Surfing is a mostly male-dominated competitive sport and a popular leisure activity. The purpose of my paper is to analyse surfer discourse in international English-medium surfer magazines and discussion boards from 2017. The study applies methods and insights from existing sociolinguistic studies to previously neglected data.
My research questions are: 1) What are the typical of features of surfer discourse (Coupland 2007, Garcia & Wei 2014, Colston 2017)? The data shows the extensive use of irony and humour in addition to surfing vocabulary (kook, barrel). Translanguaging is evident in the use of foreign greetings (aloha) and when discussing surf travel (Espeaky español?).
2) How are the body and the environment represented in the data (Lakoff 1980, Coupland & Gwyn 2003)? Some of the prominent metaphors used are BODY AS A VESSEL and WAVE AS AN OPPONENT: His lungs took on water as a two-wave hold-down robbed his consciousness.
3) How is masculinity constructed in surfer speak (Coates 2003, Kiesling 1998, 2004, Wait & Warren 2008, Ljung 2010)? The data shows the use of affective vocabulary (gay, heavy, pretty core, dude) and a playful use of swear words (nucking futz, F--k, jeebus) to index masculinity.
References
Coates, J. (2003) Men Talk: Stories in the Making of Masculinities. Oxford: Blackwell.
Colston H. (2017) Irony and sarcasm. In Attardo, S. (ed.) The Routledge Handbook of Language and Humor. London: Routledge. 234-249.
Coupland, N. (2007) Style: Language Variation and Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Coupland, N. & R. Gwyn (2003) Discourse, the body, and identity. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Garcia, O. & L. Wei (2014) Translanguaging: Language, Bilingualism and Education. London: Palgrave Macmillan
Lakoff G. & M. Johnson (1980) Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Kiesling, S. (1998) Men’s identities and sociolinguistic variation: the case of fraternity men. Journal of Sociolinguistics 2. 69–100.
Kiesling, S. (2004) Dude. American Speech 79. 281–305.
Ljung, M. (2010) Swearing: A Cross-Cultural Linguistic Study. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Waitt, G. & A. Warren (2008) Talking shit over a brew after a good session with your mates: surfing, space and masculinity. Australian Geographer 39(3). 353–365.
