Chapter 1 Journalistic English 英语新闻写作一标题的作用与特点

Journalistic English : Style and Analysis

Chapter 1

Written by Yuanzhe Zhang 一、标题的作用与特点

标题（headline），是新闻的一个不可分割的组成部分。读者打开报纸，首先映日眼帘的是版面，而版面上首先吸引读者注意力的则是标题。一个好的标题本身就是一则短新闻。我们在研究新闻英语时，就不能不涉及到标题的作用、形式及种种特点。

1.标题的作用

好的标题应该言简意赅，它犹如一双炯炯有神的眼睛，起着传神达意和吸引读者的作用。若标题得势，则全文皆振；标题失势，则全文皆靡。英文报纸种类繁多，风格各异，为了在竞争中立于不败之地，各报总是千方百计地突出新闻标题，力求既达意又醒目。

标题的作用，概括起来，主要表现在两个方面：

1）Summarize the News Content.

2）Attract reader’s attention.

2．标题的语法特点

2.1省略(Omission)

标题原来都是一句完整的句子，但为了起到言简意赅的效果，从而突出重要内容，标题常常被删去某些语法成分或词语，尤以虚词为主，如冠词、连词and以及动词to be 等等。现分述如下，并请注意

划线部分，加以对照。

1）冠词基本省略:

i. Top Pakistan judge dismissed after refusing to take oath.

(A top Pakistan judge dismissed after refusing to take oath.)

ii. China sees housing as engine to drive economy.（China sees housing as an engine to drive the economy.）

2） 连词“and”的省略，通常用逗号代替:

i. China，US warned of repeat of Cold War. (China and US

warned of repeat of Cold War.)

ii. Platinum, diamond market sparking. (Platinum and diamond market sparking.)

3)人称关系代词省略:

i. Daewoo to increase investigation in China.(Daewoo to

increase its investment in China.)

ii. Mother, Daughter Share Fulbright Year. (A mother and her Daughter Share a Fulbright Year.)

4)连系动词省略。下面三个标题中的括号部分均为连系动词的省略处:

i. Shanghai(is)worried about surge of accidents.

ii. Three (are) dead after inhaling oven gas.

iii. Courses on Practical Skills (Remain) popular with students.

2.2 Tense (时态)

新闻英语中讲究言简意赅，不能采用所有时态的形式来浓缩新闻事实，为此，新闻标题行成了独特的时态特点，以达到使动词既传神达意又具有时间感的目的。一般现在时/一般将来时/现在进行时。

通常情况下，新闻媒介报道的消息为已发生的事情，但是标题中的动词，仍常以一般现在时的形式来表达，这样不仅省去了过去式的ed两个字母的空间，更重要的是增强了报道的新鲜感（freshness）和直接感（immediacy）。

Longevity Star dies at 110

LIMA, Peru---A cache of fireworks exploded yesterday at a shop near a street market in downtown Lima, spreading fire through four blocks of apartment and stores. At least 77 people were killed and 115 others injured, the Civil Defense chief said.

The Asian Wall Street Journal, Jan 3, 1992 标题中动词的将来时表达形式除用一般将来时“will + 动词原形外，更多采用“be+动词不定式结构，其中不定式前的be通常省略，以节省略标题字数。因此，动词不定式在英文标题中可以直接表示未来动作。

i.Robot nurses will assist sick and elderly--- magazine.

The Reuters, Jan.12,2001

ii.Iraq to suspend anti-Kurdish campaign. (Iraq is to suspend the anti-Kurdish campaign.)

The New Zealand Herald, Oct.29,1991 iii.Japan to help elderly jobless. (Japan is to help the elderly jobless.)

The Financial Times, Jan. 27,2000 对于正在发生的事或动作，标题常采用现在进行时“be+现在分词”这一形式，其中“be”通常省略，因此，剩下的ing现在分词在英语新闻标题中就可以直接表示正在进行的动作或正在变化的事件。

i.Bhopal gas victims still waiting for money. (Bhopal gas victims are

still waiting for money.)

The Guardian, Dec4, 1991 ii.China’s tax collectors inching for inheritance tax. (China’s tax collectors are inching for inheritance tax.)

The Agence France Press, Feb 28,1996 值得注意的是，英文标题的上述特点并非固定不变的，偶尔也有例外，如一般现在时有时也可以表示正在发生或将要发生的事。

bour plans BBC shake-up

The Labur party is drawing up proposals for changing the way radio and television are run and regulated and for more public-service broadcasting.

The observer, sept.21, 1986