The Introduction and Meaning of the Word Sport in the Netherlands, 1647–1910

In contrast with the Netherlands’ status as a sports nation, academic articles on Dutch sports history are scarce. In this paper, we would like to establish a ‘textual’ basis for further research. By means of a large-scale digital analysis, we have been able to depict important phases in the Dutch ‘sportification process’. Sport gradually infiltrated Dutch society: first it was mentioned as an English word in bilingual dictionaries, translated literature and ego documents. Then, English sports were described in recreational education books. Indeed, from 1845 onwards, English teachers at Dutch elite schools played an important role in the actual practising of English sports such as cricket, hockey and football. Together with the founding of sports clubs, specific sports manuals were published. Finally, via the introduction of sports sections in general newspapers, sport (as term) was widely diffused in society. Hence, in 1910, Luitje Van Der Wal was the first to translate the English word sport as ‘sport’ in K. Ten Bruggencate’s Engelsch Woordenboek. To be sure, this sportification process did not please everyone. There were warnings about the negative aspects that the adoption of English sports would create. Nonetheless, even traditional Dutch activities became sportified in a modern way

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  Jan Luitzen, Wim Zonneveld•Soccer and Society•2020

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