Article.
УДК 82-92=111:004.738.5 SYNTACTICAL
ORGANISATION OF THE NEWS TEXTS HEADLINES IN ELECTRONIC VERSIONS OF BRITISH AND
AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPERS Syntactical organisation of the news text headlines in
electronic versions of British and Australian newspapers is considered, main
syntactical formulas of constructing news text headlines are analyzed, peculiar
features of the syntactical formulas of constructing news text headlines are
disclosed. Keywords: mass media, informational genres, electronic
versions, news text headlines, syntactical organization, declarative sentences,
interrogative sentences, imperative sentences, single-nucleus sentences,
double-nucleus sentences. The modern world is
experiencing the period of “informational explosion” that is inalienably
connected with the development of the Mass Media and its close interaction with
the Internet technologies. Due to the hectic pace of life the mass media are
demanded to be more informative, more operative and more visual. This
contributes to the expanding role of the texts of the informational genres,
primarily, news texts. In the twentieth century the epoch mouthpiece was a
newspaper, now this role is transferred to the Internet. In the trouble time,
to get information a modern person, first of all, appeals to the Internet,
electronic versions of the newspapers and pays attention to the headlines. In
their turn modern mass media headlines must motivate, attract the reader’s
attention, interest and evoke the desire to continue reading. The study of the
mass media was initiated in the late 40-s. One of the first analyses, based on
the description of mass media functions, was made by H. Lasswell. In
recent decades researchers have appealed to the news texts with the purpose of
analyzing the language functioning [Васильева 1982; Володина 2003; Добросклонская 2005; Костомаров 2004; Солганик 1981]. Now researchers are studying media discourse, genres of the
Internet texts, their structural and functional peculiar features [Апалат 2003; Заборовская 2003; Потапенко 2009]. So, the Internet discourse has been studied from different aspects of its
manifestation, nevertheless the structure, organization, choice of forms of its
smaller constituents still has insufficient attention. The purpose of the present paper is to
study and compare the syntactical organizational peculiarities of the headlines
in the electronic versions of British and Australian newspapers. This purpose
can be achieved by solving the following tasks:
to analyze the syntactical organization of the headlines, to describe characteristic
features of their syntax, to determine the main tendencies in their formation. In the research of
the news text headlines in electronic versions of the newspaper we proceed from
the fact that first of all we deal with text from the newspaper. So, it is
expedient to be oriented towards the researches made on the basis of “papers”.As
a practical material for the present research the text headlines from the
electronic versions of such British newspapers as The Times and The Guardian and such Australian newspapers as The Australian and Herald Sun have been used. These publications are broadsheet
quality papers aimed at an educated and informed reader. The selection is
determined by the circulation. According to the data, provided by the Audit Bureau of Circulations, in 2013 the
circulation of The Times, founded in
1785, was 399,339 and the circulation of The
Guardian, founded in 1821, was 189,000. According to the data, provided by The Newspaper Works, in 2010 the
circulation of Herald Sun, established
in 1840, was 515,500 and the circulation of The
Australian, established in 1964, was 135,115. In the
research the selection of headlines is not restricted with the relevance to the
topic; however, most of the headlines are from top stories. In the beginning
the notions, the research is based on, are considered. Syntax is a part of
linguistics the object of which is the sentence as the main unit of speech and
the word group as the main constituent of the sentence. Grammatical syntax is
the grammatical aspect of the sentence construction. Stylistic syntax is the
study about the semantic use of syntactical models, application of the same
syntactical model to express different content [Ахманова 1966]. Syntax deals with the way words are combined.
Syntax studies the way in which the units and their meanings are combined. It
also deals with the peculiarities of syntactic units, their behaviour in
different contexts [Волкова 2010]. The headline (the
title given to a news item or an article) is a dependent form of newspaper
writing. The main function of the headline is to inform the reader briefly what
the text that follows is about [Гальперин 2009]. A
skillfully turned out headline tells a story, or enough of it, to arouse or
satisfy the reader’s curiosity. Headlines are almost a summary of the
information contained in the news item or article [Гальперин 2009]. Syntactically headlines are
very short sentences or phrases of a variety of patterns: full declarative
sentences, interrogative sentences, nominative sentences, elliptical sentences
(with an auxiliary verb omitted, with the subject omitted, with the subject and
part of the predicate omitted), sentences omitted, phrases with verbals,
questions in the form of statements, complex sentences, headlines including
direct speech (introduced by a full sentence, introduced elliptically) [Гальперин 2009]. In the present
research as a basis for the analysis of the syntactical organisation of the
news text headlines in electronic versions of the newspapers theoretical
fundamentals introduced by N. Kobrina are used [Кобрина 1965]. In the book N. Kobrina sticks to the
traditional syntactic analysis of the sentence, based on defining the principal
and secondary parts of speech, and the words are analyzed depending on the
syntactic functions they perform. In the British
newspaper The Times most of the
headlines are simple declarative sentences, e.g.: Assad gets US-Russian ultimatum, Dozens die in Kenya grenade attack,
Police unveil Muslim woman with mugshot. We rarely find interrogative sentences, e.g.: Would
drank-tanks work? In some cases we come across composite sentences, e.g.: British gas raises prices 8% as heating goes
on, Six killed as bus piles into Ottawa train. In the headlines we meet
both double-nucleus and single-nucleus sentences, e.g.: Clegg eggs on party to attack Torries and Father’s fears for missing daughter.
But we must admit that double-nucleus sentences dominate. Among single-nucleus
sentences we find mostly nominal sentences, e.g.: Benefit cuts leading to instability. In double-nucleus sentences the subjects are usually personal
subjects proper with premodification (State-funded
free schools’ teachers told to wear hijab) and in some headlines with
postmodification (Alarm over shortage
of nurses on NHS wards). As for the predicate, it is either simple (Online diet pill kills young rugby
star) or compound (Scotland could
field its own Olympic team in Rio 2016). The peculiar feature of
double-nucleus sentences is that in some cases the predicate is expressed
elliptically, e.g.: NHS doctors paid
150.00 for overtime (the complete predicate would be are paid, were paid or will be paid), Six killed as bus piles
into Ottawa train (the complete predicate would be were killed). In the British
newspaper The Guardian the headlines
are simple declarative sentences, e.g.: Labour
pledges minimum-wage rise, Baghdad car bomb kills at least 50. In the headlines we find both double-nucleus and
single-nucleus sentences, e.g.: Turkey artists seek
protest spirit, Salmond at pro-independence rally. Double-nucleus
sentences also dominate. Single-nucleus sentences are represented by nominal
sentences, e.g.: Bedroom tax despair
in Tory village. In double-nucleus
sentences the subjects are mostly of the type of personal subjects proper,
e.g.: Brain could exist outside
body. The predicate is either simple (Kenyan
gunmen kill 22 in
shopping centre attack) or compound (Obama
could meet Rouhani at UN). In this newspaper w e also come across
the elliptically expressed predicate, e.g.: Detainees
at immigration centre ‘facing sexual abuse’ (according to the
grammar rules it should be are facing),
School investigated for mark
fixing (after reading the article we understand that the school itself didn’t investigate but it has been investigated). In both newspapers
in the headlines they use direct speech with omission of the predicate to
convey the words of the author, e.g.: May:
‘Women should be free to decide what to wear’ (The Times) and Gillard: losing power is ‘hits like a fist’
(The Guardian). The conclusion is
that the most frequently used syntactical formula for the news text headlines
in electronic versions of British newspapers is a simple declarative
double-nucleus sentence with the personal subject proper and a simple or, less
frequently, compound predicate. Sometimes predicates are used elliptically. The
second preferable syntactical organization is declarative single-nucleus
sentence, represented by a nominal sentence. In rare cases the headlines are
constructed in the form of interrogative sentences, composite sentences or
reflect direct speech. In the Australian
newspaper Herald Sun we mostly find
simple declarative sentences, e.g.: Scientists
claim proof of alien life. Rarely do we see imperative sentences, e.g.: Trek her just doing her job. Not
frequently we come across complex sentences with conjunctions (News missed while you were sleeping) and
with the omitted conjunction (Conca
signs, Martin future unclear (conjunction that is implied). In the headlines with the same regularity we meet
both double-nucleus (Coalition steps back
from rebel MP) and single-nucleus sentences (Two dead in house fire). In double-nucleus sentences the subject is
mostly personal subject proper, but in individual cases it is the indefinite
personal subject (You pay for big,
fat Greek junket) or the demonstrative subject (Now it’s Toyota and Ford vs. Holden). The predicate in this
sentences is either simple (Serial killer
now admits 85 murders) or compound (Stress could warn of obesity risk). The peculiar feature is
the incomplete predicate, e.g.: Warne
hopeful of reconciliation (according to the grammar rules we must write is hopeful). Another peculiarity is the
adverbial modifier taking initial position, e.g.: Now
it’s Toyota and Ford vs. Holden, Still no answers on wall collapse. Sometimes
in the headlines they use direct speech with omission of the predicate to
convey the words of the author, e.g.: Mitchell:
Curse is a stain. In the Australian
newspaper The Australian the
headlines are organized only in the form of simple declarative sentences, e.g.:
Party officials face lobbying ban, WA
loses AAA rating. Double-nucleus sentences predominate, where the type of
the subject is exceptionally a personal subject proper (Colorado flooding triggers oil spills, Charles reaches heir
milestone) and the type of the predicate is simple (Nantepreneurs take the lead in business), in rare cases it
is compound (USPS may need
emergency rate hike). We observe that very often predicates are expressed
elliptically, e.g.: Productivity the key
to growth (we must say Productivity is
the key), ASX directors to quit after
US fine (we must say ASX directors are
to quit). We seldom find single-nucleus sentences, which are represented by
nominal sentences, e.g.: Calls for
‘urgent’ car industry report. There are some headlines that include direct speech, the peculiar feature of which is that
the source or the author of the words takes the final position, e.g.: No housing bubble, says RBA official, Bomber
was likely Brisbane man: police. The conclusion is
that the most frequently used syntactical formula for the news text headlines
in electronic versions of Australian newspapers is a simple declarative
double-nucleus sentence with the personal subject proper and a simple or, less
frequently, compound predicate. Sometimes predicates are used elliptically. And
in some cases the initial position is taken by the adverbial modifier. The
second preferable syntactical organization is a declarative single-nucleus
sentence, represented by a nominal sentence. In rare cases the headlines are
constructed in the form of composite sentences or reflect direct speech with
the author of the words in the final position. In the final
analysis it can be concluded that British and Australian newspapers use the
same patterns in organizing news text headlines, namely, simple declarative
double-nucleus sentences with the personal subject proper and the simple or,
less frequently, compound predicate or declarative single-nucleus sentences,
represented by a nominal sentence. Both variants of English-speaking news
resort to the transforms of the incomplete predicate and the direct speech.
Nevertheless they are different in the peculiarities. In British headlines we
find interrogative sentences and in Australian headlines we find adverbial
modifiers in the initial position and the words of the author in the final
position. The language of
different Internet mass media is different, as well as the syntactical formulas
of their organization; however, there are many common features as well as
specific peculiarities.
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screen. The Guardian. – Access mode : URL : http://www.theguardian.co/uk/. – Title from the screen. The Times. – Access mode : URL : http://www.thetimes.co.uk/. – Title from the screen. Розглянуто синтаксичну організацію заголовків текстів новин в електронних
версіях британських та австралійських газет, проаналізовано основні синтаксичні
формули побудови заголовків, з’ясовано особливості синтаксичних формул побудови
заголовків. Ключові слова: засоби масової інформації, інформаційні жанри, електронні
версії, заголовки текстів новин, синтаксична організація, розповідні речення,
питальні речення, спонукальні речення, одноядерні речення та двоядерні речення.
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