Abstract

In the modern society, reading news has become one of the most important means of obtaining information. By analyzing a large number of examples, the author of this paper is going to conclude three main functions of news headlines: attracting the readers, summarizing the news and commenting on the event. Also, the author of this paper will study the lexical, grammatical and rhetorical features of English news headlines. The paper suggests that translators should adopt various strategies, such as literal translation, liberal translation, amplification, omission, conversion and so on. Thus, the translated headlines can be more natural to Chinese readers.

Key words: English news headlines; features; translation strategies

CONTENTS

中文摘要

Abstract

I.-Introduction-1

1.1 Purpose of the Study-1

1.2 Significance of the Study-1

1.3 Structure of the Paper-2

II.-An Introduction to English News Headlines-2

2.1 Definition of News Headlines-2

2.2 Functions of News Headlines-2

III.-Features of News Headlines-3

3.1 Graphemic and Graphological Features-3

3.2 Lexical Features-3

3.2.1 Nouns-3

3.2.2Adjectives-3

3.2.3 Midget Words-4

3.2.4 Acronym and Shortened Words-4

3.3 Grammatical features-5

3.3.1 Tense-5

3.3.2 Voice-6

3.4 Rhetorical features-7

3.4.1 Alliteration-7

3.4.2 Rhyme-7

3.4.3 Parody-7

3.4.4 Pun-8

3.4.5 Metaphor-8

IV.-Strategies Applied in Translating English News headlines-9

4.1 Literal Translation-9

4.2 Liberal Translation-9

4.3 Amplification-9

4.4 Omission-10

4.5 Conversion-10

4.5.1 Transforming Passive Voice to Active Voice-11

4.5.2 Transforming Noun Phrase to Sentence-11

4.5.3 Transforming Incomplete Sentence to Complete Sentence-11

4.6 Applying the Original Rhetoric into Translation-11

4.6.1 Alliteration-11

4.6.2 Rhyme-12

4.6.3 Metaphor-12

4.7 Applying Famous Chinese Sayings and Poems-13

4.8 Applying Punctuation Wisely-13

V.-Conclusion-13