The National Sport of Estonia—From Big Historical Narratives to Variegated and Humorous/Ironic Colloquial Rhetoric

Abstract

In this article I shall be focusing on the day-to-day usage practices of the terms national sport of Estonia, new national sport of Estonia and Estonia’s national sport discipline on the basis of online media as well as an opinion poll. The analysis enables so-called national sports to be categorised on dimensions of official/formal and unofficial/informal. On the one hand we find serious official sports disciplines that are based mostly on historical, cultural and specific local traditions (strength sports, skiing, etc.) and are widely practised and watched in Estonia, and in which Estonians have achieved high places at the international level. On the other hand joking, rhetorical, linguistic-folkloric, at times even marginal expressions (e.g. concerning armchair sports, alcohol consumption, desperation, complaining about politicians, etc.) can be observed that are used to characterise local behavioural patterns and stereotypes that are considered national. The need to present sports through an ethnic prism can be explained by the mechanisms of national identity and mentality. It commonly refers to such fields of sport that have cultural and social significance. At the same time, this somewhat ironic rhetoric can also have a shared universal meaning on an international level. In this chapter, folkloristic approach is combined with linguistic and humour theories to interpret the meaning of national sport in a direct and ironic/humorous way. The aim of this study is to explain and open up the semantic fields of these terms (national sport of Estonia and others) by highlighting the varying aspects of people’s linguistic creative and sometimes humorous processes. The paper deals with the dual understanding of national sport in the Estonian language and cultural space. In this case it is important to display certain (i.e. qualifying as ethnic) stereotypes through the emotional cliche of national sport. Examples of potential focus points include national self-irony and the colourful language used in the press.