A Study on Features and Translation of English News Headlines

A Study on Features and Translation ofEnglish News Headlines英语新闻标题的特点及翻译研究英语新闻标题的特点及翻译研究摘要在国际新闻报道中，英语新闻翻译占了相当大的比重，在英语新闻中，标题被视作报道全文的缩写。

为了尽量吸引读者，编辑往往运用各种修辞手段，力争使新闻标题更具吸引力。

同时，这也给英语新闻汉译带来了挑战。

翻译者需调动各种翻译手段，力争把原标题的意义和风格以汉语形式生动再现出来。

为此，翻译时应兼顾三个方面：准确理解标题意义，在不曲解原意的情况下发挥汉语特点，以增强译文可读性；在文化背景缺失的情况下，注意译文的可接受性。

本文结合英语新闻标题翻译的实例，以英语新闻标题在词汇、语法、修辞和翻译技巧等方面的特点为切入点，探讨英语新闻标题的翻译标准，帮助翻译者能够更加准确地将原英语新闻标题的形、神、韵，用汉语原汁原味地呈现在中国读者面前。

关键词：英语新闻标题，标题特点，翻译技巧A Study on Features and Translationof English News HeadlinesAbstractNowadays, English news translation accounts for a large proportion in international news reports. In English news, the news headline is regarded as an abbreviation to the news. In order to attract readers’attention, editors try to make use of all rhetoric methods to make the news headlines more attractive. Meanwhile, it also brings more challenges to English news translation. Translators need to use different translation methods to strive to translate original headlines into Chinese forms. Therefore, three aspects should be considered in translation: understanding headline meanings accurately; taking advantage of Chinese characteristics without misunderstanding; and strengthening readability; concerning over acceptability in case of cultural background deficiency.This thesis aims to probe into translation standards of English news headlines based on their features in vocabulary, grammar and rhetoric by analyzing examples, and endeavor to demonstrate the features of real English news headlines to Chinese readers.Keywords: English news headline, features of headlines, translation skillsContents Introduction................................................................................ 错误！未定义书签。

1. Lexical features of English News Headlines (5)1.1 Noun and midget words (6)1.2 Abbreviations (7)1.3 Vogue words (8)2. Grammatical features of English News Headlines (9)2.1 Present tense (9)2.2 Non-predicate verb (10)2.3 Omissions (11)3. Rhetoric Features of English News Headlines (12)3.1 Metaphor (13)3.2 Repetition (13)3.3 Parallelism (13)3.4 Assonance, alliteration and rhyme (14)3.5 Irony (15)3.6 Allusion (15)4. Translation Skills of English News Headlines (16)4.1 Literal translation (16)4.2 Free translation (17)4.3 Amplification and subtraction (18)Conclusion (20)Acknowledgements .................................................................... 错误！未定义书签。

Bibliography ............................................................................... 错误！未定义书签。

IntroductionWith the entry into the information age, the connection between China and the other parts of the world is becoming more and more inseparable. Therefore, the Chinese news understanding is rapidly developing under the influence of English news. As is known to all, more and more people get to know the world not just from books, but from other media, such as newspapers, radio, television and Internet. They believe that the information from the news reporting is reliable. However, much of the international news reporting is originally English edition while many people in China do not understand English very well. Hence, it is no doubt that translating English news into Chinese is necessary for the people in China to acquire the information they need timely and conveniently.Liu Miqing (1986: 98) points out that news translation should accurately. Chen Hongwei (1998: 75) proposes that since news reports structures are flexible, editors should translate precisely. Zhang Jian (1996: 79) concluded that there are three stages in news headline translation: understanding news precisely, knowing well original language feature exactly, and enhancing readability. In addition, a lot of scholars make many efforts to study news headline translation by compared with Chinese-western language cultures.The headline is to the news what an eye is to the person. A headline is in a position to capture the essence of the event. Some people usually skim over the headlines of a newspaper before reading them in detail. With the development of information technology, more and more editors pay more attention to translating English news headlines, as a good headline that will attract more readers. But reviewing the studies of English news headlines translation, we find that scholars both at home and abroad are still faced with many problems, such as how to translate English news headlines precisely, how to choose popular and proper methods to translate English news headlines and so on. In order to solve these problems and show Chinese readers the features of original English news headlines, this thesis will study features of English news headlines and their translation skills and probe into sometranslation methods.The thesis consists of four parts. The first part is lexical features of English news headlines. In this part, midget words, abbreviations and vogue words will be discussed. The second part is grammatical features of English news headlines. In this part, omissions, non-predicate verb and present tense will be discussed. The third part is rhetoric features of English news headlines. In this part, metaphor, repetition, parallelism, rhyme, irony and allusion will be discussed. The last part is translation skills of news headlines. In this part, some translation techniques such as literal translation, free translation, amplification and subtraction will be discussed. The thesis ends up with conclusion.1. Lexical features of English News HeadlinesAs is known, the headline is one of the most important components of news. It isregarded as eye of the news report. A good headline has some characteristics: simple, humorous, eye-catching. In this part, lexical features will be discussed.1.1 Noun and midget wordsNoun and midget words are used widely in English news headlines. Noun refers to the part of speech that is used to name a person, place, thing, quality, or action and can function as the subject or object of a verb, the object of a preposition, or an appositive(Collins English Dictionary, 2003: 577). In news headline, a noun is always used to replace a verb. Midget words refer to the simple-structured but actively functioning words (Liu Miqing, 1998: 82-84). For example, the word “cut” is often used to replace “abridgement”and “shortening curtailment”. Because of its ideographic function, midget words will increase readability and simplicity. How they used in headline is illustrated in the following examples.(1) Pressure for peace in Preserve(2) Clinton’s suspect pardons(3) The Columbine Tapes(4) The Population surprise (the decrease of the population surprises people)In the above examples, noun is used to replace verb. In (1) (3) and (4) “peace”“Columbine” and “surprise” are noun those replace verb. Because of noun is simpler than verb. In (2) “suspect”and “pardons”both are nouns, and they are used continually to shorten the news headline.(5) Money Sent to Flooded Areas to Aid School Kids (kids= children)(6) Price up Five Percent in September (“up” replaces “increase”)(7) Trade Surplus Down in 1996 (“down” replaces “decrease”)In the above examples, editors choose midget words to replace those complicated words. In (5) “kids”replaces “children”. In (6) and (7), “up”and “down”replace “increase” and “decrease”. The reason of using midget words is that these words are simple and short and can save economic space.Other common midget words frequently used in news headline are as follows.aid= assistancebody= committee/ commissionblast= explodeban= prohibit/ forbidend= terminatenod= approvalpoll= election poll/ public opinion poll1.2 AbbreviationsAbbreviations are words that are clipped from the other long words (Ding Qilin, 1999: 11). Plenty of abbreviations are used in English news headlines as they can save the space, express more ideas and help the readers to comprehend the news easily (Yuan and Tian, 2005: 33). For instance:(8) NBC’s President Robert Wright seeks Big Acquisitions, Ventures for the Network(NBC=National Broadcasting Company)(9) Former Spanish Finance Minister Elected New IMF Chief.IMF= International Monetary Fund(10) VIP: Very Important PersonIn the above three examples, “NBC” “IMF” and “VIP” are very commonly seen in English news headlines. The abbreviations not only help readers to understand but also become a trend in modern society. This method is called Acronyms which are supposed to be very commonly seen to readers. But sometimes acronyms in news headlines will arouse reader’s confusions. Thus it is necessary for the readers to continue to read till they find the real meaning.The other common forms frequently used in news headline are as follows.WTO: World Trade OrganisationNPC: National People’s CongressUN: United NationsAIDS: Acquired Immune Deficiency SyndromeIOC: International Olympic CommitteePM: Prime MinisterGM: General ManagerCEO: Chief Executive Officer1.3 Vogue wordsV ogue word means word that is currently fashionable (Hornby: Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 2002). Freshness is the life of news. V ogue words are newly coined lexical units including new words, expressions, or usages. The following are some examples:(11) Year 2000 Bug Unstoppable for some companies(12) American Online: Often down, Never Out(13) Stagflation in MoscowIn the above three examples, editors use some vogue words in the headlines. In(11) “bug”means “mistakes” as usual, but in this headline, it is a computer virus. In(12), “online”is a compound word. It means “on the Internet”. In this example, “online”is terser than “on the Internet”. In (13) “stagflation” is combined “stagnation” with “inflation”. Editors use one word instead of two words to record the news. Editors adopt these new words to make the news headlines more interesting and attract more readersTo sum up, this part discusses the lexical features of English news headlines. In order to attract readers, editors prefer to use some vogue words, abbreviations and midget words.2. Grammatical features of English News HeadlinesThe linguistic characteristics of the English news headline in the grammar are also displayed in omission, present tense and non-predicate verb as well (Liu Miqing, 1998: 76). Present tense is simple and flexible in news headlines. It is used to show things happened in the past time. Omissions are adopted to save economic spaces. Non-predicate verb consists of infinitive forms of verbs, participles and gerund. They are used to illustrate things that will happen in the future, or things that are happening seriously. This part will aim to find out the special effect on the news headline the general types of grammatical construction will bring.2.1 Present tenseIn English grammar, present tense emphasizes certain thing is doing at present time. However, in English news headline, it is often used to replace the past tense. Present tense is customarily used to describe something happened in the past. This usage is simple and vivid, editors adopt this method to express feelings directly. That is the reason why present tense is commonly used in news headlines. For example:(1) Edinburgh Books Literary Title(2) Sweden Defeats China(3) Israel Withdraws troops from Palestinian towns.(4) A Yippie Comes in from the Damp(5) Mr. Nott Calls it a Day(6) Death Takes No Holiday(7) Husband and Wife Team Unlock New Gene Secret(8) French Culture Is In DoldrumsIn the above headlines, present tense is used here to describe the things happened in the past. In news, present tense is often used to strengthen the news’ freshness and immediacy. That is to say, it is used to take the place of past tense. English learners should pay more attention to this situation where present tense in headlines does not denote what happens at present time.2.2 Non-predicate verbNon-predicate verb includes infinitive, gerund and participles. Infinitive is always used to express writers’ prediction of future trends directly. Generally, gerund is used to show the events while details are plentiful. Participles consist of present participles and past participles. Present participles demonstrate events that are going now and stress the seriousness of events to draw readers’ attention to these events. On the contrary, past participles show those events have happened before and sometimes it denotes something in passive form, stressing importance of news reports.(9) Bands to Gather For Jazz Festival(Bands are to gather for Jazz Festival)(10) Last Two Iraq Hostages to Go Free(The last two hostages in Iraq are to go free)(11) Russia to Put Man on Mars by 2020(Russia is to Put Man on Mars by 2020)(12) New Antibiotic to Be Approved in Asia(New Antibiotic is to Be Approved in Asia)In the above examples, infinitive is used in English news headlines. Commonly, in headlines infinitive express writers’ prediction of future trends. That is to say infinitive demonstrates the things will happen in the future. Therefore infinitive is preferred in the headlines to describe future things instead of future tense.(13) Signs of Rifts Appearing in Argentina’s Junta(14) Deposits Loans Rising In Shanghai(15) Iraq National Museum Treasures PlunderedIn the above five examples, participles are used. In (13) “The Signs of Rifts Are Appearing In Argentina’s Junta”. In (14) “Deposits and Loans Are Rising In Shanghai”. Present participles are used in these two examples. Present participles narrate events that are going at present and “be” is usua lly omitted or denotes something in active form. Editors adopt present participle in order to stress the seriousness of events to draw readers’ attention to these events. While past participles show those events have happened before and sometimes it denotes something inpassive form, and stress importance of news reports. In (15) “Iraq National Museum Treasures Are Plundered”. In this example, past participle denotes events in passive form, where the function of past participle is passive.(17) Decoding the V olcano’s Message(18) Global Warming a Bigger Threat to Poor(19) Eating Disorders Hit Men HarderGerund is used in the above three examples. In (17) (18) (19) “decoding”, “warming”and “eating”are used. Generally, gerunds are used to show the present things and it is a form of verb. Sometime gerund is subject just like noun, but verb is only as predicate. As a result, editors select gerund to show events more easily and clearly.2.3 OmissionsOmission is the most common device in English news headlines. Since such items as articles, auxiliary verbs, relative verbs, conjunctions, pronouns, and so on in headlines indicate their grammatical functions, by no means of the same weight or importance in meaning” (Zhang Jie, 2004: 108). For example:(20) Patients Raped in Baghdad Hospital= Patients was raped in Baghdad hospital(21) Clinton Inauguration Most Expensive Ever＝Clinton Inauguration Is Most Expensive Ever(22) People on Mars Possible in 20 to 30 years=It is possible for people to land on Mars in 20 to 30 years(23)Fan Kills Wife=A sports fan has killed his wife(24)Three Gorges Flooded By 'Farewell' Tourists＝The Three Gorges Flooded By 'Farewell' Tourists(25) India Mending Fences＝India is Mending Fences(26)US, Vietnam Resume Talks＝US And Vietnam Resume TalksIn the above examples, omissions are used to simplify English news headlines. In English news headlines, notional words are omitted commonly. Such as article, conjunction, auxiliary and so on. In (20) (21) copula “be” is omitted. In (22) formal subject, preposition and infinitive are omitted. In (23) and (24) articles “a\the”is omitted respectively. In (25), the auxiliary “is”is omitted. In (26) the conjunction “and”is omitted. In order to save the economic space, editors usually omit these notional words.In a conclusion, this part discusses the grammatical features of English news headline in three aspects: present tense, non-predicate verb and omissions Editors adopt these methods to simplify English news headlines, to attract readers.3. Rhetoric Features of English News HeadlinesAs is discussed above, the news headline is always expected to produce more striking effect and reach the requirement of brevity. Therefore, figures of speech arefrequently used in English news headlines. In this part, figures of speech, such as metaphor, repetition, parallelism, rhyme, irony and allusion will be illustrated.3.1 MetaphorA metaphor always makes a comparison between two unlike elements, and this comparison is implied rather than stated (Feng Cuihua, 2003: 166). Proper use of metaphor in news headlines can produce more vivid and striking effect. For example:(1) Middle East: A Cradle of Terror(2) Russian Reform: Old Wine in New Bottle(3) Carlo Ponti in Hot Water AgainIn the above examples, metaphor is used in the headlines. In (1), Middle East is assimilated to a cradle of terror. It shows the status of Middle East. In (2), Russian reform is regarded as old wine in new bottle, that is to say, primary problems have not been solved yet. In (3), in hot water means in trouble, it means that Carlo Ponti is in dilemma.3.2 RepetitionRepetition means a thing, word, action etc. that is repeated (Collins English Dictionary, 2003: 864). In order to attract readers and emphasize the news, editors usually use repetition.(3) Blood Must Atone for Blood(4) Diamond cut diamond(5) Heavy Body, not Heavy HeartIn these above examples, editors adopt repetition. In (3), (4) and (5), the first word and the last word are repeated. This form is often used in English proverb. As usual, the function of repetition is to strengthen the tone. And repetition will bring feeling of freshness to readers. In order to emphasize the news, editors tend to use this method.3.3 ParallelismParallelism means giving two or more parts of the sentences a similar form so as to give the whole a definite pattern. (Collins English Dictionary, 2003: 615)Parallel construction can help authors to express feelings directly. For example:(6) To Work Is Human, To Slack Divine(7) The World Listens, the World Watches(8) It’s Not what you do, it’s How You Got Three(9) Shake It Off and Step UpIn the above examples, editors use parallelism. Because of its regular sentence structure, editors can express their feelings and opinions directly. In (6) “to work”“to slack”,in (7) “the world” used twice, in (8) “It’s what”“It’s how” and in (9) “shake off”“step up”. The characteristics of these news headlines are similar structures, rhythm and tone, which composes parallelism. Editors use parallelism to enhance the expression of news reports. As is shown in the examples, the parallelism contributes to making readers read fluently and distinctively, which will attract readers to read continually.3.4 Assonance, alliteration and rhymeAssonance is the refrain of vowel sounds to create internal rhyming within phrases or sentences, and together with alliteration and consonance serves as one of the building blocks of verse. (Collins English Dictionary, 2003: 155) Alliteration refers to repetition of a particular sound in the first syllables of a series of words and/or phrases. (Collins English Dictionary, 2003: 98) A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds in two or more words and is most often used in poetry and songs. (Collins English Dictionary, 2003: 765) Assonance, alliteration and rhyme are often used in English news headlines.The common examples frequently used in news headline are as follows.(10) Soldiers Salaries Soar.(11)Protestants ProtestIn the above two examples, editors use alliteration. In (10) the first letters of three words are “s”, and in (11) the first letters of two words are “p”. Using this method, editors express their opinions clearly with simple words.(12) Young wheelers, big dealers(13)Who’s near to Reagan’s ear?In the above two examples, editors adopt rhyme to summarize the English news. In (12) the pronunciation of “wheelers” and “dealers” is similar. And in (13) “near”sounds similar to ear. It is easy for readers to read rhyme headlines. Readers are interested in the news and focus on the details.(14) The Sister vs. World Taunts! Tantrums! Talents!In (14) there are several harmonics the headline, which is hard to understand. On the one hand, it expresses the intensively competitive rhythm of sports; on the other, it indicates the highlight of the subject. As is well known, U.S. is a society with strong compatibility. But for the black sisters who may draw little attention in the tennis world which ruled by the white. This rhyme title in Times actually shows the effect caused by the black sisters.3.5 IronyIrony is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or situation in which there is a sharp incongruity or discordance that goes beyond the simple and evident intention of words or actions. (Collins English Dictionary, 2003: 342)The function of irony is satiric and humorous. Sometimes irony is more powerful. Adopting opposite words to express real intention is the feature of irony. It is more interesting for readers to read. For instance:(15) Chrome — Plated Independence.In this example, editors use irony to laugh at a small country who will claim independence, producing 0.8 million tons chrome per year. Editors select the word “plated”, actually to tell readers the independence of the country is tenderminded. It could not be realized in fact. Using irony is the best way to express editors’ satire. 3.6 AllusionAn allusion is a figure of speech that makes a reference to, or representation of, a place, event, literary work, myth, or work of art, either directly or by implication. (Collins English Dictionary, 2003: 132) Allusions serve to add clarity and significance to ideas and descriptions. Since these allusions are quite familiar to readers. For example:(16) To Buy or Not to Buy Is the Question for Homebuyers(17) A Tale of Two HeartsIn the above two examples, editors adopt allusion. In (16), the writer used theallusion from Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet: To be or not to be——that is the question. In (17), the writer imitated the name of Dickens’s famous book A Tale of Two Cities. The function of using allusion is avoiding otiose words, simplifying news headlines and gaining editors’ ends eventually.In this part, rhetoric features of English news headlines are examined. In general, metaphor, repetition, parallelism, rhyme, irony and allusion are always used in English news headline. Editors adopt these methods to make news more interesting and attract more readers.4. Translation Skills of English News HeadlinesIn the former parts, features of English news headlines, such as lexical features, grammatical features and rhetoric features, are examined. It is important for translators to translate English news headlines precisely with these features. Based on the features of English news headline discussed in the former parts, the main translation methods will be explored as follows.4.1 Literal translationLiteral translation, also known in everyday usage as direct translation, denotes the rendering of text from one language to another "word-for-word" rather than conveying the sense of the original. (Collins English Dictionary, 2003: 216) Peter Newmark has mentioned over twenty procedures in his A Textbook of Translation (Newmark, 1998: 68). Literal translation is always adopted when the original English headline is clear and direct, which will not be misunderstood by Chinese readers.For example:(1)Fridge-free Vaccines on the Way免冷藏疫苗即将诞生In this headline, “fridge-free”actually refers to “free of fridge”. Here, a noun phrase is used instead of a preposition phrase. Thereby, “Fridge-free vaccine” refers to vaccines that do not have to be refrigerated. Moreover, “On the way” is a set phrase, meaning “(something or somebody is) in the process of coming”. So we can put the headline into Chinese word for word as“免冷藏疫苗即将诞生”, which readers will find no difficulty in understanding.(2) Lord, Keep Her from Harm主啊，保佑她不受伤害(3) Looking Back to Look Ahead回首往昔展望未来(4) Olympics Begin in Style; Swimmer Takes 1st Gold奥运盛大开幕勇将喜夺首金(5) Hope of the Weak and the Meek软弱者和胆小者的希望In the above four examples, readers could understand these headlines literally and correctly. In these circumstances translators will choose literal translation.4.2 Free translationSometimes literal translation can not explain the news’ meaning exactly, or may unable to reach writer’s purpose, or not conform to Chinese usage, thus free translation will be used. Free translation is a translation method aims to translating the content of the original instead of /reproducing the language from of it (Collins EnglishDictionary, 2003: 569). Free translation is also frequently used in translating news headline. The following are some examples:(6) Soccer Kicks Off Violence足球开踢拳打脚踢(7) Middle East: A Cradle of Terror中东：恐怖主义的摇篮(8) Liberty Mother of Invention自由是发明之母(9) After the Boom, Everything Is Gloom繁华好景不再，萧条接踵而来(10) Courage Knows No Gender勇气不分男女In the above examples, free translation is used to translate headlines appropriately. In (6), the rhetoric is pun. So it should be translated with free translation. In (7) the rhetoric is metaphor. To this headline, free translation is more appropriate. In (8) the rhetoric is allusion. In (9) the rhetoric is rhyme. In (10) the rhetoric is personification. Free translation is more properly to convey writers’purposes and more easily to understand.4.3 Amplification and subtractionAs is mentioned in Literary Form and Translation, Liu Miqing(1998: 87) proposes that even if the headline is easy for people to understand, we need toadd some logical subjects or some other elements related to the news when we translate it into Chinese. In a word, to avoid misunderstanding, additional elements are needed to make complements or for reference.” Amplification is material added to a statement, story, etc., in order to expand or clarify it (Collins English Dictionary, 2003: 123). It is frequently used in translation. Subtraction, another translation method, is the act or process of subtracting one number from another (Collins English Dictionary, 2003: 645).Some examples are as follows.(11) Terror Bombing Kills at Least 189 in Bail旅游胜地发生恐怖爆炸事件至少189人命丧印尼巴厘岛In the above example, amplification is used. “Bail” is a famous scenic spot on an island of Indonesia. However, since few people know about it, some geographic information should be added here to make it more comprehensible. It can translated as “旅游胜地发生恐怖爆炸事件至少189人命丧印尼巴厘岛”. When readers read news headline, they will feel so close and true to the news events and news figures. (12) Older, Wiser, Calmer人愈老，智愈高，心愈平In (12), translators adopt amplification. The news focuses on people’s wiser and calmer when they deal with the problems come up along with aging process, especially the old people retired. It is much better to translate it into“人愈老，智愈高，心愈平”than translate it into“更老，更明智，更冷静”.“人”、“智”、“心”, which are added here to make the meaning of the sentence neater.The other common examples frequently used in news headline are as follows. (13) Here Comes the Son.子承父业的小布什(14) Nehru backed Tibet uprising (a) rebel chief一叛乱头目说：尼赫鲁支持了西藏暴乱(15) (A) Tourist Arrested for Espionage Charges一游客涉嫌间谍活动被捕(16) (The) Bankers (keep) silent (as) the dollar falls美元跌价，银行家保持沉默(17) (The) Forecast of Mexican quake (is) accurate, but (it is) ignored墨西哥地震预报准确但未被注意In the above five examples, amplification is also adopted. Translators amplify other information while translating, in order to make readers know the main idea of English news more clearly. When readers read news headlines, they will feel so close and true to the news events.(18) The Battle of Human versus Computer at Chess。