Open your AFL Live App to tune into radio coverage of the GIANTS’ clash with Collingwood this weekend and you’ll come across a broadcast with a difference.
Manpreet Singh and Harbir Kang will be calling the game in Hindi, the fourth-most natively spoken dialect in the world.
It’s not the first time a GIANTS game will be broadcast in a language other than English, with Mandarin and Arabic commentators providing play-by-play commentary in previous Multicultural Rounds.
For veteran broadcasters Singh and Kang it’s not their first foray into football commentary either.
“I participated in the first ever Hindi commentary of an AFL match in 2014,” Singh said.
“We had no clue whether the national language of India would lend itself to Australia’s most loved sport, It was exciting to bring a ‘new sporting code’ to the Hindi speaking community of Australia.”
The commentary is part of the AFL’s Multicultural Round celebrations with each match being broadcast in a language other than English.
Like the AFL’s other commentators for Multicultural Round, Singh and Kang encounter a few stumbling blocks in translating words common to the footy vernacular.
“Its tricky because you don’t have the Hindi equivalent of a ‘banana kick’, ‘ruckman’ or ‘forward pocket’,” Singh said with a laugh.
“Sticking to the English terminology helps, because it familiarises our listeners with the game even further.”
Kang echoed these sentiments but sees it as an opportunity to educate listeners on the game’s intricacies.
“We’re not just giving them what’s happening in the match, they’re learning the game and the terminology too,” he said.
Educating Australia’s Indian community on the ins and outs of football is important for the GIANTS, with the with the Indian community one of the largest and fastest growing in Western Sydney.
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33 per cent of Australia’s Hindi speakers reside in the culturally diverse area.
Teaching Australia’s Indian community the game is also a great motivation for Kang; he sees it as a platform that unites and connects people from all different backgrounds.
“If you know football, you’ve got a topic that instantly connects you to someone else,” he said.
“If you’re coming from overseas it‘s a way of feeling welcomed into a new community, it provides a way for you to make friends and connect with mainstream Australia.”
Singh believes having alternate language commentary should be available throughout the AFL season and not isolated to Multicultural Round.
“I think language is truly something that makes people feel at home, so if we can continue to use language to reach out to new migrants the AFL will undoubtedly gain a much larger following, “ she said.
“It shouldn’t just be saved for the Multicultural Round there should be something for all Australians, throughout the footy season.”
To tune into Singh and Harbir’s commentary download the AFL Live Official App, which is available from the Apple iTunes Store and the Android App Store.
The GIANTS are proud to celebrate the 2016 Toyota AFL Multicultural Round during their match against Collingwood at Spotless Stadium on Saturday, July 9.
Multicultural Round highlights the contribution multicultural communities have made to the game’s history and welcomes new communities to embrace Australian Football as fans, players, umpires or administrators.
