Adaptations of the English terminology of roller derby used among members of a Finnish roller derby league

Abstract

This thesis examines the ways in which a section of the Finnish roller derby community uses the original English terminology of the sport in their language practices. The use of English within the community is examined through the analysis of gameplay commentary. The people providing the commentary are most often members of the community themselves, actively participating in the shared language practices of the Finnish roller derby scene.

The results show that English loanwords are widely used within the community, particularly in relation to sport-specific terminology, which is rarely translated into Finnish. The English terminology is often used in speech in its original form, but adapted versions of the original terminology are also common in use. Word choices are affected by the context of speech, such as whether the speaker is addressing fellow community members or the audience at a roller derby game. Regional variation in speech and choices made by individual speakers are often visible in the use of English loans in speech.

Despite the large number of English loans, Finnish still remains as the main language used for communication. The Finnish roller derby community has been very open to using English loan words, partially due to the relatively recent introduction of the sport in the country, and the relatively young age of its participants at the time of the sport’s introduction. Compared to other sports that have been introduced in Finland much earlier, such as football, Finnish roller derby shows much more English influence. This reflects broader societal and attitudinal shifts towards English in Finland during the time of the sport’s introduction and popularization in the 2010’s.