Курсовая работа: Difficulties in Translation of Publicistic Headlines and their Pragmatic Aspect

- Holiday Hotel Death.

b. Headlines often contain string of three, four or more nouns; nouns earlier in the string modify those that follow.

- Furniture factory pay cut row.

Headlines like these can be difficult to understand. It sometimes helps to read them backwards. Furniture Factory Pay Cut Row (disagreement) about a Cut (reduction) in Pay at a Factory that makes Furniture.

c. Headlines often leave out articles and the verb ‘be’.

- A woman walks on moon.

d. In headlines, simple tenses are often used instead of progressive or perfect forms. The simple present is used for both present and past events.

- Blind girl climbs Everest (=…has climbed…).

- Student fight for course changes (=…has fighting …).

The present progressive can be used, especially to talk about changes. Be is usually dropped.

- Britain getting warmer, say scientist.

- Trade figures improving.

e. Many headlines words are used as both nouns and verbs, and nouns are often used to modify other nouns. So it is not always easy to work out the structure of a sentence. Compare:

- We cuts aid to third world (= The Us reduced its help…cuts is a verb, aid is a noun).

- Aid Cuts Row (= There has been a disagreement about the reduction in aid. Aid and Cuts is both noun).

- Cuts Aid Rebels (= the reduction in aid is helping the revolutionaries. Cuts is a noun, Aid is a verb).

f. Headlines often use infinitives to refer to the future.

- PM to visit Australia.

- Hospitals to take fewer patients.

For is also used to refer to future movements or plants.

- TROOPS FOR GLASGOW? (= Are soldiers going to be sent to Glasgow?).

g. Auxiliary verbs are usually dropped from passive structures, leaving past participles.

- Murder Hunt: Man Held (=…a man is being held by police.)

- Six killed In Explosion (=Six people have been killed…).

Note that forms like held, attacked are usually part participles with passive meanings, not past tenses (which are rare are newspaper headlines). Compare:

- AID ROW: PRESTDENT ATTACTED (=…The President has attacked.)

- AID ROW: PRESTDENT ATTACTED CRITICS (=…The President has attacked her critics.)

- Boy Found Safe (= The missing boy had been found safe.)

- Boy Find Safe (= A boy has found a safe.)