Заголовок в английской прессе и его функции языка

4.2.5 Use of hyperbole

      Hyperbole is a rhetorical device in which statements are exaggerated [12]. It is used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression. Hyperboles can also create emphasis. This is an example: Jungle ambush leaves 75 policemen dead in bloodiest day of Maoist insurgency. It is a piece of news from Times, using the words bloodiest, the writer wants to tell the readers bombastically that the Maoist insurgency is unusually drastic. In this way, using hyperbole, the writer can achieve his political aim.

      In addition to those mentioned above, there are another two rhetorical features that will appear in the English news headlines on occasions. They are repetition and simile. Repetition is just the simple repeating of a word, within a sentence or a poetical line, with no particular placement of the words, this is to make emphasis. [12] While simile is a figure of speech comparing two unlike things, often introduced with the words “like” or “as” [12]. With the help of simile, readers can easily catch the image that the writer thinks what the noumenon is. (The noumenon is a posited object or event as it is in itself, independent of the senses. It classically refers to an object of human inquiry, understanding or cognition. As a concept it has much in common with objectivity.) [12]

4.3 Grammatical features

Different styles of articles have different grammatical features. The news headline is regarded as a special style. As a result, it has special grammatical features. Generally speaking, there are four grammatical features. First, news headlines often omit some unimportant words, such as articles, conjunction words “and”, copula and auxiliary verb. Without these words, the headlines are briefer to express what is about in the news. Second, present tense is used instead of almost all the other tenses. This tense, which is often called Journalistic Present Tense, can make the news fresh to readers. Third, as to the voices in headlines, active voices are dominant. Last but not least, there are two main types of headlines, headlines consisting of phrases and those consisting of sentences.

4.3.1 Omission

It is necessary to omit some unimportant words in order to reduce the space of the headlines. Leaving important words or key words only can make readers know what happened in the news at the first sight. Here are some unimportant words that can be omitted.

4.3.1.1 Omission of articles

Usually, articles are often omitted. As we know, articles are empty words, different from notional words, having no exact meanings. Therefore, news writers always omit articles to shorten the news headlines. There are some headlines below which can be viewed as some examples. Scandal and schism leave Christians praying for a ‘new Reformation’, in this part, the articles are omitted. The whole sentence should be The scandal and schism leave Christians praying for a ‘new Reformation’. Science writer Simon Sigh’s victory in chiropractor case raises hope of libel reform also lacks the articles. It should be written in this way: The science writer Simon Sigh’s victory in the chiropractor case raises the hope of the libel reform. 

4.3.1.2 Omission of “and”

 “And” is a kind of conjunction that means the parallel relation of the two parts before “and” and after “and”. So it is also omitted to make room for other necessary words. Usually，it is replaced by the symbols of “,”. There is a headline from The New York Times, Europeans Woo U.S., Promising Relevance, which uses the comma to take the place of and. This headline can be rewritten as Europeans Woo U.S., and They Promising Relevance.

 

4.3.1.3 Omission of copula

Copula, also called “passive verb” or “linking verb”, is a word used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate [12]. Linking verbs are such words as “is”, “am” and “are”. The headline of With No Jobs, Plenty of Time for Tea Party stands for With No Jobs, Plenty of Time is for Tea Party. In this sentence, is is omitted to reduce the room.

4.3.1.4 Omission of auxiliary verb

Auxiliary verb, also called helping verbs, is a verb used to show tense, mood, etc. and to form questions. The primary auxiliary verbs in English are to be and to have, and other major ones include shall, will, may and can. The extra meaning of an auxiliary verb alters the basic form of the main verb to have one or more of the following functions: passive, progressive, perfect, modal, or subjunctive [12]. The headline of How Haiti helped Create the U.S. is short of auxiliary verb in it. If it is a complete sentence form, it should be changed into How do Haiti helped create the U.S..

4.3.2 Tense

Verbs are of great importance in the news headlines. However, due to the conciseness of the headlines, news writers always choose few tenses of verbs. In general，there are there kinds of tenses that are often adopted：Simple Present Tense, Simple Future Tense and Present Continuous Tense. [14]17

4.3.2.1 Simple Present Tense

Simple present tense is one of the most popular tenses used in the news headlines. What is present tense? Present tense is a……. As is known to all, news is what happened in the past. According to the rules of English grammar, news should be written in the past tense. However, using past tense will make readers feel that it is not interesting, and they will be tired of it. Using present tense will make the news vivid, and make the news filled with reality. In the headline of The profit motive has a place in the classroom, it is obvious to see that it uses simple present tense.

4.3.2.2 Simple Future Tense

In grammar, future tense is a verb form that marks the event described as not having happened yet, but expected to happen in the future, or to happen subsequent to some other event, whether that is past, present, or future [12]. There are many presentations of future tense, such as “will do”, “be gong to do”,  “be to do”. News writers often use “be + the infinitives”  to show the future tense. Usually, “be” is omitted. There is an example: E.P.A. to Limit Water Pollution from Mining, which should be  E.P.A. is to limit water pollution from mining to present the simple future tense.

4.3.2.3 Present Continuous Tense

Present continuous tense is used to talk about activities happening now or around now. Its presentation is “be doing”. In the news headlines, auxiliary verb “be” is omitted, leaving the present participle “-ing” to present what is happening. It is vividly shown in the headline Spreading the words: The King James Bible. In front of the word spreading, there is no auxiliary verb to help the sentence show the present continuous tense. Another example shows in the headline Cesc Fabregas battling to be fit for World Cup. Before the word battling, is is omitted.

4.3.3 Voice

English writing has two kinds of voices; they are passive voice and active voice. In the news headlines, active voice is used as the main voice. The choice of active voice as the primary voice is based on the preference of readers. Why do readers prefer active voice to passive one? It is because active voice is much more likely to give the feeling that readers took part in what happened in the news. The headline of New England floods force out residents can be also transformed in this way: New England residents are forced out by the floods. However, journalists prefer the former one.

4.3.4 Syntactic features

Headlines are usually formed in two main types. They are headlines consisting of phrases and headlines consisting of sentences. Different types have different manifestations.

4.3.4.1 Headlines consisting of phrases

Headlines of phrases can save a lot of room for the newspaper and they are more attractive. There are many manifestations and their relevant examples.

1) Noun+ post modifier: Thai Protesters on Defensive after Storming Hospital is a kind of example.

2) Gerund phrases: Finding the Musical Hidden in a Punk Album can be regarded as an example.

3) Noun+ Noun: here is an example: Doing the iPad Math: Utility+ Price+ Desire.

4.3.4.2 Headlines consisting of sentences

Headlines of sentences are more familiar to us. The sentences in the news headlines are also different from the normal sentences. There are three main kinds of headlines composed of sentences. One is minor sentence, another is simple sentence and the third one is compound sentence.

 

1) Minor sentence

Minor sentences omit the copula word. They can be also regarded as noun phrases. The headline F.T.C. Role Seen in Exit at Amazon is a typical example as a minor sentence.

2) Simple sentence

Simple sentences include declarative sentences, interrogative sentences, and imperative sentences and so on. The headline of Rating Fall on Newscasts at 2 Networks is a kind of simple sentence. Generally speaking, a simple sentence consists of subject and predicate with or without object. In this headline, rating is the subject, fall is the predicate and there is no object in this news headline.

3) Compound sentence

Compound sentence is composed of at least two independent clauses. It does not require a dependent clause. The clauses are joined by a coordinating conjunction, a correlative conjunction, or a semicolon that functions as a conjunction. In the news headlines, commas are usually used to take the place of conjunctions in order to reduce the space. Here is an example: Landis Admits Doping, Accuses Top U.S. Cyclists. The headline is composed of two sentences, that is, Landis admits to using performance-enhancing drugs and said many other top U.S. riders had done so.

 

4.4 Features of punctuation

Besides what has been discussed above, there are still many other features of English news headlines, such as features of punctuation.

Different tones use different punctuations. There are comma, period，colon，question mark and so on. However, news headlines do not use all of the punctuations. Some punctuation in the news headlines has special functions. [15]5 Here are some examples.

4.4.1Special use of comma

The comma is a punctuation mark, used in many contexts and languages, principally for separating things. Commas are also used to mean the parallel relation. In the news headlines, writers use them to replace the word “and”, or “but”. In this way, room can be saved. In the headline of He’s not the Messiah, locals tell Rough Guide ‘Jesus tomb’ tourist. In this headline, comma takes the place of but, a connective of adversative relation. That is to say, he is not the Messiah a leader anointed by God, but the locals think his house is Jesus tomb.

4.4.2 Special use of dash

      Dash is similar in appearance to a hyphen, but longer and used differently. In news headlines, dashes are used before quotation that lacks quotation marks to represent what the speaker said. Or it can be used to suggest the meaning of transition. Headlines such as Prime Minister arrested in Guinea―Bissau in apparent coup can make full explanation of the special use of dash. In this headline, dash is used to show the adversative relation of the two parts that are before the dash and after it. There is another example concerning dash. The dash in the headline of Irish Miracle—or Mirage? has the meaning of transition. The whole sentence means that Irish is a miracle or it is a mirage.   

4.4.3 Special use of colons

The colon is a punctuation mark consisting of two equally sized dots centered on the same vertical line. Colon has the meaning of “say” and “urge”. And sometimes, it has the meaning of “to be”. For example, in the headline of Thumbs down: a final season for ‘at the movies’, the colon after the word down has the meaning “refer to” or “suggest”. The special use of colons can also find expression in the headline of What we’re reading: the April Fools’ Edition, in which the April Fools’ Edition accounts for what we’re reading.

4.4.4 Special use of question mark

Usually, question mark in news headlines does not show the meaning of asking a question. It has a lot of meanings. Here are some of them.

1) Question mark can suggest the events happening in the future. Here is an example: Who Froze the Mideast Peace Process? In this part, the question mark is used not to show the doubt but to imply that the Mideast peace process will be frozen by someone.

2) Question mark can tell the distrust of something. An example is listed here: Conservationists thrilled by ruling on Chagos Islands? Not really… The former sentence is of a question mark, but does it really a question? No. In fact, the headline uses a question mark here to express the writer’s distrust of the content of the sentence. That is to say, the journalist wants to tell the opposite meaning, that is, conservationists are not really thrilled by ruling on Chagos Island.

 

2. Examples of language features in newspapers
1. Grammatical features

 

1. Omission

“And” is a kind of conjunction that means the parallel relation of the two parts before “and” and after “and”. So it is also omitted to make room for other necessary words. Usually，it is replaced by the symbols of “,”. There is a headline from The New York Times, Europeans Woo U.S., Promising Relevance, which uses the comma to take the place of and. This headline can be rewritten as Europeans Woo U.S., and They Promising Relevance.

Omission of copula

Copula, also called “passive verb” or “linking verb”, is a word used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate [12]. Linking verbs are such words as “is”, “am” and “are”. The headline of With No Jobs, Plenty of Time for Tea Party stands for With No Jobs, Plenty of Time is for Tea Party. In this sentence, is is omitted to reduce the room.

2. Tense

Simple Future Tense

There are many presentations of future tense, such as “will do”, “be gong to do”, “be to do”. News writers often use “be + the infinitives” to show the future tense. Usually, “be” is omitted. There is an example: E.P.A. to Limit Water Pollution from Mining, which should be  E.P.A. is to limit water pollution from mining to present the simple future tense.

 Present Continuous Tense

Present continuous tense is used to talk about activities happening now or around now. Its presentation is “be doing”. In the news headlines, auxiliary verb “be” is omitted, leaving the present participle “-ing” to present what is happening. It is vividly shown in the headline Spreading the words: The King James Bible. In front of the word spreading, there is no auxiliary verb to help the sentence show the present continuous tense. Another example shows in the headline Cesc Fabregas battling to be fit for World Cup. Before the word battling, is is omitted.

3. Voice

English writing has two kinds of voices; they are passive voice and active voice. In the news headlines, active voice is used as the main voice. The choice of active voice as the primary voice is based on the preference of readers. Why do readers prefer active voice to passive one? It is because active voice is much more likely to give the feeling that readers took part in what happened in the news. The headline of New England floods force out residents can be also transformed in this way: New England residents are forced out by the floods. However, journalists prefer the former one.

4. Syntactic features

Headlines consisting of phrases

Headlines of phrases can save a lot of room for the newspaper and they are more attractive. There are many manifestations and their relevant examples.

1) Noun+ post modifier: Thai Protesters on Defensive after Storming Hospital is a kind of example.

2) Gerund phrases: Finding the Musical Hidden in a Punk Album can be regarded as an example.

3) Noun+ Noun: here is an example: Doing the iPad Math: Utility+ Price+ Desire.

 Headlines consisting of sentences

1) Minor sentence

The headline F.T.C. Role Seen in Exit at Amazon is a typical example as a minor sentence.

2) Simple sentence

The headline of Rating Fall on Newscasts at 2 Networks is a kind of simple sentence. Generally speaking, a simple sentence consists of subject and predicate with or without object. In this headline, rating is the subject, fall is the predicate and there is no object in this news headline.

3) Compound sentence

Here is an example: Landis Admits Doping, Accuses Top U.S. Cyclists. The headline is composed of two sentences, that is, Landis admits to using performance-enhancing drugs and said many other top U.S. riders had done so.

5. Features of punctuation

Special use of comma

In the headline of He’s not the Messiah, locals tell Rough Guide ‘Jesus tomb’ tourist. In this headline, comma takes the place of but, a connective of adversative relation. That is to say, he is not the Messiah a leader anointed by God, but the locals think his house is Jesus tomb.

 Special use of dash

      Headlines such as Prime Minister arrested in Guinea―Bissau in apparent coup can make full explanation of the special use of dash. In this headline, dash is used to show the adversative relation of the two parts that are before the dash and after it. There is another example concerning dash. The dash in the headline of Irish Miracle—or Mirage? has the meaning of transition. The whole sentence means that Irish is a miracle or it is a mirage.   

 Special use of colons

The special use of colons can find expression in the headline of What we’re reading: the April Fools’ Edition, in which the April Fools’ Edition accounts for what we’re reading.

 Special use of question mark

1) Question mark can suggest the events happening in the future. Here is an example: Who Froze the Mideast Peace Process? In this part, the question mark is used not to show the doubt but to imply that the Mideast peace process will be frozen by someone.

2) Question mark can tell the distrust of something. An example is listed here: Conservationists thrilled by ruling on Chagos Islands? Not really… The former sentence is of a question mark, but does it really a question? No. In fact, the headline uses a question mark here to express the writer’s distrust of the content of the sentence. That is to say, the journalist wants to tell the opposite meaning, that is, conservationists are not really thrilled by ruling on Chagos Island.