[Abstract] Headlines are quite essential for English news. They are the windows of news. This paper describes the types of headlines and also explains the features of headlines. Firstly, introduction of classifications of headlines can give readers a perceptual knowledge. Secondly, in order to give readers some rational knowledge about headlines, this paper then explains characteristics of vocabularies in headlines, ie. short words, shortenings, quotations, proverbs, wisdoms, idioms are often used in headline. It also gives examples of rhetorical characteristics such as metaphor, contrast, rhyme, pun, metonymy and paradox and so on so forth. Finally the paper concludes tense and voice features in headlines and sums up the most important feature of headlines: omission. News media is the best channel of knowing every field including politics, economics, science, culture, and society. This paper aims to help English learners know English news well and read news efficiently.
[Key Words] English; headline; feature
【摘 要】法语新闻标题在报刊法语中占有十分重要的地位，可谓是新闻的概要，也是新闻的窗口。本文就新闻标题进行了全面的归类和略论。首先，描述标题在形式上的分类和意义上的分类，让读者对新闻标题有一定的感性认识；然后再进一步说明标题用词短小，喜欢用缩略词和截短词及典故；再对新闻标题善用各种修辞手段：比喻，对比，押韵，双关，借代，矛盾修辞法进行举例略论；又归纳了时态语态在新闻标题中的变换省略和替代；最后对新闻标题最大的特色：省略详加叙述。至此，希望读者已经对法语新闻标题有了理性深入的了解。阅读新闻是对了解当今政治，经济，科学，文化，和社会等信息最有效的措施，而对法语新闻标题的理解掌握，则使法语新闻的阅读更有效率。
【关键词】 法语; 新闻标题; 特点
1.Introduction
A piece of news is composed by three parts: headline，leading and body among which a headline is the epitome and highlight of the content of newspapers and periodicals.
Headlines printed on the papers are the windows of the news and it can let readers know it is worth reading .it is essential for readers to understand headlines to decide which column should be read while which not.
In this paper, features of using vocabulary , tense and voice，omission of words and using of various rhetoric of headlines from English newspapers and periodicals are approached for the purpose of giving a better understanding of the contents of news and improving English learners’ reading ability.
2.Types of headlines
2.1 Categories according to their forms.
2.1.1 flush left headline
In a flush left headline, every word takes up one line and begins at the very left. That is the common form of modern English newspapers. The following example can show you what is a flush left headline.
e.g. IMF
WILL
HAVE
SAY
2.1.2 Banner headline
Every headline word in it is large and bold and the whole headline often covers several columns. It is also called first large headline and often used in front page for its attraction.
e.g. House Passes Bush Plan to Cut Taxes
2.1.3 drop form headline
It looks like a ladder. There are several lines in it and the following line draws back several letters from the above one. Beauty and nice are its merits.
e.g. FBI Agrees to Cease
Its Illegal Surveillance
Of the Research Institute
2.1.4Inverted Pyramid headline
It is also popular for nice looking. It forms a Pyramid-looking headline.
e.g. Factory Walkout
Threat Over
Sacking
2.1.5 Double headline
This kind of headline is used mostly for the report of big events. It has two lines: one is main headline and the other auxiliary headline.
(1)e.g.1 Expect to Go to U.S.
Castro to Free Thousands of Prisoners
(2)e.g.2 It Isn’t the Cow That Are Mad
It’s the People That Are going Mad
2.1.6 Jump head headline
The headline is divided into two parts: original head and jump head. A original part is in one page, but after the body jumps pages, the original head will be changed into a jump head which uses different words from original one to express the same meaning.
e.g. Pentagen Plans
System to Flight
Russia Satellites
(original)
U.S.Plans Weapon
Against Satellites
(jump head)
2.2 Categories according to their meanings
2.2.1 Strait headline
This kind of headline tells us strait about the subjects of news. This is the most common one and is easy to understand.
(1)e.g.1 Railroad Workers Strike in Argentina.
(2)e.g.2 Man Jailed for Murder
(3)e.g.3 Oil Tanker Fire
2.2.2 Questioning headline
Question marks often be seen in this kind of headlines but most of them do not have meanings of questioning. They often give a clue of possibility or writer’s doubt about the reality of some facts.
(1)e.g. Oil Price to Rise？
(2)e.g. New Cabinet Today？
(3)e.g. Jones Planned to Kill Bush？
(4)e.g. Police Allowed Jail Break？
2.2.3 Feature headline
It is often to use feature headline when a piece of news is unusual or readers will be quite interested in it. Such headlines are not easy to understand，sometimes the whole news should be read.
(1)e.g. Down in the Mouth，News for Dentists.
This report is about a kind of vaccine, which is studied out and will be used for preventing teeth decay.
(2)e.g.、The Man Who Reign over UK’s Queen
Reign means rule over and it is only used for a queen or a king. So the connection of “man” and “reign” may get readers confused, then they may be eager to find why. Not until the whole news are read. They find the man is just a captain of a ship named Queen Mary.
2.2.4. Oration headline
This kind of headline can be divided into：
(ⅰ)Use of sayings as headlines
e.g. “We Owe Our Lives to Our Pilot”
(ⅱ)Quote words from interviewers or reporters or other people heard by writers.
(1)e.g. “We Have to Save Our People”
(2)e.g. “We won’t Quit”
(ⅲ)Choose one sentence，some words or one word from the whole news as a headline.
(1)e.g. I Have A Dream
(2)e.g. Mugwump Britain
“Mugwump Britain” criticize Britain is a double－dealer. She at one hand keeps a special relationship with U.S. but at the other hand she claims to be aside with west Europe.
(ⅳ) Some words in a headline with quotation marks are usually not their original meanings.
e.g. Norse Invasion
The headline does not indicate the invasion by north Europe in ancient. It really tells that Norway men go shopping and touring in a large group as invasion. So this so called invasion is not its original meaning.
3.Features of using vocabularies in headlines
Headlines of news tend to use special words which we all know in daily but may get confused when meet them in news.
3.1 Short words are often used.
Editors disgust long words badly which not only take up lines but also seemed ugly. For the sake of nice and balance，editors like short words to generalize news.
e.g. aid－assistance foe －opponent; enemy
bid－attempt nab－capture
pact－agreement wed －marry
probe－investigation rap－accusation, charge
rout－defeat, completely set－ready
“It has been lasting several years to use short words in news headlines. Mncken，法语论文，an American linguist，said ‘ it is the outstanding characteristic of using very short words in headlines.’ in his work ‘American English’. Similar examples as above are so many in modern English newspapers.”[1] p48
“It is worth saying that single syllables beginning with explode are used more for its shortness and power， such as bid，bust，pop，cut，chop，kill，curb，gut，mug…. Many of the vocabularies in headlines are Anglo－Saxson words which are oral，simple，plain and lively. What’s more, they have been accepted by the public.” p48
“Yet vocabularies of English headlines sometimes tend to short so that they lack of accuracy. That should not be learned. ” p48
3.2 Use of shortenings widely.
In English，there are three kinds of shortenings: acronyms，alphabetisms and clippings，法语毕业论文，which are widely used in headlines for their shortness and conciseness.
(1)e.g. Auto Chief to Get $219M
(2)e.g. Merger Helps Chrysler CEO
(Auto－automobile company, M－million, CEO－Chief Executive Officer）
3.3 Use of literary quotations，proverbs，wisdoms，idioms.
Terry.L.Fredenkson，in his “Journal English” he said idioms are full of headlines. They are used widely as well as changed their forms very often to give a sense of being humor and alive.
(1)e.g. All Roads to Venice
( Changing form of all roads lead to Rome )
(2)e.g. Farewell to Arms
It tells about the communist party’s secretary of soviet union advised US president to destroy nuclear weapons completely. It quotes the name of a famous book ,“A Fare Well to Arms” .
(3)e.g Refugees in Dice Straits
“In dice straits” is an idiom means in a difficult or dangerous situation.
3.4 Use of neologism and foreign words
This kind of uncommon word can also strikes the eye. Editors know readers are unfamiliar with these words, so they always give explanation in a context. Neologism and foreign words always connected with places and contents that are reported.
(1)e.g.Yen benefits from European funds
Yen is Japanese monitory unit.
(2)e.g. ‘Beriozka’ brings Russian Fork Dance
“Berioaka” is Russian “Beriozka (birch tree)Company”
3.5 New words and wrong spellings
“To give a striking and fresh feeling, editors tend to use new words and wrong spellings.
(1)e.g. The Orangemostest Drink in the World
Orangemostest is made up by orange/most/est, “most” and “est” are both used together to stress the quality of the orange drink.
(2)e.g.We Know Eggsactly How to Sell Eggs
Eggsactly is a similar sound of exactly and relative to eggs. This unique word formation game can doubtlessly catch readers’eyes.” p115
3.6 Imitation
3.6.1 Chang letters
This is the easiest way to imitation by changing letters of a word or some words we are familiar with.
e.g. Man Behaving Dadly
The text introduces an English TV program “Man Behaving Badly ” in which the last screen shows a bad man got a son and become a dad, so the writer replace the badly into dadly.
3.6.2 Add letters
e.g. Gooooooal! But Pity the Guy Between the Posts
Add five “O” and the picture of kicking in is here.
3.6.3Add hyphens
A hyphen can divide a word into two parts, from which new sense appears.
e.g. Cat-astrophic Mistake over Fishy Misery
4.Using of rhetoric in headlines.
This kind of headlines use various rhetoric means to attract readers.
4.1 Metaphor
e.g. A House in Two Parts
This is a headline of a report discussing Canadian country system. This report introduce main existing differences in language, law，cultural and concept between English speaking Canada and French speaking Canada. Thereby illustrate the unsteady of Canadian system. “A House in Two Part” is suitable as well as vivid.
4.2 Contrast
e.g. U.S. is Long on Game Shows，Short on Foreign News
This is a press on U.S. TV program. It is distinctly contrast and irony.
4.3 Alliteration and Consonance
(1)e.g. Soldiers Salary Soars
“S” is the beginning letter of every words ，and this is alliterate.
(2)e.g “The Great White Wait’’
“In e.g2. “white” indicate snow and letter “T” is the rhyme ending of three words.” p36
“Alliteration and rhyme here sounds well and give a special atmosphere to catch readers eyes.” p139
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