leave a reader to determine if they themselves know the meanings (or, just look them up here).
I had a proud moment, some months ago, when one of my room mates explained his chance tryst with a woman who was 'out of his league', describing the experience with just two words:
'Home run'.
2 comments:
This reminds me of
George Carlin comparing baseball to football
btw, you've got a great blog going on here.
Thanks for the link... but I can't watch YouTube in Turkey. Actually, I think it may only be a problem in the hotel, I could bypass the government ban from home. The Sheraton's server must have a way to prevent users from getting around it.
I'm glad to know you enjoy reading.
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