Ulises Uno

Language IV Night shift

1

Introduction
The aim of this paper is to analyse the ways in which language use adapts to the
genre in which it is inscribed. The underlying idea is that independent of the topic
which the text deals with, it will be the genre which will ultimately determine the
use of the language, that is, the textual context along with the style will mould and
specify the required choice of words, sentence structure, figures of speech,
register, punctuation and other literary devices. The treatment of the topic will
thus be affected by the framework.
In other words, what will be examined will be the genre and its implications in
language use. Texts, both oral and written, are unproblematic (we can
understand them) when they are coherent with their context. This contextual
coherence is the result of a development, an evolution of language and the
textual exchange in social relations. The outcome of this process is nothing other
than the genre, a more or less fixed, more or less stable set of rules, set of
grammar, lexical preferences, etc. Within the possibilities of spontaneity and
ability, the delivery is, in this sense, always staged.
At the same time, a text fulfils a purpose. The purpose pursued greatly
determines the choice of genre: a news report's main purpose, for example, is to
inform. The way in which a text fulfils its purpose is also expected. When one
reads a news reports, a certain lingo, a certain schematic structure (layout of the
information), a certain type of font, a certain type of tone are expected. If they do
not coincide with one's expectation, the contextual coherence was not respected
and the text is more difficult to follow and understand. Beyond allowed personal
variations, if the text is not reminiscent of other works that fulfil a similar purpose
in the culture, it confounds the reader.
Genres and their conventions are specific to a language, to a culture. In this
paper we will focus on the English language and some of its regional variants,
which due to the choice of the topic (football hooliganism), are mainly British.
Ulises Uno
Language IV Night shift
2

Texts analysed
As stated above, the focus of the analysis will be put on the topic of football
hooliganism and its depiction in the genres of fiction, journalism, law and
hooligans own perception in their chants.
Fiction:
Fever Pitch, by Nick Hornby
Journalism:
The hooligan problem and football violence that just won't go away, The
Guardian (August 22, 2010)
Football Hooliganism, politics.co.uk (March, 2012)
Hooligans and the Law, The Economist (July 6, 2000)
Football hooliganism is back on the rise, Daily Mirror (October 10, 2013)
How Football Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization, by
Franklin Foer
Laws:
Public Order Act 1986
Football Disorder Act 2000
Football Offences Act 1991
Football chants:
Collection taken from www.footballchants.com and www.fanchants.co.uk
Ulises Uno
Language IV Night shift
3

First entry
Football chants: a hooligan's take on the beautiful game
Football chants, perhaps the most significant contribution hooligans around the
world have made to the beautiful game, share a few distinctive characteristics.
These stem mostly from the purposes that they pursue: to glorify one's club, to
intimidate the rival team's fans and to instill a sense of communion among all
supporters of a team hooligans and non-hooligans alike.
The glorification of one's club is accomplished by the exaltation of a team's idols,
legends and achievements. In order to intimidate supporters of rival teams,
chants often incur in the use of foul language, an overtly aggressive tone and
direct threats. Finally, the sense of communion is instilled by highlighting those
features that difference one's team from others, its colours, its stadium,
successful riotous acts of the past and a cry for unity in the face of a powerful
enemy. In order to fulfil these wide variety of purposes, football chants fluctuate in
tone between the serious and the humorous, between the witty and the downright
silly.
There are further characteristics that derive from the social background usually
associated with hooligans: the urban working class. One can thus find a heavy
use of local slang (Cockney, Geordie, Scouse, etc.). The register, naturally, will
tend to be colloquial and highly informal, with a general proclivity to
ungrammatical constructions.
A final requirement of chants is that they are short and catchy, so that they are
easy to teach and learn during matches for the whole crowd to sing it. This is
especially important since the delivery is undoubtedly oral, which at the same
time hinders a more comprehensive representation in the written form.


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Language IV Night shift
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"Allo, Allo" (West Ham)
Allo allo
We are the Cockney boys
Allo allo
We are the Cockney boys
and if you're a Millwall fan, surrender
or your die
We all follow United!

West Ham is a club from London. The typical supporter of the Hammers is a
working-class, rowdy Cockney. As can be drawn from the example, the
distinctive Cockney H-dropping is present. The intimidation is realized through a
blunt and direct death threat to the Millwall supporter. Finally, it ends in a cry not
unlike that of an army.

"Chim Chiminee" (Tottenham Hotspur)
Chim chiminee chim chiminee
Chim chim cheroo
Bergkamps's a wanker and so is Kanu
Chim chiminee chim chiminee
chim chim chinee
Vieira's a wanker and so is Henry

This chant by Tottenham Hotspur's hooligan fan base proves to be especially
effective: it is short and catchy, and because it uses the popular Mary Poppins'
tune as a base, its spread is guaranteed.

"Uwe Threw His Boots Away" (Manchester United)
Uwe threw his boots away
When the scousers knocked the blues for six.
What's more, he didn't even score
And returned to find his car on bricks.
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Language IV Night shift
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None of the board has any money
For players to stop the blues from going down.
Each week the manager will squeak
That the crisis will be sorted out.
It's not fair, the trophy room is bare
While United's room is hammered out.
None of the board has any money
For players to stop the blues from going down.
And all the fans that watch the match are whining
'Cos City never make a decent signing.
There are many teams that they
Would like to score against.
But they don't know how...
He's complainin'!
The underpants he wears will strain him.
But Alan Ball
Will win fuck all

The chant is dedicated to Alan Ball, manager of crosstown rivals Manchester City
at the time. Manchester United supporters seem to highlight some of things that
distinguish the blues (City supporters): they are losers, they have no
achievements, they use violence against their own players.

"Toon Black and White Army!" (Newcastle)
Toon Toon, Black and White Army!
Toon Toon, Black and White Army!
Toon Toon, Black and White Army!

This simple chant is Newcastle's signature cry. The element of the local accent is
heavily present is Toon, which is "town" pronounced with a Geordie accent. And
again the emphasis on the club's colours proves to be a distinctive feature of this
type of text.



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Language IV Night shift
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"My Old Man" (Aston Villa)
My old man said 'be a city fan',
And I said bollocks you're a cunt (you're a cunt),
We hate the blues and we're gonna show it,
We hate the blues and we fucking know it,
With Spinksy and Burchy Alan Mcanally,
They're the boys who gonna do us fine,
You support the blues, you're a blue nose bastard and you ain't no friend of mine,
All together now...

With an even more informal tone and a more obvious use of foul language, this
chant penned by Aston Villa Hardcore (the hooligan firm associated with the club)
displays more of the notorious characteristics of the genre: the mockery of the
rival team, the exaltation of the club's idols, the sworn allegiance to the club
regardless of any other thing (like a father's will) and the importance of the
colours as a synecdoche for what a club represents.