CRYSTAL,Chapter 7 -The Language of Newspaper Reporting
CRYSTAL,Chapter 7 -The Language of Newspaper Reporting
As is mentioned by Crystal and David (1969: 173) everything that happens to be printed in a
newspaper or written by a journalist is not going to be linguistically homogeneous‟. Crystal
and David (ibid.) also claim that there is not any reason to expect such a “homogeneity”
since a newspaper is always very eclectic from the stylistic point of view. We come across a
number of “journalises” in the pages of various daily press, and as a striking fact, while they
are dealing with the same issue their overall styles are very different.
In this chapter, Crystal analyzes how language is used in newspapers, focusing on its
distinctive characteristics, stylistic conventions, and its role in shaping public discourse.David
Crystal examines two examples of newspaper articles to illustrate differences and similarities
in language use across types of reporting. These examples highlight how different styles
cater to specific purposes and audiences while adhering to common journalistic principles.
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The author states that the term “ Journalese” is a pseudo descriptive term which never
gives any kind of precise definition. He believes it is a pejorative criticism of a way of writing
that people feel is in some way typical of the press of a particular paper.
While there are certain amounts in common between the pages of daily dress their overall
style is very different.
The author has chosen two extracts in this chapter to represent different extremes of
journalistic writing. The pejorative use of the term journaleset seems to be restricted to the
kind of newspaper reporting language Illustrated an example number 1.
It is important to highlight that the kinds of English used are very different: that disparity
can be explained by reference to the very different audiences that have the papers.
The author concentrates as much on the linguistic differences as on the similarities to
clarify the idea that journalese is not a single thing. he says it is dangerous to make
generalizations about the uses of language.But the language in examples 1 and 2 does not
differ in every aspect,the two texts share:
A. some important linguistic features that are not generally found outside newspaper
reporting
B. Their underlying aims are identical: they are both concerned to present a certain
number of facts in as interesting a manner as possible to audiences.
C. the general pressures working on the authors are the same: the need for
compression of the information into a limit space, the need for clarity, the avoidance
of ambiguity
Examples 1 and 2 are two treatments of the same story by different papers which appear on
the same day. The different styles which appear in each paper consist on:
Visual features I II
dashes:
2. PHONOLOGY : which underlines the written form of newspaper reporting is not
normally stylistically significant, presumably because this is language written to be
read, rarely read aloud. But certain auditory effects can be found which reverberate
mentally.
IMPORTANT! headlines are a separate study in themselves being radically different from
the rest of newspaper reporting language.There are techniques of headline right in both
texts. The author doesn't make a separate examination of these techniques but consider
➔ the kind of word which tend to be omitted to gain the desire compression: “Man
finds gun on beach”,
➔ the type of ambiguity which may arise from leaving out important structural cues:
“Giant waves down funnel”
➔ and the very restricted range of sentence types which may occur as headlines
IMPORTANT! The stylistic point to put an adverbial whose normal position is post-verbal,
anywhere near the beginning of the class, is to fulfill a strongly emphatic function.In
newspaper reporting the distinction in positions seems to be made purely for the sake of
varying the emphasis within a given sentence and no more.
This distinction between the subject and the predicate is based on the function of the parts of the
clause. It is of long standing and works well for English. This distinction is also reflected in the
structure of a basic clause. This is shown in the following diagram where the first branching in a
structure tree shows the split between subject and predicate.
In English, the terms predicate and verb phrase are equivalent, but they reflect different
perspectives on the clause:
'Predicate' describes a semantic function while 'verb phrase' refers to a unit of structure.
In the sentence:
They waited outside for ages.
the phrases outside and for ages add extra meaning to waited. They tell us
where, and for how long, the people waited.
They are adjuncts:
Adjuncts and complements
Adjuncts and complements are different.
CLAUSE TYPES
The kind of changes in the basic theme of SPC by introducing various types of coordination
and subordination (ways of combining sentences)
Trent thought the movie was great but Quentin didn't like it.
Emilia saw the emus, Nadine saw the pelicans, Georgia saw the snakes.
The clauses which are joined by coordination have the same status; they are each
independent (main) clauses.
A sentence which has conjoined two independent clauses with a coordination conjunction is
called a compound sentence. It can be represented in a diagram as follows:
Coordination may also be used to link constituents within the clause provided they have
the same status as each other.
➔ This applies to individual words (such as the nouns and the adverbs in the clause Juice
and water can be drunk together or apart)
➔ and to phrases (for example the prepositional phrases in the clause We like to swim in
the pool and at the beach).
Here are some examples of coordinators. You may find it helpful to remember the
acronym FANBOYS.
1. For (effect/cause): Jasmine is afraid of dogs, for she was bitten by a dog
when she was young.
2. And (addition): Isaiah lives in Livermore, and his parents live nearby in
Pleasanton.
3. Nor (addition of negatives): Mary doesn’t want to go to college, nor does she
want to find a job.
4. But (contrast): Abdul likes to read, but he prefers to watch television.
5. Or (alternative): Jose thinks he wants to study math, or he might be
interested in fire fighting.
6. Yet (contrast): Justin really likes to run in the morning, yet he hates getting up
early.
7. So (cause/effect): Maria loves dogs, so she went to the animal shelter to
adopt one.
1. however (contrast): Cycling class is a tough workout; however, I still attend
three times a week.
2. therefore (cause/effect): Erin takes regular pilates classes; therefore, she is
very strong.
3. for example (general to specific): There are many fun exercises; for example,
I take kickboxing and weight lifting.
4. in fact (emphasis): Phat is obsessed with running; in fact, he is out running
right now.
Subordinate clauses express additional information about some element of the main clause,
and can function as modifiers, adjuncts or complements.
Subordinate clauses often (but not always) have a different structure to main clauses and may
not be grammatical as independent utterances. For example, *to go to the beach this weekend is
not a complete sentence.
Sentences that contain a subordinate clause are called complex sentences. The structure of a
complex sentence is given in the diagram below. The subordinate clause is internal to the main
clause:
One way of distinguishing among subordinate clauses is to identify the type of verb they contain.
Verbs in subordinate clauses are either finite or non-finite. Clauses with verbs of each type are
associated with different kinds of subordination.
1. Content clauses are a type of finite subordinate clause. Their subordinate status may be
marked by the subordinator that in some environments.
2. Non-finite subordinate clauses, like to go to the beach this weekend or the bolded clause in
Nadine prefers playing tennis are typically complements to the main clause. There are four
kinds of non-finite clauses. All of them are headed by non-finite verbs of different kinds:
A RELATIVE CLAUSE is a finite clause that modifies a noun and is a constituent of the noun
phrase which has the noun as its head ,for example,
To identify a relative clause without a subordinator, we can insert a relative pronoun to see if the
sentence still makes sense, for example, the umbrella (that) I borrowed.
Friends who offer cats for pets are making some pretty big assumptions.
Close friends, who have a lot in common, sometimes still surprise each other,
Comparative clauses are finite subordinate clauses that are used to compare two different
situations. One is encoded in the main clause and the other appears as the subordinate clause.
Comparative clauses typically modify an adverb or an adjective, and are introduced by as or than
(for example, The cricket match was longer than we anticipated or Peter played as well as he
has ever played).
Comparative clauses introduced by as can also function to modify verb phrases (for example,
Rabbit is running as fast as he can).
https://languagetools.info/grammarpedia/subordination.htm
Subordinators/Subordinating Conjunctions
To subordinate one sentence to another, use a connecting word called a "subordinator."
The following words are examples of subordinators.
TEXT 1 TEXT 2
There is a greater diversity of structural types the more complex sentences do not follow
each other in a string, they tend to be
distributed among the shorter sentences,
which aids both with the ability and
comprehension
in both I and II the more complex sentences tend to be avoided at the beginning of the articles.
So there is an overall clarity of both these extracts because the connectedness of the
discourse is well organized and clearly defined. There is no disjointedness.
It's very important the type of sentence there is less story and more discussion,
language that occurs frequently in I, for consequently the conjunction type of
example: language of linkage is rarer and this extract
relies on other techniques of reference
to begin a sentence with the conjunction of between sentences.For example:
some kind which then acts as a bridge
between the sentence and following and the ● the use of the definite article,
one preceding. There is a paragraphing ● demonstrative and personal finance,
technique used by I. ● lexical repetition, prop words such as
one
● certain kinds of adverbials.
Stylistic devices
consequently we put ourselves as reader in an intimate relationship with the writer. this
account for the tone of familiarity which we feel in this opening sentences. devices of this
kind are very common in the more informal styles of newspapers reporting English.
2. GROUP STRUCTURE
There are distinctive characteristics operating within the nominal and verbal group
The nominal group: the presence of much more complex pre and post modification
that we normally hear or write. It is noticeable especially in 1, how nouns function
on their own without some form of adjective or other modification. There is a
particularly strong tendency to introduce adjectives whatever possible, to add detail
and color to the story.
In 2 , the emphasis on nominal modification is still there, but it takes different forms:
● also there are a fairly large number of unmodified nouns: abstract terms,
grammatically uncomfortable, such as
● The simple past tense is usually the dominant form, but there is an above
average proportion of present tense forms, due to that scientific nature of 2.
● Modal verbs are frequently used.
● The tendency in the popular press is to use the active voice rather than the
passive, II gives a false impression containing me at least 30 passives as
opposed to three in I.
● Contracted forms also occur in the more informal passages, for example at
the beginning of I.
Vocabulary: the most striking feature is clearly the word formation in I, where there
is a greater inventiveness in compounding than is normally seen in English. In II,
there's dominant lexical feature is the technical terminology, most of which is taken
for granted as not requiring explanation. These are noticeably lacking in I, where
simpler words are used.
SEMANTICS
the study of meanings in a language: Syntax describes the rules by which words
can be combined into sentences, while semantics describes what they mean.
The basic aim of the two extracts: to report the facts, maybe the same, but their
interpretations are very different. The two papers take very different lines as to what
are the relevant facts, that is, the facts which their audiences would find interesting.
Not only is different language necessary to suit the different temperament of their
respective audiences, but a different type of information is also given.
If we compare the actual information given in the two extracts, we can see how the
same basic story is interpreted very differently. There is little else semantically in
common.
● Both extract try to commence, in their respective ways, with the Lively
introduction:
● In 1 and 2 there are sharps switch in a styles between some sentences
● In 1 the introductory sections contain shorter and less complex sentences,
and relatively more Vivid and dramatic information. the routine details are left
till later
● 1 gets down to factual detail
● In 2 the thought progression is not necessarily better organized than 1, but it
is more complex and involves a greater and more explicit degree of control.
Points to be discussed: summaries are given, there are clear topic sentences
in paragraph-usually at the beginning
● in 2 the thought progresses in jumps, with very little development of it in the
individual points being made
Conclusion
There are certain linguistic features which tend to occur only in a journalistic context, but it is
unlikely that all or the majority of this would occur in any given newspaper report. It is better
to consider journalist as a range of usage which may be tapped when necessary, to a
greater or lesser extent.
It is not a question of calling one of these articles linguistically better or worse than the
other. The issue which every reader is faith with is first and foremost to decide how the
information he has been presented with this to be interpreted. These may be not important
in the case of the above extracts, but in other matters, such as politics or religion, we can
see that, using similar techniques, a topic can be presented to the public in very different
light, and it is up to us to judge to what extent this coloring is a obscuring the true of a
situation