Olympics - Language Advantages

[Hyve]

Simple Question:

Does the use of a common language like English give them a disadvantage over those that use a far rarer and more complicated language such as Chinese.

Information:

Throughout the Olympics i've noticed one thing, albeit minor, that Great Britain (And other english speaking nations) has to contend with and that is their tactics and their ability to openly discuss them.

This came very apparent to me during the Female Hockey, our team was far less co-ordinated, organised and communicated a lot less then the Chinese. Do you feel this is because the majority of the Chinese team would know at least a small amount of English giving them enough information to know what the Captain or players are calling out.

I know Great Britain itself has a huge advantage at the moment, with the enormous crowds, early access to the stadia and many other factors, but my question is whether or not the ability to openly communicate in a more cryptic languages makes for an easier time in the field, then when you're facing opponents who could possibly understand and intercept your tactics.

Addition: I'm not asking for suggestions on how to fix this, it isn't an issue, just an observation and I wanted to see if people felt the same.

[Jackmoves]

I don't think so, I think the teams are focused on doing their thing, also you british make so much noise I doubt they can have any lengthy conversations :P

I mean a conversation in a game of football for example is not likely going to get exploited "PLAY MORE AGGRESSIVE!, GET THE TEAM UP!". There is no real way for the opponent to exploit something like that.

[Xanjori]

I went for no. If they felt it was that much of a disadvantage you'd use code, like in Rugby. Also you can say stuff in secrets etc, but overall I cant see it having an impact.

[Jibjabb]

The USA has won the last 4 Summer Olympic games in total medals. I dont think speaking English matters at all.

[Atrea]

The USA has won the last 4 Summer Olympic games in total medals. I dont think speaking English matters at all.

You mean to tell me that's English that they speak in the US?

[bals]

no.
teams will have some kind of code for plays/things.
take any national league, everyone speaks the same language, they come up with codes so they don't give things away

[madethisfor1post]

I dunno if it gives them an advantage but listening to the Germans scream during curling is just awesome.

[Deleted]

Going with no, it would be easy enough for a team to sort out their own code words for some of the more common things to shout or instruct / communicate about the teamwork, but no teams do that. It's also easy enough to have a few people learn some of the more common saying in the language. Teams often research their opponents before going up against them, watching previous matches and looking at strategies etc, if language was that much of an advantage, they'd research that too.

[Hyve]

Learning a code is an option, one which many teams opt for, but when you're in the heat of the moment screaming "Tod, Move Line #4! Go Long!" is going to be more natural, easier and intuitive then "Code #9 Delta Tea-Crumpets No Jam!"

Sure, you could argue that is what separates those athletes from Olympians, the ones who do go this extra mile.

[Jibjabb]

I heartily chuckled

Idk what else you would call finishing with the most overall medals in a competition of nations at athletics

[Hyve]

Idk what else you would call finishing with the most overall medals in a competition of nations at athletics

As the Olympics are not yet over, and China is hot on their heels, it is very early to claim the United States have won. Their chances are high at this point, but anything is possible. China has made some serious advances this Olympics in fields that the US typically dominated.

[Horrid Crow]

Idk what else you would call finishing with the most overall medals in a competition of nations at athletics

You don't "win" the entire Olympic Games... it doesn't work like that.
Also, the reason why countries like the USA, China and Russia get (in contrast) so many medals is because those countries are bigger than most others. There live 308 million people in the US, compared to merely 17 million in my country (for example).

[Dazzy]

Simple Question:

Does the use of a common language like English give them a disadvantage over those that use a far rarer and more complicated language such as Chinese.

Information:

Throughout the Olympics i've noticed one thing, albeit minor, that Great Britain (And other english speaking nations) has to contend with and that is their tactics and their ability to openly discuss them.

This came very apparent to me during the Female Hockey, our team was far less co-ordinated, organised and communicated a lot less then the Chinese. Do you feel this is because the majority of the Chinese team would know at least a small amount of English giving them enough information to know what the Captain or players are calling out.

I know Great Britain itself has a huge advantage at the moment, with the enormous crowds, early access to the stadia and many other factors, but my question is whether or not the ability to openly communicate in a more cryptic languages makes for an easier time in the field, then when you're facing opponents who could possibly understand and intercept your tactics.

Addition: I'm not asking for suggestions on how to fix this, it isn't an issue, just an observation and I wanted to see if people felt the same.

No more so than when they're playing in their normal league, where EVERYONE speaks the same language. It's not like they go to the olympics and just start broadcasting strategies.

Players in a sport will NEVER openly communicate things they don't want their opponent knowing, no matter what language it's in. It's a horrible habit to get into if you ever want to win, and you never know what languages the other team speaks.

[Jibjabb]

As the Olympics are not yet over, and China is hot on their heels, it is very early to claim the United States have won. Their chances are high at this point, but anything is possible. China has made some serious advances this Olympics in fields that the US typically dominated.

Oh I wasnt counting this year. I was counting 08 04 00 96. I have no idea about this year havent been keeping up in counts.

[Hyve]

Oh I wasnt counting this year. I was counting 08 04 00 96. I have no idea about this year havent been keeping up in counts.

As someone said above though, you don't win the Olympics. You can have the highest tally of Medals / Gold Medals, but that doesn't "Win" you the Olympics. Winning is down to the events themselves, and the total amount is just a nice bragging bonus.

That said, the BBC did some nice statistics earlier on how per person, China, The US & Russia are actually some of the worst countries for medals, however these statistics are always a little unfair and difficult, as more population doesn't always mean more inspiration to compete at Olympic levels.

[Kathranis]

Aren't most strategies in team competitions already discussed using codes and playbooks?

China usually dominates the Olympics pretty well because their Olympic athletics programs are state-run and dedicated purely towards producing Olympians; they recruit candidates at a young age and take them into state-run facilities away from their parents and families and basically have them train their whole lives. In the US and most other countries, it's simply amature/professional/collegic athletes from all over the country who work towards making it to the Olympics on their own.

There's also the fact that for a lot of people in the world, even just making it to the Olympics is their lifetime goal, so being able to compete with the top, say, 20 swimmers or runners in the world, is nothing to sneeze at either. Even if they're way behind at the back of the pack, they're still one of the top athletes in the world. And actually medaling is usually decided by just a few seconds or fractions of a point, too, and a bit of luck. A single mistake can be the difference between coming in first or fourth.

[vizzle]

I heartily chuckled

You heartily chuckled because you edited out the part of his sentence that made it make sense? Seriously?

If you read it, you'd see there are word there that say, "in total medals". The sentence is "The US has won the last 4 summer olympic games in total medals". No one ever said "the US won the olympics" which you "quoted". I know you were trying to make him look stupid, but that's not how it turned out.

[Xanjori]

You heartily chuckled because you edited out the part of his sentence that made it make sense

It still doesnt make sense, you cannot win the olympic medal table. You can finish top of it but you cannot win it.

[vizzle]

It still doesnt make sense, you cannot win the olympic medal table. You can finish top of it but you cannot win it.

Those are semantics now, it's obvious what he meant. Being on top is usually associated with winning.

[Xanjori]

Those are semantics now, it's obvious what he meant. Being on top is usually associated with winning.

No, winning is when its a competition. To get to the top of the Olympic medal table isnt a competition.