Argentina fans at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Credit: Photo by Tom Grimbert on Unsplash
Cambridge University Press has revealed the results of its global study into the language used around the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. The huge amount of language data we've collected and analysed gives us fascinating insight into the mood surrounding the World Cup. Laura Grimes There has been no shortage of surprises during this year's competition, and this shines through in the language data. Expressions such as premature exit reflect that several of the predicted favourites haven't fared as well as expected, with the odd unforgivable blunder making an appearance, too. Building on similar research conducted during the 2014 World Cup, the Press has mined over 12 million words of media coverage, to analyse the language used when discussing the various teams over the course of this year's tournament. Comparison with the language collected in 2014 shows that, whilst traditionally successful teams such as Brazil have gone from stylish to nervous and Argentina from having flair to struggling , World Cup 2018 underdogs such as England have gone from being inexperienced to confident . The data reflects that several teams have defied expectations - the word underdogs features frequently in media reports, along with related language like plucky, determined , and punch above their weight also making an appearance.
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