Why do Americans call that game football?
January 28, 2015 § 11 Comments
Dear colleagues:
This weekend the United States will hold a very American event; In fact, it is the most watched TV event in our country, and for all practical purposes, the day when the game is played is an unofficial holiday that happens to be more popular than most holidays on the official calendar. I am referring to the Super Bowl: The national professional football championship game in the United States of America; and by the way, it is not football… at least not THAT football played in the rest of the world. This incredibly popular sport in the United States is known abroad as “American football,” and even this designation seems troublesome to many who have watched a little American football and do not understand it very well. Although it is mainly played holding a ball, the sport is known in the United States as football for two reasons: (1) Because this American-born sport comes from “rugby football” (now rugby) that in many ways came from soccer (football outside the United States) and (2) Because it is football, but it is not British organized football, which at the time of the invention of American football was called “association football” and was later known by the second syllable of the word “association”: “socc” which mutated into “soccer.” You now understand where the name came from, but is it really football? For Americans it is. Keep in mind that all other popular team sports in the United States are played with your hands or a stick (baseball, basketball and ice hockey). The only sport in the United States where points can be scored by kicking the ball is (American) football. So you see, even though most of the time the ball is carried by hand or caught with your hands, there are times when a team scores or defends field position by kicking or punting the football. Now, why is all this relevant to us as interpreters? Because if you interpret from American English you are likely to run into speakers who will talk about the Super Bowl, football in general, or will use examples taken from this very popular sport in the U.S.
On Sunday, most Americans will gather in front of the TV set to watch the National Football Conference champion Seattle Seahawks battle the American Football Conference champion New England Patriots for the Vince Lombardi Trophy (official name of the trophy given to the team that wins the Super Bowl) which incidentally is a trophy in the shape of a football, not a bowl. It is because the game was not named after a trophy, it was named after a tradition. There are two football levels in the United States: college football played by amateur students, and professional football. College football is older than pro-football and for many decades the different college champions were determined by playing invitational football games at the end of the college football season on New Year’s Day. These games were called (and still are) “Bowls.” You may have heard of the Rose Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, and many others. When a professional football game was created to determine the over-all champion between the champions of the American and National Conferences, it was just natural (and profitable) to call it the “Super Bowl.”
Although the teams playing the game are from Seattle and the Boston area, the game itself will be played in Arizona where the temperature is very good for this time of the year. There will be millions watching the match, and there will be hundreds of millions spent on TV commercials during the game.
Below I have included a basic glossary of English<>Spanish football terms that may be useful to you, particularly those of you who do escort, diplomatic, and conference interpreting from American English to Mexican Spanish. “American” football is very popular in Mexico (where they have college football) Eventually, many of you will face situations where two people will discuss the Super Bowl; as you are interpreting somebody will tell a football story during a presentation; or you may end up at a TV or radio studio doing the simultaneous interpretation of a football game for your own or another foreign market.
The following glossary does not cover every term in football; it includes terms that are very common, and in cases where there were several translations of a football term I selected the term used in Mexico by the Mexican media that covers the sport.
| ENGLISH | SPANISH |
| Football | Fútbol Americano |
| National Football League | Liga Nacional de Fútbol Americano |
| NFL | N-F-L (ene-efe-ele) |
| American Football Conference | Conferencia Americana |
| National Football Conference | Conferencia Nacional |
| Preseason | Pretemporada |
| Regular season | Temporada regular |
| Playoffs | Postemporada |
| Wildcard | Equipo comodín |
| Standings | Tabla de posiciones |
| Field | Terreno de juego |
| End zone | Zona de anotación/ diagonales |
| Locker room | Vestidor |
| Super Bowl | Súper Tazón |
| Pro Bowl | Tazón Profesional/ Juego de estrellas |
| Uniform & Equipment | Uniforme y Equipo |
| Football | Balón/ Ovoide |
| Jersey | Jersey |
| Helmet | Casco |
| Facemask | Máscara |
| Chinstrap | Barbiquejo |
| Shoulder pads | Hombreras |
| Thigh pads | Musleras |
| Knee pads | Rodilleras |
| Jockstrap | Suspensorio |
| Cleats | Tacos |
| Tee | Base |
| Fundamentals | Términos básicos |
| Starting player | Titular |
| Backup player | Reserva |
| Offense | Ofensiva |
| Defense | Defensiva |
| Special teams | Equipos especiales |
| Kickoff | Patada/ saque |
| Punt | Despeje |
| Return | Devolución |
| Fair catch | Recepción libre |
| Possession | Posesión del balón |
| Drive | Marcha/ avance |
| First and ten | Primero y diez |
| First and goal | Primero y gol |
| Line of scrimmage | Línea de golpeo |
| Neutral zone | Zona neutral |
| Snap | Centro |
| Long snap | Centro largo/ centro al pateador |
| Huddle | Pelotón |
| Bolsillo protector | |
| Fumble | Balón libre |
| Turnover | Pérdida de balón |
| Takeaway | Robo |
| Giveaway | Entrega |
| Interception | Intercepción |
| Completion | Pase completo |
| Tackle | Tacleada/ derribada |
| Blitz | Carga |
| Pass rush | Presión al mariscal de campo |
| Sack | Captura |
| Run/ carry | Acarreo |
| Pass | Pase |
| “I” Formation | Formación “I” |
| Shotgun Formation | Formación escopeta |
| “T” Formation | Formación “T” |
| Wishbone Formation | Formación wishbone |
| Goal posts | Postes |
| Crossbar | Travesaño |
| Sidelines | Líneas laterales/ banca |
| Chain | Cadena |
| Out-of-bounds | Fuera del terreno |
| Head Coach | Entrenador en jefe |
| Game Officials | Jueces |
| Flag | Pañuelo |
| POSITIONS | POSICIONES |
| Center | Centro |
| Guard | Guardia |
| Offensive Tackle | Tacleador ofensivo |
| Offensive line | Línea ofensiva |
| End | Ala |
| Wide Receiver | Receptor abierto |
| Tight end | Ala cerrada |
| Running Back | Corredor |
| Halfback | Corredor |
| Fullback | Corredor de poder |
| Quarterback | Mariscal de campo |
| Backfield | Cuadro defensivo |
| Defensive end | Ala defensiva |
| Defensive tackle | Tacleador defensivo |
| Nose guard | Guardia nariz |
| Linebacker | Apoyador |
| Cornerback | Esquinero |
| Free safety | Profundo libre |
| Strong safety | Profundo fuerte |
| Place kicker | Pateador |
| Punter | Pateador de despeje |
| Penalty | Castigo |
Even if you are not a football fan, and even if you are not watching the big game on Sunday, I hope you find this glossary useful in the future. Now I invite you to comment on football, sports interpreting in general, or maybe you would like to share a “sports interpreting anecdote” with all of us.
The Professional Interpreter 
Though an occasional soccer fan, I cannot claim to be in any sense qualified to interpret for a television sports event. I really admire those who undertake such a challenge, and loved the glossary and explanations!
Thank you! I do not do football interpreting but I am sure many of these terms will come up in the Pacific Northwest during the coming week(s).
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Thank you so much Tony, I don’t do sports interpreting neither, but you never know… Excellent resource!! :)))
Thanks a million Tony! I had not done the sports interpreting, but your helpful translation is greatly appreciated! Enjoy the football season! 😉
The first year that the Seahawks played in their current stadium, a Venezuela friend and his family came over that evening and we watched the game on ESPN en español. It was impressive; not really an interpreting job, the announcers were Spanish speakers who seemed to know the game and had clearly prepared their terminology in advance.
One comment on your list: In professional American football, there are seven referees on the field. They are listed in this article, but only the most avid fans know the names and positions. I would call them all “árbitros”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_%28American_football%29#Positions_and_responsibilities
About 10 years ago I was interpreting for a company in Houston who was receiving visitors from Spain. One speaker in English was describing the advantages of a particular commercial arrangement and keep using analogies from US sports. Once he said that a particular deal was a “quick six” (touchdown, highest score in American Football); another time he said we should punt (decline to keep trying to score for now, but give the ball to the other team). Other times he referred to baseball, talking about a “home run” or a “base hit”.
Fortunately, it was easy to interpret those expressions into either “futbol” or non-sports equivalents.
why not say arbitro instead of juez for the official?
“Árbitros” would be a great choice. I used “jueces” because that is the term used in the Mexican media, and Mexico is the only Spanish speaking country that plays football.
I would love to interpret a soccer game. This is one of the ways I practice interpreting … great way to get into the emotions of the announcer. I don’t know how I would feel about being up on ALL sports terminology though … time to brush up!
Concuerdo con marzolian, en México usan más la palabra “árbitros” que “jueces”. Además en lugar de “primero y diez”, dicen “primera y diez”, y en lugar de “bolsillo protector”, usan “bolsa de protección.”