Abstract
Speakers of Dholuo use semantically- opaque utterances to creatively describe various aspects of soccer. Since the images are derived from diverse social experiences, it is pertinent to explicate their meanings within the context of soccer. The three apparent strategies are (1) idiomatic, (2) reference, (3) analogy and (4) semantic extensions. The data that illustrates these phenomena were collected through participant observation, informal conversations and interviews with soccer fans. It emerged that the special meanings created in soccer discourse promote team spirit, motivate participants and encourage in-group cohesion. This enables supporters to experience soccer as a social event, thereby reinforcing its competitive and communal nature. Consequently, they can boost the ego of a team and demoralise opponents. It is concluded that the meanings in the context of soccer among Dholuo-speaking spectators is an innovative expressive strategy, quite distinct from the denotations of the words involved.
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