Unit II Understanding headlines (2)

2023年11月19日发(作者：最新款大众宝来图片)

Unit II Understanding headlines

2.5 News headline Grammar and its structures

A special language used in English newspapers can be distinguished and this is the

most obvious with the headlines. They are the first and often the only things which

many readers are interested in. News headline language is elliptical [?\'l?pt?k!] 省略

and compressed due to the restricted space and value. So it is very important for the

readers to study and to understand the headlines.

Grammar and its structures can help headline writers a lot and they often have to

break many grammatical rules and use nonstandard structures to produce a successful

headline. However, this makes many Chinese readers have difficulty understanding

English newspaper headlines. Apart from the grammar and grammar structures,

English newspaper headlines have meanings behind word-play, they use colloquial

English, they use special vocabulary, and new developed words. 新闻标题的特点可

分为语法和语法结构的特点，习语、典故在新闻中的作用，口语化，使用特殊或

新词汇。

2.5.1 Sentential headlines成句的主题-

Sentential headline refers to all headlines that have a regular sentence structure. i.e. all

headlines with a subject and a finite verb phrase.

? Simple sentence- consists of just one independent clause.

e.g. If Boris Johnson wins Guardian 26 Apr 2008 )

(

This is just a conditional clause without a main clause, yet functioning

independently in the form of a headline. 无主句的条件从句，但能独立起到主

题的功能。

e.g. Bush predicts Mideast treaty (Sun) 布什相信巴以能在他结束任期前达成

和平协议

SVO structure. Bush is the subject, predicts is the verb, and Mideast treaty is the

object.

e.g. Speedy Nicholas Sarkozy cuts short his Windsor visit (Times 26 Feb 2008)

萨科奇缩短温莎访问行程。

Speedy Nicholas Sarkozy is the subject, cuts short is the verb, and his Windsor

visit is the object).

? Multiple sentences- are describedas sentences with two or more clauses that are

linked either by coordination or by subordination.

e.g. German bomber pilot Willi Schludecker says: I’m so sorry (Times 25 Apr

2008) 二战德国轰炸机飞行员说：对不起

This headline includes reporting clauses and the direct speech with more than one

free structure.

e.g. Gaza in crisis as minister resigns (Daily Telegraph 15 May 2007) Gaza，城市

名

This headline introduces the headlines which consist of two clauses where the

first clause is a non-finite main clause (it means that it is just in the form of a

phrase or a clause with a non-finite verb- Gaza in crisis), whereas the second part

is a dependent finite clause (...as minister resigns). 非限定主句加限定从句。

? Compound sentences- contain two or more clauses, and what is important all

clauses in such a sentence are at the same level. In other words they can stand on

their own as independent simple sentences, which is not true for complex

sentences.

e.g. Forget Sicilian hotels, try a holiday apartment (Times 29 Apr 2008) 西西里

岛的酒店

This is an example of a compound sentence without a coordinator. 无连词的复

合结构句子。

? Complex sentences- Individual clauses of a complex sentence are linked by

subordinators, such as since, although or when, and can be further classified as

the main clause and one or more subordinate clause (e.g. Although it was cold, I

went out.- the first clause is a subordinate one, whereas the second is the main).

e.g. Brown plans killer disease screening on NHS for all men as they reach 65

(Guardian 5 Jan 2008)

This headline contains a finite main clause (Brown plans killer disease screening

on NHS for all men) and a finite subordinate clause (as they reach 65).

? Statements- statements are primarily used to convey information. It means that

their primary purpose is to inform about something.

e.g. Three die in motorway incident (Times); Police smash people-smuggling

network (Guardian 31 Jan 2008)

? Questions- questions are usually used when speakers need some information

which they lack, and they expect an answer provided by their listeners.

e.g. How savage pirates reign on the world’s high seas (Guardian 27 Apr 2008);

野蛮的海盗是如何统治了公海When boys and girls come out to play (Guardian

11 Apr 2008)

? Directives- are all sentences that have the imperative structure, i.e. sentences

指令

with no subject usually and with a verb in its base form (e.g. Go ahead!) Their

function is to instruct someone to do something.

e.g. Protect yourself against a dodgy landlord (Guardian10 May 2008)

? Exclamations- usually show impression and are often just minor

感叹词

sentences, such as Gosh!, or Oh dear!. However, their structure can be that of a

major sentence as well with the first element being how or what followed by a

subject and a verb (e.g. How patient you are! or What horrible weather it is!).

e.g. Zap! Crunch! Swoosh! P103

2.5.2 Non-sentential headlines 不成句的主题-

Many Chinese students have difficulty understanding English newspaper headlines,

this is because English newspaper headlines are often incomplete sentences. Here is a

guide to the most common exceptions found in newspaper headlines.

The structure of Non-sentential headlines is lower than a regular sentence; they are

constructed in an irregular way.

? Minor sentences- are sentences without a finite verb form or without a

不完全句

verb form at all.无限定动词或根本没有动词。

For example, a common headline form is a string of three, four or more nouns

together (i.e. Country Leader Question Time). These can be difficult because the

words don’t appear related by verbs or adjectives. 几个名词放一起，中间没有

动词或形容词。

Here are some more examples:

Widow Pension Pay Committee 遗孀抚恤金支付委员会

Landscaping Company Disturbance Regulations 绿化公司扰民管理条例

Mustang Referral Customer Complaint 福特野马汽车推荐/转介计划用户怨声

载道

In the case of noun strings, it’s helpful to try to connect the ideas by reading

backward. For example:

Mustang Referral Customer Complaint

By reading backwards, I can guess that: There is a complaint made by a customer

about a referral program for Mustang cars. Of course, you need to use your

imagine for this! Referral program推荐/转介计划, Mustang: 福特野马，1962

年，福特汽车公司开始研发了野马的第一辆概念车，野马型车，它是一部发

动机中置的两座跑车，为了纪念在二战中富有传奇色彩的北美P57型“野马

战斗机，福特汽车将这辆跑车命名为“野马”。The American muscle car，美国

肌肉车，这个词原本专指上世际60-70年代的那些装备了大功率V8发动机、

拥有中等车身尺寸、悬架经过改装的底特率产轿车。

? Non-finite clauses非限定从句- non-finite clauses are usually dependent clauses,

i.e. they appear in a sentence together with a main clause.

Here are some more examples that both definite and indefinite articles are also

dropped in newspaper headlines: 定冠词和不定冠词被省略

President Declares Celebration = The president has declared a celebration.

Passerby Sees Woman Jump = A passerby has seen a woman jump (into the

river).

Fire kills teenager after hoax. (Headline) A teenager dies in a blaze at his home

after firemen were diverted by a call that turned out to be a student prank. (the

news story following the headline).Notice the headline uses the zero article

for fire, teenager, and hoax, which are then mentioned in the news story

as a blaze, a teenager, and a student prank.

Simple tenses used instead of continuous or perfect forms. 一般现在时代替进行

或完成时态.

For example:

Forgotten Brother Appears = A forgotten brother has appeared (after a long period

of time).

Professors Protest Pay Cuts = Professors are protesting pay cuts (at the

university).

The infinitive form refers to the future. 动词不定式表将来

Mayor to Open Shopping Mall = The mayor is going to open a new shopping

mall.

James Wood to Visit Portland = (Famous actor) James Wood is going to visit

Portland soon.

? Phrases- A phrase may consist of a single word or a group of words.In other

words, phrases are built up from words and they usually consist of a head and

modifiers which are not necessarily present.

? Noun phrases have a noun as the head which can be preceded by determiners

and accompanied by modifiers- either premodifiers or postmodifiers (e.g. the

chocolate muffins on the table). 名词前面是限定词和修饰语言

Headlines often contain a noun phrase with no verb. A noun phrase describes

a noun (i.e. exotic people异国情调的人). Here are some examples of noun

phrase headlines:

Under Pressure from Boss 面临老板，倍感压力？

Unexpected Visit 不速之客

Overwhelming Response of Voters 选民反应强烈

When reading these type of headlines, It’s useful to ask yourself questions

such as: From what?, About what?, From whom?, To whom? etc. By asking

yourself these questions, you can begin preparing yourself for the article.

This practice helps the brain prepare itself by starting to think about

vocabulary related to the subject.

For example:

Unexpected Visit

The questions I can ask myself are: From whom? Why was the visit

unexpected? Who was visited? etc. these questions will help focus my mind

on vocabulary related to relationships, traveling, surprises, important reasons

for visits, etc.

? Adjective phrases- are phrases with an adjective as their head.

形容词短语

As well as in noun phrases optional modifiers can be part of these phrases.

? Adverb phrases- The structure of adverb phrases is similar to the

副词短语

structure of adjective phrases, with the exception that the head is an adverb.

? Preposition phrases- a preposition followed by a noun phrase (e.g.

介词短语

in the garden).

e.g. The Canoe couple in court snub

The head- (couple) is premodified by an open class premodifier (canoe), and

postmodified by a prepositional phrase (in court snub)

2.5.3 Ellipsis

As newspaper headlines use the linguistic utterances of this language variety, ellipsis

is quite a common phenomenon.

? Medial ellipsis- is usually related to the omission of the

句子内部成分被省略

operator, generally, it can be said that medial elements in a clause are ellipted.

Concerning headlines, it means that in the utterances with this type of ellipsis

auxiliary verbs are the most frequent elements which are omitted.

e.g. Man Killed in Accident = A Man has been killed in an accident.

Tommy the Dog Named Hero = Tommy the Dog has been named a hero (by the

mayor).助动词被省略

? Initial ellipsis- Not only an auxiliary verb, but also subject is omitted

句头被省略

in utterances with initial ellipsis.

e.g. Delighted by a Welsh wonder (Sun 29 Mar 2008); Proud to carry the flag of

Kosovo (Times)

? Situational ellipsis- is initial, especially taking the form of omission of subject

and/or operator 同上

? Structural ellipsis- the most important knowledge is that of grammatical

structures (e.g. I guess you are Mark.- that is omitted between guess and you).

This type is often confined to written language and it involves the common

omission of determiners, operators, and other closed-class words in block

language.

e.g. Soldiers held in munitions probe (Guardian )

(The) Soldiers (were/have been) held in (a/the) munitions probe

Teen dead after park attack

(A/The) Teen (is/was) dead after (a/the) park attack (Sun)

Coursebook p41

Another typical ellipsis

e.g. 3 dead after New Zealand air collision (Guardian)

3 (women /men / people) (are) dead after New Zealand air collision

Two killed in air crash (Daily Mirror)

Two (boys /children/ people) (were) killed in air crash