English Loan Words in Russian Sport Terminology

THE ABUNDANCE OF English sporting terms in various languages is a result of former Anglo-Saxon preeminence in athletics.' The purpose of this article is to describe the use of English loan words in Russian sport terminology, concentrating on the major sports of the Soviet era. The examination of a considerable body of material2 showed that more English loan words, especially in boxing, soccer, and tennis, were used at the beginning of the Soviet era than at present. Certain borrowings have been replaced by Russian equivalents. The most striking example of enthusiastic borrowing from English during the early Soviet period was the wholesale transplanting of the English counting system for tennis into Russian. Chesnokov's Dictionary (1928) lists forms such as Jiftin, serti, forti, djus, ljav, avantedzh, oll.3 These terms have since given way to Russian equivalents. Additional examples of the over-all reduction of loans appear in the second list below. This reduction was undoubtedly a reaction to excessive linguistic borrowing at the beginning of the Soviet period. The extravagant use of foreign words in Russia during the 1920os led to sharp criticism from the highest government and literary circles, calling for a return to linguistic moderation.4 These exhortations helped bring about

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