A Stylo-Linguistic Analysis of Syntactic Complexity and Narrative Coherence in Kenyan Motorsport Commentary during the 2024 Safari Rally

Abstract

The study explores the linguistic processes of motorsport commentary of the 2024 Safari Rally in Kenya, paying attention to the syntax complexity and narrative integrity as the key characteristics of spoken sports language. Based on Critical Stylistics (Jeffries, 2014), the study will examine how commentators negotiate the challenges of telling stories under real-time pressure, combining technical accuracy and appeal to the audience. A qualitative research design was utilized, and purposive and stratified sampling was executed to identify 60-minute live broadcast commentary segments on radio (KBC), television (TNT Sports), and online streaming (WRC+). These clips were selected depending on race intensity, commentator experience, and linguistic diversity. Audio recordings were used as a method of data collection, as well as orthographic transcriptions of the data with ELAN software, and contextual metadata (race stage, driver position, crowd reactions). Lexical density, syntactic variation (clause coordination/subordination, verb-argument constructions), and narrative strategies (temporal sequencing, thematic repetition) were investigated using qualitative content analysis and discourse analysis. Important discoveries indicate that commentators dynamically switch between simple exclamations and highly complex subordinate structures to reflect the race dynamics, and syntactic complexity is used to achieve clarity and dramatic impact. It was sustained by discourse markers (e.g., “Suddenly,” “Meanwhile”) and theme framing, which would commonly employ nationalistic or heroic motives. The commentary was in multiple languages, mixing English, Swahili, and local dialects, which offered a better cultural fit but necessitated an efficient code-switching strategy to maintain its intelligibility. The study contributes to African linguistics in sports because it puts motorsport commentary in the context of a stylistically rich genre formed by sociocultural and ideological processes. It also finds out gendered linguistic patterns where both male and female drivers were constructed using ideologically loaded lexicons. The drawbacks are genre-specific data restraints and a lack of L1 background controls. In subsequent studies, examining the longitudinal tendency, cross-cultural distinctions, and commentary systems powered by AI will be interesting. This study highlights the importance of the spoken commentary as a perspective through which sociolinguistic processes can be interpreted in multilingual communities by reflecting the gap between linguistic theory and media practice.