1. Laura Mugford, Shu Wu, Christoph Emmrich November 13, 2012
Headlines
Laura Mugford, Shu Wu,
Christoph Emmrich
November 13, 2012

2. Contents
Features
Types of headlines
Grammar
Exercise
Sources

3. What is a headline? Heading >> nature of article
Draw reader’s attention

4. Features Humour / puns / alliteration / word play
brief >> confusion
sentences are fragmentary
abbreviations of proper names are frequently used >> rarely registered in machine translations
Often written in “telegram style”
named entities often abbreviated or shortened e.g. George Bush >> Bush

5. Types of Headline Direct: “China starts leadership transfer”
How-to: “How to keep a healthy heart”
Question: “Does US election matter to us?”
List: “7 Ways to Protect Your Memory”
Teaser: “‘I chewed off half my tongue’: why pain is a necessity”

6. Grammar – Noun Phrases Noun phrase with no verb Example:
Surprising Occurrence
To decipher the meaning ask yourself some questions:
To/by whom?
What? Where? When?
 Helps the brain prepare for the article

7. Grammar – Noun Strings A sring of three, four or more nouns
Words not related by verbs or adjectives
Example:
Sony Action Customer Complaint
To decipher try reading backwards:
 There was a customer complaint on which Sony has now taken action

8. Grammar - Verbs Simple tense instead of continuous or perfect e.g.:
Lost Treasure Found  A treasure which had been lost was found.
Students Protest Cuts  Students are protesting against the recent budget cuts by the government.

9. Grammar – Verbs II Invinitive form refers to the future e.g.:
Obama to visit New Jersey  President Barack Obama is going to visit New Jersey.
ManU to play ManCity  Manchester United are going to play against rivals Manchester City.

10. Grammar – Verbs III Auxiliary verbs dropped in the passiv form e.g.:
Bayby attackedby Dog  A baby has been attacked by a dog.
Didier Drogba named Hero  Didier Drogba was named a hero (by the Chelsea supporters).

11. Grammar - Articles Articles are droppd (both definite and indefinite)
e.g.:
Syria Declares Armistice Syria has declared an armistice.
Passerby witnesses Explosion  A passerby has witnessed the explosion of a chemical plant.

12. Exercise Exercise :1 Which type does it belong to?
1. How to beat insomnia and sleep easy
2. China's Communist party holds national congress
3. Top 10 Boutique Hotels in Europe
4. London council pension schemes are 'ticking timebomb'
5. Super Thursday: Who is voting on November 15?

13. Exercise II Exercise 2: Group 1 Read the summary of the article
What could be the original headline?
Create a headline of your own for it
Group 2
Read the headline
What is the article about?
Translate it into English

14. Sources Stahlheber, Eva, English Headlines, 2012.