A Stylo-Thematic Analysis of Rivalry in the Anthems of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona

Abstract

The linguistic analysis of anthems of football clubs is a growing area of linguistic research. This paper therefore contributes significantly to literature on the linguistic analysis of anthems of football clubs by exploring the rivalry ties between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona through the prism and lens of the translated English language versions of their anthems. The study examines how stylistic devices are used to project, construct and reflect various themes in the anthems of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona towards deepening the rivalry ties between them. The study is underpinned by the linguistic and stylistic categories framework by Leech and Short (2007). The translated English versions of the anthems of Real Madrid and Barcelona are sourced from the official websites of the clubs. The findings of the study show that stylistic devices such as repetition, co-referencing, metaphors, personification, and parallelism are aesthetically used in the anthems to project the themes of identity, solidarity, resilience and praises in order to further deepen the rivalry ties between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona especially during El Clásicos. The theme of solidarity is dominantly projected stylistically to present FC Barcelona as a club that calls for internal solidarity in order to champion its Catalonian ideologies while Real Madrid is projected as a club that seeks to establish external solidarity through canvasing for a worldwide fun base. The findings of the study would help fans and players of the two clubs and all lovers of football to better appreciate the content of the lyrics in the anthems. The study concludes that, the rivalry between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona is not only sourced from political and historical antecedents but can equally be sourced from anthems of the clubs since these anthems encode the ideologies of the clubs.