this post was submitted on 23 Dec 2023
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If I'm talking to an English speaker from outside of the US, is there any confusion if I say "soccer"?

For example, when I was in college a friend asked for a "torch". I was confused for quite some time, because I didn't know it was another word for "flashlight". Does the same thing happen with the word "soccer"? Should I clarify by saying, "...or football"?

Thank you!

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[–] Taalen 113 points 11 months ago (4 children)

Not a native English speaker, but my hunch is, soccer will almost certainly be understood. Also it will identify you as American.

[–] [email protected] 42 points 11 months ago (17 children)
[–] [email protected] 34 points 11 months ago (4 children)

And Australia, at least when they're not trying to suck up to the British.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago (2 children)

And English... I've heard them use soccer as well on many occasions

[–] [email protected] 17 points 11 months ago

Yeah, soccer is actually an English term that they created to refer to association football, as opposed to rugby football or the hundreds of other forms of football.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago

If an Englishman uses 'soccer' he's almost certainly from the upper class.

As “soccer” was played by the elite (such as the Oxford lad who is said to have coined “soccer”), it soon spread to the working classes, and became “football”.

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[–] MrNesser 82 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (10 children)

English people understand the limitations Americans have to live under when it comes to language

Edit: jesus you make little high brow joke and all the idiots gets butthurt.

[–] Ensign_Crab 58 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

We had to call it soccer. We already had a sport called competitive diving.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

When I get asked if I watch soccer as a hockey fan I have the same feelings. The Women's version of soccer is much tougher and I would rather watch that. They take a beating and get bloodied but keep playing unlike the men falling over including the coaches from being brushed by a piece of paper.

This video does a good job capturing the differences between coaches: https://youtu.be/9HxzLEqI-qE?si=VPWHKI081v80eA3k

This one does a great job highlighting the competition diving angle. I think ~~artist~~ *artistic diving might be more applicable though: https://youtu.be/_OXdfJgCmLc?si=7n-tIrOIsxznm49W

[–] MrNesser 7 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Isn't American football just rugby with padding /jk

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[–] irish_link 47 points 11 months ago (2 children)

You do realize the word Soccer for the actual game originated in England right?

It just so happened that “Rugby football” got shortened to Rugby and this “Associa toon (Socker) football” got shortened to Football.

Since since an American sport came around the same time called “Football” they kept the name “Soccer” for Association Football.

Just letting you know a little back story.

A small article about it can be found here. https://www.britannica.com/story/why-do-some-people-call-football-soccer And there are plenty more info out there about it.

[–] mysoulishome 28 points 11 months ago (4 children)

I’m going to call them soccer football and American football from now on

[–] [email protected] 13 points 11 months ago

I'm going to be an insufferable pedant and reply, "Do you mean association football or rugby football?" whenever anyone uses either :P

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago

I refer to Soccer the football played with your foot and then the American version as " Egg-ball" played with your hands.

That said I'm also Canadian and for many years in our small "hand egg-ball" league we had 2 teams with very similar club names called the Rough Riders and the Roughriders so I shouldn't be throwing so many stones...

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago

For a while, the governing body in the US was the United State Soccer Football Association, so you're good, and it's also some good trolling of the zealots on either side of the "debate."

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (6 children)

It would require more research than I'm willing to do, but the only part of that article that set off my sports-history-nerd Spidey Sense was this:

In full, it was known as gridiron football, but most people never bothered with the first word.

I don't know that anyone actually involved in playing or codifying the game ever used "gridiron football" in anything like the same official way that Association football or Rugby football were used. It feels much more like outside observers trying to impose logical categories from afar, British exceptionalism at its finest. AFAIK, gridiron was always used as a nickname for the field, and the sport itself was only ever widely referred to as "football," American exceptionalism at its finest.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Do English people know that they originated “soccer” as Oxford slang for “association football?” Nothing hits like the English ignorantly shitting on their colonies for adopting the stupid English practices forced upon them by the English at the time.

[–] MrNesser 31 points 11 months ago (4 children)

English shitting on our colonies is our favourite past time. You should come along sometime.

[–] duffkiligan 8 points 11 months ago (1 children)

America isn’t a British colony, we won a whole war about that.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 11 months ago

Isn't now, but it was a colony, and that's more than enough for us to shit on it

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago

"English (simplified)"

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 11 months ago (3 children)

No, we understand. In fact, if anything it's easier if you say soccer! If someone with an American accent says 'football' I normally assume they mean gridiron, so sayings soccer is actually a little clearer.

Of course, in different parts of the world, 'football' might mean rugby (either union or league), Gaelic football or Aussie rules football. So, the potential for confusion is pretty wide!

[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

This. 'Soccer' is well understood and unambiguous, though it might prompt certain assumptions depending on your audience. There are times and places you might prefer to say 'football' to mean 'Association football,' but if you just need to communicate simple factual information in two syllables, it's probably the best word for that.

[–] ABCDE 7 points 11 months ago

There are times and places you might prefer to say ‘football’

Even countries or continents.

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 11 months ago (1 children)

It's ok, we know you guys are weird.

[–] BananaTrifleViolin 16 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

The word Soccer is actually British - it's short for Association as in Association Football, although it's slang from Oxford University of all places, and is late Victorian.

Irony is a surprising number of "Americanisms" turn out to be old British terms that died out in Britain but reached and continued in the US.

[–] Delphia 15 points 11 months ago (2 children)

In Australia we have Soccer, Aussie rules football (AFL), Rugby Union (Union) and Rugby league (Usually referred to as "League" or "NRL") all of them also known as "Football"

I have a pretty deep burning hatred for people who insist on correcting people when they say Soccer. It honestly just makes you look like a twat "yOu mEaN wHaT tHe rEsT oF thE WoRld CalLs foOTbALl!?!" Like you fucking understood well enough to know this was your moment to open your cockholster and needlessly add that little tidbit like anyone else was confused.

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[–] cosmicrookie 14 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Most won't be confused at all. They might be surprised but pretty simple logic would result in a fast realisation of what you actually mean. I am surprised though, that you, as an English speaking person couldn't figure out that a torch might refer to a flash light.

[–] morphballganon 9 points 11 months ago (5 children)

Torch has another common meaning though. Does soccer?

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago (4 children)

Because we have actual torches too. You guys don't have actual soccers to get confused by. Given the right context we can figure out when you mean flashlight, but said torch.

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[–] markr 13 points 11 months ago (2 children)

From now on I’m calling it Foot Football. That other game is Hand Football.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 11 months ago (1 children)
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[–] hactar42 13 points 11 months ago

I'm an American who lived in England for a couple of years. Due to American media the majority of everyone understood what I meant when I said things like soccer, trunk or hood of a car, fries, etc. Words with different meanings between the two could get confusing like biscuit, chips, or pissed.

Since soccer doesn't have another meaning I never ran into someone who didn't know what I was talking about. However, when saying football in an American accent some thought I was referring to American Football by default.

I can only remember one instant where someone did not know what I was talking about. That was when I asked someone at work where the dumpster was and I got a blank stare. I explained, the big metal thing outside for trash and they were like, "oh the skip"

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (5 children)

While it will absolutely out you as a US American, we will understand - same as when you say "Candy" and similar common Americanisms

Edit: Also, while mostly used to refer to flashlights as you guys call them, torch can also refer to other non-lantern light-emitting instruments

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago (7 children)

... wtf else do you call candy?

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago (1 children)

As others have said, sweets

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (7 children)

Wait...I think you're saying that Brits call candy sweets...maybe...

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Wee Confectionary Yum Yums

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago

Everyone understands, most gringe.

[–] Blubber28 8 points 11 months ago

As a non-native English speaker I fully understand what it means and will happily correct it to football for you :P

[–] Treczoks 7 points 11 months ago (3 children)

It is just football all over the world, in contrast to American "football".

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago

Ah yes no worries, we even heard about them Soccer moms here in Europe.

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