Scandinavian languages: idrott/idræt/idrett vs. sport

G

Gavril

Senior Member
English, USA
How does the first set of words (Sw. idrott, Dan. idræt, Norw. idrett) differ in meaning from the word sport (used in all three languages)?

Also, does a similar semantic contrast exist in Icelandic (though perhaps between different words than above)?

Thanks
 
Last edited:
    • According to CLUE (Norw.-Eng.):
    sport = sport
    idrett = athletics, athletic sports, sport, sports, games.

    I think "Athletic sports" is the key point here in most Norwegians mind. If you're doing chess, dart etc you're doing sport, while doing skiing, skating, running, football, handball, gymnastics etc you're doing not only sport, but also idrett.
     
    Tough one - they're definitely not interchangeable, but it's hard to put a finger on the exact difference. (I'm not even sure "idræt" (and variations) is used in the exact same way in the three languages.)

    In Danish I think that "idræt" is used more for general physical "exercise", whereas "sport" is under more organised forms, possibly competitive. But it's not as clear-cut as that description indicates. (and I might want to refine/revise it when I've thought about it some more, but that's what I've come up with since this morning...).
     
    Edit: I wrote the whole thing in Swedish first, forgetting that the rest of the thread was in English... :eek::D

    In Swedish, the terms overlap. Traditionally, the types of sports involving primarily physical performance by the human body, with few or no tools used, like athletics in English, are typically classified as idrott.
    Jogging, running, swimming and jumping are some examples.

    Sport is a wider concept with focus on competition, and all sorts of tools may be involved. It also encompasses games that involve little physical activity.
    Some examples are equestrian sports, car racing, golf and chess.

    Swedish Wikipedia has a good outline of the differences, but they are not shared by all Swedes. If you're unsure what term to use, use sport.

    --------
    På svenska överlappar termerna varann. Traditionellt har man definierat såsom idrott de typer av sport där människans egen fysiska prestation är huvudsaken och få redskap används, d.v.s. ungefär som Eng athletics.
    Motionsjogging, löpning, simning och höjdhopp är typiska exempel på idrott.

    Sport är ett vidare begrepp som har huvudfokus på tävlingsmomentet, och kan involvera allehanda redskap, men även innefatta stillasittande aktiviteter.
    Hästsport, motorsport, golf och schack är några exempel.

    Svenska Wikipedia har en utmärkt artikel som stämmer ganska bra överens med min uppfattning. Det råder dock delade meningar om vad som räknas som idrott eller inte. Är du osäker, så säg sport.
     
    Last edited:
    Íþrótt/ir in Icelandic means all of the activities mentioned above, including chess and motor racing. Sport is something entirely different.
     
    So in English (American, at least) what we call "fitness" would be "idrett, idraet, idrott"...and sports (in English) would be "sport"? At least roughly?

    I think that if you asked them, most Americans wouldn't consider chess a sport, by the way, but it is often covered in newspapers on the sports pages.
     
    Chess has, of course, been defined by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as a sport and the Swedish Wikipedia entry for sport reflects this.
    As has been pointed out, most speakers of English would describe it as a game and not a sport. Why not define draughts (AE checkers) and bridge and whist etc. also as sports? The late president of the IOC described bridge as a sport.

    What about frågesport (quiz). Is this a sport?
     
    As far as US English, I would consider chess, checkers etc. to be "sports" when they are played at an organized and highly competitive level (e.g,. international tournaments). Otherwise, I would call them "games".

    Do Swedish/Norwegian/Danish make the same distinction when referring to chess as sport? (Or Icelandic when referring to it as íþrótt?)
     
    hanne said:
    Tough one - they're definitely not interchangeable, but it's hard to put a finger on the exact difference. (I'm not even sure "idræt" (and variations) is used in the exact same way in the three languages.)

    In Danish I think that "idræt" is used more for general physical "exercise", whereas "sport" is under more organised forms, possibly competitive. But it's not as clear-cut as that description indicates. (and I might want to refine/revise it when I've thought about it some more, but that's what I've come up with since this morning...).
    Click to expand...

    I remember we used to have a long discussion of this subject in a Danish shooting club I used to be a member of, after the leadership of the association we belonged to made a big problem out of two members havint taken part in compettitions conducted by a club that had "sport" and not "idraet" as its main purpose. So it is really often a very political thing. The place to look for the exact difference is in the rules of the main associations that do "sport" or "idraet". They'll have a definition of it.

    But the main direction is that when you do "idraet" the purpose is for fun, better health etc. and when you do "sport" the purpose is to win medals.

    However, whichever of the two you do, you may improve or ruin your health, you may have fun, you may kick the football with the same foot and you may win medals. So it is really a very political thing, with very narrow definitions.
     
    I forgot to mention that sport in Icelandic is often slang for unusual non-athletic things like walking up a certain hill, lawnmover racing or any other popular activity.
     
    pollodia said:
    I forgot to mention that sport in Icelandic is often slang for unusual non-athletic things like walking up a certain hill, lawnmover racing or any other popular activity.
    Click to expand...

    Do you mean the word sport? Just curious since it wasn't marked off with italics/quotation marks.
     
    Yes I meant "sport", I'm being cheap today. Sorry, I don't know anything about lawnmover racing other than that I wouldn't try it without sturdy shoes on.
     
    You must log in or register to reply here.
    Back
    Top