Headlines Flashcards
What are the components of a news story? (in order)
Headline
Lead
Body
What are the importances of headlines?
They have the highest readership
Provide a summary of the story’s content
Entice the readers into reading the article
What does a headline describe?
The essence of a complicated news story in a few words
How does a headline inform and what does it arouse?
Quickly and accurately
The reader’s curiosity
What do headlines encapsulate?
Not only the content but also the orientation
What parts do headlines generally consist of?
Primary head: visually more prominent and more important
Secondary head: a smaller headline that helps to add information to the headline
What combinations of primary and secondary head do we have?
Hammer
Kicker
Tripod
Wicket
What’s the structure of hammer?
One or more lines of primary over one or more lines of secondary
What’s the structure of kicker?
One line of secondary over one or more lines of primary
What’s the structure of tripod?
Two or more lines of secondary beside the primary
What’s the structure of wicket?
Two or more lines of secondary over one or more lines of primary
What are the functional types of headlines?
Questions
Exclamations
Statements
Commands
What are statement headlines like?
They describe the state of action, affairs, feelings, or belief
E.g.: over 17m Iranians toured the country in New Year holidays
What are question headlines like?
Are addressed to a reader and ask for an expression of opinion, fact, belief, etc.
E.g.: Will We Stop Trump Before It’s Too Late?
What are command headlines like?
They express a request or advice
E.g.: Put These Question Marks By the Hardware
What do exclamation headlines show?
The writer’s feelings
What’s the chronological order of different functional types of headlines in English newspaper?
From the most to the least:
1) statements
2) questions
3) commands
4) exclamations
What are the features of the language of headlines?
- Omission
- Nominalization
- Short words
- Shortened verb forms
- Frequent use of acronyms and abbreviations
What are preserved and what are usually omitted in headlines?
Content words are preserved
Usually omitted:
- function words
- titles
- punctuation
E.g.: Headline: Charles, 32, seeks bride
Deep Structure: Prince Charles, who is 32 years old, seeks someone to marry
What is nominalization?
Using nouns derived from verbs or adjectives, often, but not always, with a change in the word ending
E.g.: arrival from arrive
Depth from deep
Denying the war on women
How are short words used in headlines?
Monosyllabic verbs and nouns (maximum six letters) are used frequently as substitutes for longer, more colloquial expressions.
Long word: prohibit(ion)
Prevent(ion)
Short word substitute: Ban, Bar
Reduce, reduction
Cut
Encourage, support
Push
Cause, initiate
Spark
Investigate
Probe
Promote, promotion, increase, support
Boost
Cancel(lation)
Dismiss(al)
Axe
Look for, try to obtain
Seek
Insist, strongly request
Urge
Seize, win
Grab
Criticize
Slam
Reprimand
Rap
Anger
Irk
Setback, Unexpected Difficulty
Blow
Question, interrogate
Quiz
Defeat
Smash
What’s the chronological order of the frequency of words with different syllables in English newspaper?
From the most to the least:
1) monosyllabic noun
2) bisyllabic noun
3) polysyllabic noun
(same for verbs with different syllables)
What is one of the idiosyncratic features of English headlines?
The special uses it makes of tenses, which are different from those of ordinary, non-headline language
What do headlines not have in general?
A one-to-one correspondence between grammatical senses and the real time of occurences of events
What are the different forms of shortened verbs in headlines?
1. Past participle (form)= passive (meaning)
E.g.: Headline: Steel Pay Claim Granted
Deep Structure: The steel industry’s pay claim has been granted.
2. Infinitive (form)= future (meaning)
E.g.: Headline: Republicans To Push Farm Housing
Deep Structure: The Republican Party will support farm housing.
3. Simple present (form)= past (meaning)
E.g.: Headline: Killer Escapes From Courtroom
Deep Structure: A killer has escaped from a courtroom.
4. Verb+-ing (form)= present continuous (meaning)
E.g.: Headline: Thames Approaching Danger Level
Deep Structure: The river Thames is approaching danger level.
Give some examples of acronyms and abbreviations used in headlines
Acronyms:
PM: Prime Minister
MP: Member of Parliament
UN: United Nations
Abbreviations:
Pols: politicians
Gov: government
Dems: democrats
What devices are used to create ‘attractive’ headlines and catch the readers’ attention?
Linguistic
Rhetorical
Or stylistic devices
Why are stylistic, rhetorical, or linguistic devices used in headlines?
To create ‘attractive’ headlines and catch the reader’s attention
What are ‘witty’ headlines?
Those that entice them by engaging them in some intellectual game
What are other devices used in headlines?
- Intertextuality
- play with spelling and sounds:
• alliteration
• assonance
• consonance
• onomatopoeia
• … - Metonymy
- Metaphor
- pun
Etc.
What is intertextuality?
Making reference to other texts of various kinds:
Idiomatic expressions
Well-known sayings
Literary quotations
Movies
Dramas
Names of famous people
Poems
Book or movie titles
Etc.
E.g.: Headline: To Wash Or Not To Wash
Pesticide row over advice on fruit and vegetables
Hamlet’s well-known dilemma ‘To be or not to be’.
What could be an example of alliteration?
Close Call for Kids Caught in Cake & Confectionary House
What’s an example of assonance?
Away Day for Gay Ray
What could be an example of consonance?
Is more inflation on the horizon?
What could be an example of metonymy? (مجاز)
Iran Is Not North Korea
How are periods used in headlines?
They’re usually avoided except when needed in abbreviations
E.g.: U.S. Widens Inquiries into 2 Jail Deaths
How is comma used in headlines?
It replaces “and” due to space limitations
E.g.: Google Turns 12, Gets Virtual Cake
How is semicolon used in headlines?
It can be used instead of a period or a full-stop
It replaces periods when there are two complete thoughts
E.g.: Ehud Netzer Dies at 76; Archeologist Unearthed Herod the Great`s Tomb
How is colon used in headlines?
It typically introduces a list, a direct quotation, or a topic.
E.g.: Dubai: Local Moves, Global Implications
US Diplomat: Iran Wants More Enrichment
‘Real Housewives’: Simon and Tamra Barney`s Bitter End
How is hyphen used in headlines?
To clarify the relationship between words.
Never used to break a word from line to line or to end a line
E.g.: China- Japan Fight Goes Deeper than Islands
Flat – Screen TV Prices to Plunge for Holiday Season
