中英新闻标题的语言修辞比较研究

中英新闻标题的语言修辞比较研究新闻标题在新闻报道中起着至关重要的作用。

新闻写作中，新闻标题往往是新闻故事重心的高度概括。

在竞争激烈的现代社会中，很多人都没有充裕的时间从头到尾地看完一篇新闻报道，所以大多数读者都试着花最短的时间得到最多的信息。

由此可见，新闻标题标题特殊作用不容忽视。

而一个完美的新闻标题就像新闻报纸的脸蛋和眼睛，只有当脸蛋迷人眼睛动人这篇文章才能抓住读者的眼球才能体现其价值。

为了吸引读者，新闻标题通常会使用多种多样的修辞手法。

而修辞手法是一种运用准确、独特、生动的语言来表达思想的技巧。

因此，修辞技巧被频繁地用于新闻写作中以此达到说服、透明化和表达优美的效果。

以往对中英新闻标题的研究大都从文体特征、翻译技巧等分别进行宏观性的研究。

本文将运用归纳论证、演绎论证与对比论证等等研究方法对中英新闻标题中的修辞进行对比研究，使研究更具有现实感和指导意义。

IntroductionNews is usually composed of three parts: headline, lead and body. The headline is a concentrated generalization of the news content, revealing to the reader the main idea of the news in the most concise form. In order to attract readers, both Chinese and English headlines usually use various rhetorical devices in the forms such as clipped words, initialisms, acronyms, short words, loanwords, invented words, slangs, etc. Rhetoric is a kind of artifice that use accurate, distinct and vivid language to express one‟s mind. Researches carried out in the past are mostly on the styles of writing characteristic, translating artifices and so on with a macroscopical view. On the basis of some research results about Chinese and English headlines in the past, this paper analyzes and compares the rhetoric between Chinese and English headlines. Then I will set forth concretely the major factors affecting the differences between them. The main body of my thesis is unfolded mainly from following aspects: Part I is to explain the universality of rhetoric in the headline, and it includes the definition, categories and necessity of rhetoric in news headlines.Part II is the main point of this paper. This part analyzes characteristics of rhetoric both in Chinese and English news headlines and differences between them.Part III illustrates several typical examples of Chinese and English headlines tocontrast.Part IV is also a comparatively important part, concretely analyzing the factors affecting the differences: different cultures and modes of thinking.This paper makes use of many study methods such as illustration, comparison, analogism and so on., which make my study have more. real feelings and guiding significance.from /1.The Universality of Rhetoric in News Headlines1.1 Definition of RhetoricRhetoric is a branch discipline of linguistics. It is not a new subject.It has a long history both in the West and in China.The word “rhetoric” originated from Greek “rhetorike” and was first defined as the art of persuasion, equivalent to argumentation by Aristotle. Rhetoric has ever been given different definitions by many scholars in the history. Such as Aristotle, in the 4th century B. C., first defines rhetoric as the art of persuasion which was found to suit any subject. And John Locke,an English philosopher of the late 17th century, describes rhetoric as the science of oratory or the art of speaking with propriety, elegance and force. In The Philosophy of Rhetoric, I. A. Richards(1893一1979)defines rhetoric in two ways: “how words work in discourse” and “the study of misunderstanding and its remedies”(Hu Shuzhong, 2002).According to Oxford Concise Dictionary of Linguistics, “Rhetoric is traditionally a discipline concerned with the effective use of language, to persuade, give pleasure, and so on”In fact, the word can be used in various contexts, and sometimes it takes on a derogative meaning, that is, elaborate language which is intended to impress but is often insincere, meaningless or exaggerated.But as an academic term, it is now widely acknowledged that “rhetoric” refers to the “art of using language impressively or persuasively, especially in public speaking” (Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary, Fourth Edition). In China, Chen Wangdao, in his Origin of Rhetoric，defined rhetoric as an effort to adjust the language so as to convey thought and feelings appropriately. Luo Xiaosuo in his Modern Rhetoric(1994 ) statesthat rhetoric refers to methods, techniques or laws of language application, whose purpose is for a better conveyance of thought and feeling as well as a good adaptation to a certain context. While the book Comparison and Translation (1994) explains that rhetoric is a kind of language activity, a science exploring the rules on how to enhance the language expressiveness.These definitions show that different people have studied and defined rhetoric from different perspectives. These definitions also reflect the functions of rhetoric in a language, especially in speeches. Rhetorical devices are quite largely applied to achieve the purpose of persuasion. Apparently, rhetoric can efficiently embody the speaker‟s mind, arouse emotional climax, create magical charm,promote mutual understanding and so on. In general, rhetoric is closely concerned with language form (lexical form, phonetic form and grammatical forms for the purpose of strengthening the expressiveness.) There are three basic elements in rhetoric: fact, reason and feeling. Any piece of written discourse contains a combination of these elements. Knowing how to combine these elements will help writers shape, elaborate and refine their own work in order to achieve a better rhetorical effect.1.2 Classifications of Rhetorical DevicesRhetorical devices are generally classified into two categories: communicative rhetorical devices and aesthetic rhetorical devices. They are also respectively equal to passive rhetoric and active rhetoric in Origin of Rhetoric raised by Chen Wangdao. Communication rhetorical devices emphasize the diction and sentence organization, stressing the logical thinking and accurate narration, while aesthetic rhetorical devices mainly focus on the use of figures of speech. Figures of speech refer to those rhetorical devices dealing with the way words are made to mean other than what they would normally imply. For example, it is more vivid and colorful to say that sun “jump from the horizon like a yolk” in the sky instead of saying simply that it “rise from the horizon”in the sky. Here “jump from the horizon like a yolk”is both a simile and a personification. Such figures of speech as simile, metaphor, metonymy, hyperbole, personification, and paradox, make up the most commonly used ones nowadays. They are ways of making our language figurative. Figures of speech canbe divided into three groups in light of the linguistic level they are practiced. They are figures of speech as practiced with sounds, figures of speech as practiced with words, and figures of speech as practiced with sentences.The news rhetoric as a kind of tactic meaning must obey certain principles in the news execution. Firstly, it should be correct and frondose, fresh and vivid, popular and understandable. Finally, it should obey the principle of truth, balance and neutrality.1.3 The Necessity of Exploring Rhetoric in News HeadlinesNewspapers serve mainly to provide information on events from all over the world. It is, however, difficult and impossible for most readers to read all the news articles in the daily newspapers because of their various interests and the time constraint. They have, therefore, to be selective in reading newspapers and readers rely on the headlines in making such a selection. The main function of news headlines is to provide a gist of the main content of the news articles so that readers still have the general picture of the news stories even without reading the texts. In addition, the special typographical layouts of news headlines, such as large and colorful fonts, can make them stand out so that readers can locate them easily and at the same time, attract readers‟ attention.Bell and Baskette et al. note that the reading process and the production process of newspapers are different. Generally, we read newspapers in this order:Headlines ----------------------------------News texts However, The creation of news headlines actually is the final stage of the newspaper production. The spatial constraint in newspapers does not allow editors to put every thing into the headlines. Instead, they have to pick out the salient information from the news stories to be highlighted in the headlines. They will choose appropriate linguistic expressions, sentence structures or rhetorical devices which can best fit the information to be expressed in the headlines. In addition, information which is assumed among the readers or can be inferred from the context is always elicited from the headlines (Chin & Tsou 1997). Therefore, the language used in the news headlines is not a random choice. What‟s more, the language used in newsdiscourses is not just to convey information to readers, but it also can manifest the use of language in the community and subsequently, namely, it can “reflect and influence the formation and expression of culture, politics and social life” (Garrett & Bell 1997). It is admitted that headlines are one of the key components in newspapers and they are considered to have their own characteristics and status in the news discourses (van Dijk 1986 and Bell 1991).It is claimed that the features embodied in news headlines are not solely linguistic phenomena, “but also relate to the role which this kind of language has to play, in other words, …extra-linguistic factors‟ will be also taken into consideration” (Vandenbergen 1981, p. 29). These so-called “extra-linguistic factor s” highly correlates to the social, political and cultural context of the corresponding community. Therefore, the comparative study of the words in different news headlines can reflect some social differences between the communities.2. Rhetorical Comparison between Chinese and English Headlines2.1 Characteristics of Rhetoric in Chinese News HeadlinesIn Chinese, rhetoric is translated as xiuci. In fact, it is not an appropriate translation because the connotations of two do not coincide in many aspects preferred to use xiuci as a catachresis of rhetoric. It is believed that with the introduction of western rhetorical theories into China, the coinciding aspects of two disciplines would be more. In our country, the wo rd “rhetoric‟‟ is always associated with tropes and other means of polishing language. Chen Wangdao figures that rhetoric is an “endeavor”. Zhang Zhigong held that it is a “process” while Wang regarded it as an “activity” (Hu, 2002). No matter “endeavor”, “process” or “activity”, the main theme in the studies of rhetoric in Chinese tradition is always something about the effect of language. Liu Fuyuan (1999) held rhetoric in ancient China emphasized transfer of feelings and meanings while western rhetoric stressed persuasion, which was determined by different thought styles of two traditions, that is, Chinese think much of feelings while western people prefer logic.Gu Yueguo (1989) proposed that in terms of the form of rhetorical thought; “language-as-center” is the soul of Chineserhetoric while “purpose-as-center” is the cor e of western rhetoric. He also concluded the influence of this difference on the development of rhetoric.First, Chinese rhetoric manifests in choosing and polishing language while how to realize the purpose is the most essential in western rhetoric.Secondly, because of this difference, Chinese rhetoric focuses more on the unit of sentence or smaller units. The research of a discourse is the domain of other disciplines. Western rhetoric has already been applied to many aspects of human life, no matter of language or non-language. The objects of studies are much broader.Thirdly, in recent years, the scope of Chinese rhetoric has been broadened to the type of writing, which is an inev itable result of the “language-as-center” characteristic of it. However, in western world, the research about the type of writing is only a branch of linguistics instead of rhetoric.2.2 Characteristics of Rhetoric in English News HeadlinesRhetorical figures are also called “figures of speech” or “figures of rhetoric”. In the ancient western rhetoric, the basic meaning of rhetorical figures is “the use of a figurative word or expression (mainly nouns) to substitute the name of one thing”(Cong Xingzi, 1990, 136). Quintilian, the great rhetorician of ancient Rome, once defined rhetorical figures as “manners of speaking that are far removed from the ordinary and natural manner” (Dubois, 1981,10).Western rhetoric has much broader scope of study and has already been applied to many aspects of communication. The emphasis is put not only on the form of language and its c ontext but also on how communicators try to control and make favorable elements to realize their purposes. The English people favor direct styles, the linear way of writing. When they are writing, they are inclined to come quickly to the core of a message. English headline writers are unlikely to seek rhetorical devices for help because each English letter takes up a space unit. More words could only add to the difficulty of word counting. Among the different rhetorical devices discussed, English headlines show a preference for alliteration. Written English, ever since it was born, is a representative of spoken English. And ancient western scholars put much emphasis frequently on spoken language. As a result, alliteration, closely related tosound, is used.2.3 Rhetorical Differences between Chinese and English HeadlinesChinese headline writers take greater advantage of figures of speech than English ones. Sometimes when the news gist is not so complicated and allows more space for the headlines than is needed, Chinese headline writers may turn to figures of speech to fill in the space or to perfect the headlines so as to make them impressive. English headline writers are unlikely to seek rhetorical devices for help because each English letter takes up a space unit. More words could only add to the difficulty of word counting.Among the different rhetorical devices discussed, English headlines show a preference for alliteration while dui‟ou is the favorite in Chinese headlines. Written English, ever since it was born, is a representative of spoken English. Ancient western scholars put much emphasis frequently on spoken language. As a result, alliteration, closely related to sound, is used. For example,1)“Bye, bye balanced budget”Alliteration is used in the news headline. The repeated “b” sound at the beginning of the words makes the headline sound witty and lively.2)“Fit or Fat?”This is the headline of an article that tries to persuade people to exercise more. Alliteration is used to be very precise and expresses the potential caution.Generally speaking, styles of Chinese and English news title are quite different. Chinese headlines are wrriten much more for literary grace and get used to antitheses and rhyme, while English headlines seem plain and simple.It foucus on present the facts.The betaking of rhetorical devices in English headlines are limitied,and there are more commonly used as following: allusion, metaphor, personification, assonance, alliteration, repetition, pun, transferred epithet ,inversion and so on; Chinese authors prefer parallelism, metonymy, loop, aphorisms, dingzhen, antithesis, pun, euphemism and so on(from /)3. Cases Study on the Rhetorical Comparison between Chinese and English headlines3.1 The Common Figures of Speech in English and Chinese Headlines,1 .Alliteration and End RhymeAlliteration is the repetition of the initial consonant cluster in stressed syllables. Journalistic writing aims to attract the readers. Alliteration is a very effective way to reach this aim. It is used for the sake of brevity，short but and vividness. It is one of the oldest devices in English poetries, and still in wide use nowadays. Let‟s look at some examples:(1) Jazzy in Jazzy, Sassy in Sweater. (The Times, Oct 27, 2001)In this sentence, there are two “J” and two “S” in initial. It makes the headline sound witty and lively. In fact alliteration is the commonest figure of speech employed in English headlines. It can produce a musical effect. Besides alliteration, assonance and consonance can once for a while be found in English headlines. Assonance is the repetition of similar vowel sounds while consonance the repetition of interval consonant sounds:(2) Rolls-Royce rally gets green light (The Times Oct 16, 2001)The consonants [r], [1] and [g] are repeated.The vowel repetition occurring at the end of the words is welcome in Chinese headlines. It is a kind of rhyme, sameness of sound between words or syllables at the end of the lines. For example:(3)“毛病”都一样抄你没商量( People ‟s Daily Nov 19, 2001)(4)宣纸照片留奇景诗话摄影古换新( People's Daily Nov 15, 2007)In these two sentences, the vowel [ang] and [in] are repeated at the end of the lines. This is the end rhyme.2.AntithesisAntithesis means the deliberate arrangement of contrasting words or ideas in a balanced structural form to achieve force and emphasis. Antithesis is the symmetry on aesthetics. This well-balanced form as well as condensed content leads to linguistic brevity and rhythm.(5) Best of times, worst of times (Time, 1991)(6) England's blessing, Ireland's curse (The Times, Aug. 13, 2001)(7) AIDS: accept it, fight it (21st Century, June 28, 2006)(8) Talks go on, bombs go off (21 S` Century, May 5, 2005)Antithesis makes the headlines above sound beautiful. When we make pauses in reading the examples above, we find “best of”,“times”, “England's” and “accept it”rhyme with “worst of”, “times” “Ireland's” and “fight it” respectively. Example (8) doesn‟t want to be lagged behind and use alliteration (“go on”and “go off”) to take rhyme‟s place.Sometimes different Chinese headlines are put together on the page to form a dui‟ou and usually set vertically so that they look like a couplet(对联). Here are two heads (originally set vertically) taken from Guangming Daily on Oct 3, 2001:(9)江苏两岸同胞话团圆西宁高原月明照升平“江苏”and“西宁”,“两岸”and“高原”，话”and“照”，and“团圆”and “升平”are couples of correspondence.3. MetaphorA metaphor is an implied comparison between two or more unlike things achieved by identifying one with the other(see Li Guonan, 1999).The Chinese counterpart of metaphor may be yinyu，jieyu and niwu. In a yinyu, both the tenor and the vehicle appears; in a jieyu the tenor is simply left out; in a niwu the person is compared to an object or is given the characteristics of an object. Whatever forms it is in Chinese, the metaphor is condensed and thus finds favor in the headline writer's eyes, especially in the Chinese writer‟s. Here are examples:(11)Go on you donkey, laugh! (The Mmes Aug 25, 2001)(12)Betrayal, the secret weapon of war (The Times Oct 23, 2001)(13)泳池三花争艳(China Youth Daily Nov 18, 2001)(14)城市“蜘蛛网”入地(People Daily Nov 1, 2001)“Donkey”here refers to circus clowns and “betrayal” is compared to the secret weapon of war, while the three flowers“三花”are the Chinese female swimmers“罗男”，“齐晖”and“罗雪娟”who were the winners of Ninth National Games. And“蜘蛛网”is in fact wires set up privately and in a mess, which look just like spider webs.Of the three Chinese counterparts of metaphor,metonymy i s the most frequently used device, because it leaves out the tenor and is therefore more compact.4. Metonymy, Synecdoche and AntonomasiaThe substitution of one word for another which it clearly suggests, as the effect for the cause, the concrete for the abstract, etc., is known in rhetoric as metonymy. Synecdoche is a kind of metonymy-the substitution of the big for the small and vice verse. Antonomasia is the substitution of the proper noun for the common noun and vice verse(ibid, 26).All these English devices are included in a Chinese figure of speech- metonymy. Some examples are listed below,(15)Wall Street falls again (The Times Sept 4, 2001)“Wall Street” in effect means the Wall Street stock market: the big substitutes the small.(16)World of grief captured in photo project (The Times Oct 27, 2001)The headline writer employs an antonomasia and substitutes “America” with "world of grief ‟.(17)辽宁锐气足大连失误多国脚统领辽连大战(China Youth Daily Nov 2, 2001) “辽宁”is the substitution for Liaoning football team(辽宁足球队)，“大连”for Dalian football team(大连足球队)and“国脚”for the national footballers(国家足球队员).5. AllusionAllusions in writing are references to well-known persons, things or events, which writers assume are familiar to their readers. English has a tremendous amount of allusions, which result from mythology, legends, fables, fairy tales, the Bible, famous literary works, historical figures or events. Not only do writers use allusion to save time and space, but they also give their readers the pleasure that comes from seeing similarities or hearing echoes of ideas. Thus, allusion is widely employed in the news headline to help it convey its intended meaning in a brief and attractive way.(18)The hell that is Afghanistan is no myth, even Prometheus found it tough (The Times Oct 19, 2001)Prometheus is a god in Greek mythology, who stole fire to human kind and thus was chained to a crag of the Caucasus, while his liver was chomped daily by an eagle and organ-transplanted by the Olympian Health Service by night. Here the writer wants to show that the Afghanistan people are always involved in wars and their livesare hard, even harder than Prometheus‟.(19)游客岂是“唐僧肉”(People Daily Nov 5, 2001)“唐僧”is one of the main characters in The Journey to the West, whose flesh, once eaten, is believed to keep one permanently alive, and thus he becomes the hunt of demons and ghosts. The writer uses a rhetorical question to show that tourists travel simply to be relaxed not to be cheated out of their money.Most of the allusions in headlines are presumed by the head writer to be known to native readers, and their presence can make headlines simple and short, but with complex meanings indeed. However, to foreign readers, such allusions may be an obstacle to reading comprehension. Therefore allusion demands foreign readers' knowledge of the native culture, literature and history.8. PersonificationPersonification is a figure of speech, inanimate objects. Personification is favorably which attributes human qualities to used in news headlines.(20) With this ring BT, 21 Via Net wed (China Daily, Mar. 8, 2002)This piece of news is co-operate Endowing with Chinese to inform people that British Telecom is scheduled to privately owned telecom service provider 21 ViaNet.21 ViaNet with life and comparing BT to ring, example (1) seems more attractive than the straightforward one “BT takes 21ViaNet as partner”. The tone of the straightforward one is neutral and plain, while the original reveals the author's sensation towards the benefits of WTO and the Chinese company‟s cooperation with the oversea s. By metaphor and personification, we can even sense the author‟s sincere congratulation to the engaged 21 ViaNet in this headline.(21) Come on, daisy, light my life (The Times Aug 25, 2001)“Daisy” is a kind of flower, but in this head it is personi fied so that it seems able to understand the writer's words.(22) 被剥皮的红豆衫在流泪(Nanfang Daily Oct 18, 2001)The writer uses personification simply to tell readers that firs, just like human beings, have lives and feelings, too, and that human cruel action should be accused. The head, meanwhile, presents a touching picture of miserable firs to us and so callson us to protect firs.9. Rhetorical QuestionsA grammatical question is asked for an answer, but a rhetorical one is not. It is asked in order to get a definite response. It is not asked because the writer does not know the answer, but asked for the probable effect on the audience, which has been abstained by the deliberate expression in the following content, thus making the article vivid and powerful. The headline writer often uses such a rhetorical question to lure readers into the body for the answer:(23) 13 days on, who‟s winning this war? (The Times Oct 19, 2001)There is no clue to the answer in the headline, and readers have to go on to the body if they are curious. The answer indeed lies in the body: America and Britain are not likely to win the war on Afghanistan.(24)谁来“叫板”( China Youth Daily Oct 22, 2001)The writer does know the answer. In the body he proposes that players in Chinese clubs should be bold enough to charge the Chinese Football Association with interference10. ApostropheApostrophe is a figure of speech in which “a thing, place, idea or person (dead or alive)is addressed as if present, listening to and understanding what is being said”(Sha Zhaoyu, 1995: 41).It can sometimes be found in both English and Chinese headlines: (25)The bottom line is, Kate, that women on TV do get by on looks alone (The Times Oct 29, 2001)This head is about the writer's feeling on the result of the best TV actress in Britain. Kate, as widely considered the better of the two nominees, fails because she is not as beautiful as the other nominee though she performed excellently. The writer expresses his indignant view and uses this head as if he is writing to Kate.(26) 你好，苏伊士运河(China Youth Daily Nov 17, 2001)The writer is here addressing the Suez Cannel. It seems as if the channel is capable of understanding the writer's words. Used so, apostrophe reveals the writer's kindly attitude towards and appreciation of the Suez Cannel.11. Zeugma(拈连)Zeugma is a figure of speech by which a single word is made to modify or to govern two or more words in the same sentence, either properly applying in sense to only one of them, or applying to both in different senses (Feng Cuihua, 1983: 63).Such a device can save space and make the sentence compact, so it is sometimes employed in English and Chinese headlines:(27) It‟s cricket: bombs and borders cannot stop Afghanistan's team(The Times Oct 16, 2001)“Stop” originally can only govern“bombs”，but here it also modifies “borders”, meaning that the blockade along the Afghan border-lines cannot prevent the Afghanistan people from attending the cricket tournament in Pakistan.(28) 离婚离出蹊跷事(Wenhui Daily Oct 18, 2001)一女士要求男方拿出违约金30万The first“离”is a modifier of“婚”while the second is made deliberately to govern the phrase“蹊跷事”，which, despite so, reads smooth.3.2 Rhetorical Devices Commonly in Chinese Headlines but Rarely in English HeadlinesBesides the figures of speech discussed above there are still some devices commonly found in Chinese headlines, but rarely in English headlines:1 .Simile(明喻)A simile makes a comparison between two or more unlike things having at least one quality or characteristic in common. The comparison is purely imaginative, that is, the resemblance between the unlike things exists only in our minds, in our “inward eye”and not in the nature of the things themselves ( Feng Cuihua, 1983:3).It is usuall y expressed by “like” or “as” in English and“象”，“如”，“恰似”，etc., in Chinese. Though it is rarely, if ever, used in English headlines, it is a common device in Chinese headlines, normally expressed by“如”，“似”，“象”，“好比”and so on, which are no longer than two characters. For example:(29) 机遇象条河(China Youth Daily Feb 28, 2007 )In this sentence, the writer compares the tenor“机遇”，to the vehicle“河”，to show that everyone has opportunities; the problem lies in whether we can find and take them, instead of letting t hem “flow” like a river.2 RepetitionRepetition can strengthen the language power so as to convey strong emotion andheighten the rhythm of language, and when it is used in the headline, it enables them tobe eye-catching and ear-pleasing.In Chinese headlines, however, it is usually the repetitive use of the same word or phrase, aimed at showing emotion in an emphasizing way. As the repetitive use of the same word or phrase is not appreciated in English, repetition almost never appears in English headlines.(30)孩子!孩子!孩子! ( Nanfang Daily June 7, 2005)—江西省广电幼儿园火灾直击The repetition of “children” is in fact an echo of the desperate cry on the spot. Along with three exclamation marks, the repetition vivifies the terrible scene and confusion, and thus the alarm is sounded against fire.3. Parallelism(排比)Parallelism consists of phrases or sentences of similar structures and meanings placed side by side, balancing each other(see Li Guonan, 1999: 434).English parallelism may be composed of two or more phrases or sentences, and Chinese parallelism is of more than two phrases or sentences, and is a usual device in headlines:(31)抓党风促政风带民风(Guangming Daily Oct 30, 2001)This head includes three clauses placed in a balanced structure showing their causal relationship, so it sounds rhythmical and forceful.4 Dingzhen（顶真）Dingzhen is to take the end of the text as the beginning of the next, which。