In all my years of schooling I've never witten a paper on Footbag. I've mostly avoided it as a trivial topic to write a college level paper on. However, I'm facing a 10 pager in Semantics that I would hate to have to write on a topic I don't care about. So I figure it's time for footbag to find it's way into my academic career.
My term paper will be on "Dialectic Variations: Jargon in the Subcultural Sport of Footbag Freestyle"
My plan is to take a look at the language that Footbag Freestyle has created for itself. Specifically I will look at Trick Names, Concepts, and Job's Notation.
If anyone is interested in helping a brother out, I'm looking for:
1) reasons necessitating the creation and continuation of our own Dialect
2) some of the newer terms (showing expansion of the dialect)
3) How our own dialect has served to progress or hold back the sport
4) Any personal stories regarding ease or difficulty in learning the language of footbag.
5) Any important section you think I might be missing with regards to the language.
Any thoughts (especially intelligent ones) are greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
My Footbag Paper
I've thought for a while that footbag could be a dream come true for a linguist or sociologist, with the former interested in the developement of nomenclatures and the latter the developement and growth of communities. Almost makes me want to study in those fields so that I could write about footbag objectively and intelligently.
As for constructive thoughs on your paper...
First, I'd call it Freestyle Foobag, rather than Footbag Freestyle
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1) The technicality of the sport requires our own language. descriptive notation of what goes on in shred would be unreadibly long, and it would be completely unrealistic for anybody to try and record large amounts of shred descriptively.
2) I remember the term BSOS being introduced. I remember x-dex being figured out by the community. I know that 'blurry' used to have a completely different meaning than it does today. If you can find the threads discussing these words, you might get somewhere.
If I remember correctly, the creator of BSOS didn't like the word pronounced beesauce, but rathered that each letter was said. It's neat how the community practically immediately dictated its usage, instead of its creator.
3) Served by allowing effective communication of what's being done over the world. Pretty simply, look at the blogs here. I can look up what any number of shredders are up to. Served by the creation of a scoring system (the add system). Shred30 is an offshoot of jobs notation.
Hurt by the creation of a scoring system. System stifles creativity. Some player comes up with a new trick, but it doesn't fit into the add system and is too difficult for the add value it recieves, then the trick doesn't become as popular as it could. FUCK ADDS, we all say, but deep down, we all know that we do more ripwalks than double pickups for a reason.
4) Personal stories? I'm having a hard time coming up with anything the least bit interesting. I know that at one point I thought that toe > ss mirage was a mirage, and toe > op mirage was a paradox mirage, but that's hardly useful. Newer players might be good for this?
5) I'll think on it. I hope that you share your work with us, or at least me! Good luck.
As for constructive thoughs on your paper...
First, I'd call it Freestyle Foobag, rather than Footbag Freestyle
.1) The technicality of the sport requires our own language. descriptive notation of what goes on in shred would be unreadibly long, and it would be completely unrealistic for anybody to try and record large amounts of shred descriptively.
2) I remember the term BSOS being introduced. I remember x-dex being figured out by the community. I know that 'blurry' used to have a completely different meaning than it does today. If you can find the threads discussing these words, you might get somewhere.
If I remember correctly, the creator of BSOS didn't like the word pronounced beesauce, but rathered that each letter was said. It's neat how the community practically immediately dictated its usage, instead of its creator.
3) Served by allowing effective communication of what's being done over the world. Pretty simply, look at the blogs here. I can look up what any number of shredders are up to. Served by the creation of a scoring system (the add system). Shred30 is an offshoot of jobs notation.
Hurt by the creation of a scoring system. System stifles creativity. Some player comes up with a new trick, but it doesn't fit into the add system and is too difficult for the add value it recieves, then the trick doesn't become as popular as it could. FUCK ADDS, we all say, but deep down, we all know that we do more ripwalks than double pickups for a reason.
4) Personal stories? I'm having a hard time coming up with anything the least bit interesting. I know that at one point I thought that toe > ss mirage was a mirage, and toe > op mirage was a paradox mirage, but that's hardly useful. Newer players might be good for this?
5) I'll think on it. I hope that you share your work with us, or at least me! Good luck.
Colin Kennedy
[email protected]
[email protected]
I should point out I've really never studied anything involved with language. Actually I've read two books about it - "The Maths Gene" by Keith Devlin and "GODEL, ESCHER, BACH : An Eternal Golden Braid" by Douglas R Hofstadter - both great books, both irrelevant to the topic - I just wanted to plug them 
1) reasons necessitating the creation and continuation of our own Dialect
I guess there are three main reasons for our own dialect. Firstly there are so many different moves it's much easier with the names etc. I guess this is the obvious reason. Secondly footbag is a sport played by people all around the world who speak different languages. Much like music notation I think footbag language continues because we can still easily communicate with each other using the languages. If I'm shredding with somebody who doesn't speak english - I can still suggest combos or whatever. Actually I don't know how true this is - I've never shredded with a footbagger who doesn't speak english.
Lastly I think footbag is a fairly isolated small community of very obsessive people. Having our own language creates an even stronger bond between us - it's like a secret handshake or our own code. We can be anywhere in public and have a conversation nobody around us will understand - I guess it's like a cult.
2) some of the newer terms (showing expansion of the dialect)
Related to the last point - I think a lot of the newer terms are coming from that - they're terms that use because we can identify with them - many of them are injokes or stand for things non footbaggers wouldn't understand. Things like windsoring, piltzing and regulating - or "fetishing" - when you kick yourself while trying a move - normally just slapping your legs with your soles...
3) How our own dialect has served to progress or hold back the sport
A mixture. Definitly it serves a purpose for those who know it - it creates a stronger bond etc. but it also makes it hard for new players to join the sport - they have to learn the language etc. People are talking about stuff that they can't understand - I imagine it would be a bit isolating to begin with.
4) Any personal stories regarding ease or difficulty in learning the language of footbag.
Well I was a big nerd when I started playing and spend hours on http://www.footbag.org learning move names etc. I pretty much memorised the whole site. Also I really love the video where Erik is trying to hit whirr and somebody asks what he's doing. "no what are you trying to hit, not what were you trying to hit..." hilarity!
5) Any important section you think I might be missing with regards to the language.
I guess something that should be mentioned is the politics surrounding it. How some people are opposed to move names and others love making them. Also how the first person who hits a move gets to name it. Maybe some disucssion about how you think the language will change in the future? Probably some stuff about the connections between moves ie: blur, blurrier, blurriest and bedwetter, goldern shower blizzard, avalanche etc. ripstein, revstein. Maybe some of the logic problems with the langauge - ie pickup - double pickup as opposed to legover - double legover.
1) reasons necessitating the creation and continuation of our own Dialect
I guess there are three main reasons for our own dialect. Firstly there are so many different moves it's much easier with the names etc. I guess this is the obvious reason. Secondly footbag is a sport played by people all around the world who speak different languages. Much like music notation I think footbag language continues because we can still easily communicate with each other using the languages. If I'm shredding with somebody who doesn't speak english - I can still suggest combos or whatever. Actually I don't know how true this is - I've never shredded with a footbagger who doesn't speak english.
Lastly I think footbag is a fairly isolated small community of very obsessive people. Having our own language creates an even stronger bond between us - it's like a secret handshake or our own code. We can be anywhere in public and have a conversation nobody around us will understand - I guess it's like a cult.
2) some of the newer terms (showing expansion of the dialect)
Related to the last point - I think a lot of the newer terms are coming from that - they're terms that use because we can identify with them - many of them are injokes or stand for things non footbaggers wouldn't understand. Things like windsoring, piltzing and regulating - or "fetishing" - when you kick yourself while trying a move - normally just slapping your legs with your soles...
3) How our own dialect has served to progress or hold back the sport
A mixture. Definitly it serves a purpose for those who know it - it creates a stronger bond etc. but it also makes it hard for new players to join the sport - they have to learn the language etc. People are talking about stuff that they can't understand - I imagine it would be a bit isolating to begin with.
4) Any personal stories regarding ease or difficulty in learning the language of footbag.
Well I was a big nerd when I started playing and spend hours on http://www.footbag.org learning move names etc. I pretty much memorised the whole site. Also I really love the video where Erik is trying to hit whirr and somebody asks what he's doing. "no what are you trying to hit, not what were you trying to hit..." hilarity!
5) Any important section you think I might be missing with regards to the language.
I guess something that should be mentioned is the politics surrounding it. How some people are opposed to move names and others love making them. Also how the first person who hits a move gets to name it. Maybe some disucssion about how you think the language will change in the future? Probably some stuff about the connections between moves ie: blur, blurrier, blurriest and bedwetter, goldern shower blizzard, avalanche etc. ripstein, revstein. Maybe some of the logic problems with the langauge - ie pickup - double pickup as opposed to legover - double legover.
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ShredOnLawn
- Atomsmashasaurus Dex
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