In an effort to provide clarity and consistency in writing about surfing, the Urgent Spanish Foundation (FundéuRAE) has launched a special edition of its linguistic recommendations. These guidelines come just in time for the Olympic Games, where surfing is one of the most anticipated sports.
Surfing, whose etymology goes back to Hawaiian and Tahitian terms, is defined in the Dictionary of the Spanish Language as the ‘nautical sport consisting of maintaining balance on a special board that moves on the crest of the waves’. Despite its foreign roots, Spanish has integrated key terms to describe this activity and its practice.
The FundéuRAE emphasizes that “surf” and “surfing” They must be written in round (normal), reserving the use of the anglicism “surfing” for specific contexts. Likewise, it is recommended to use “surfer” instead of “surfer”, since it better adjusts to the morphology of Spanish.
The types of surfboards, such as longboard and shortboard, They should be mentioned in italics or in quotation marks if this type of font is not available, reflecting their Anglo-Saxon origin without direct equivalence in Spanish.
As for the parts of the wave, such as the “lip” or the “tube”, These are written in round, without highlights, since they are terms already adapted to Spanish. The FundéuRAE also suggests a variety of verbs to describe the action of surfing, such as riding, grabbing, catching, catching or catching waves, enriching the lexicon of sport.
To describe specific movements, such as “duck” (duck diving) or the “change of address” (cut back), the Spanish translation is preferred. However, movements without clear equivalents, such as “take off”, “wipe out” or “bottom turn”, They should be kept in italics or in quotes.
The vocabulary associated with roles in surfing is also adapted. They proposed “watcher or announcer (of waves)” instead of spotter, “commentator” for speaker, and “beach judge” for beach marshall.
Finally, the correct use of terms related to the aquatic environment is reaffirmed. “The sea” and “the sea” are accepted interchangeably, and it is clarified that with feminine nouns that begin with stressed /a/, such as water, one should use “the water” but “this water.”
These FundéuRAE recommendations seek not only to improve accuracy and consistency in surf writing, but also promote a more enriched and adapted use of Spanish in a sport of growing international popularity.
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