A study of the structure of sport as a symbolic form : Centered on its generation, function, and development

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify the various unique characteristics of sport as a culture, with respect to the 1) generation, 2) function, and 3) development of its structure. In order to analyze the above aspects, the general cultural categories which have been demonstrated in language research were adapted as methods, since such categories have a definite effectiveness for analyzing as yet unfamiliar cultural aspects of sport. In this study the following points were clarified: 1) Sport is manifested as individual play or performance (corresponding to la parole in language). However, in order to play, sport needs to have an objective and universal structure (corresponding to la langue in language) which organizes physical activities for a specific competition, and in turn gives definite meaning to the activities. So sport exists when each sport, such as soccer or volleyball, is sestablished as such a system (sport structure) and presented to the athlete as an object (Gegenstand) to play. 2) Sport structure consists of movement forms, rules, and values. These elements give a certain form to human potential physical abilities and self, and thus make it possible for a human to express (ausdrucken) his abilities and himself to the greatest extent. From this viewpoint, sport carries symbolic function. 3) Sport develops in a self-accumulating manner by converting the physical and mental abilities demonstrated by players and coaches in play into skills, strategies, records, training methods, etc., and incorporating them into its own structure. Considering the above, it can be concluded that in having such a structure, sport plays its own cultural role as a symbolic form, which symbolizes the ever-developing physical potential of the humans who participate.