Words in News M Grazia Bus 2013 Language

Words in News © M. Grazia Busà 2013

Language as a tool for expressing ideology in the press Word choice can: ØReveal the writer’s attitude, point of view and personality traits ØConvey semantic nuances ØSuggest evaluation (i. e. criticism or approval) © M. Grazia Busà 2013

The English vocabulary Ø Richness of English vocabulary ● Concepts can be expressed with great exactness, precision and detail Example: English verbs for describing light: dazzle flash flicker glimmer glint glisten glow shimmer sparkle twinkle © M. Grazia Busà 2013

Choosing the appropriate word … Ø The existence of near-synonymous words may make word choice difficult ● Difference may be a matter of nuances For example: q Is there a difference between jail, prison, correctional facility and penitentiary? q Is there a difference between quick, fast, rapid and prompt? © M. Grazia Busà 2013

Answers Ø Jail (US): an institution for the confinement of inmates awaiting trial or people convicted and sentenced to short-term stays Ø Prison: a detention for long-term convicts who have been tried and convicted of serious crime Ø Correctional facility: a detention place for the confinement and the rehabilitation of prisoners Ø Penitentiary: a detaining facility for long-term convicts, maintained by the federal government © M. Grazia Busà 2013

Answers Ø Quick: completed in a short amount of time Ø Fast: happening quickly, usually used in comparison to something else Ø Rapid: moving or occurring speedily, swift. More formal register than quick and fast Ø Prompt: without delay, usually references time. More formal register than quick and fast © M. Grazia Busà 2013

Formation of new words In English, new words can be created by: ØAdding prefixes and suffixes to a root ● e. g. , routine + -ly = routinely ØCombining words + morphemes ● e. g. , lap + top = laptop; chair + person = chairperson ØCombining words + suffixes and prepositions ● e. g. , movie + go + -er = moviegoer; fix + er + up + -er = fixer-upper ØMerging two or more words: so-called ‘blendings’ ● e. g. , smoke + fog = smog; breakfast + lunch = brunch © M. Grazia Busà 2013

Other strategies for creating words Ø Acronyms (words created with word initials) ● e. g. : WASP = White Anglo-Saxon Protestant; YUPPIE = Young Urban Professional Ø Trademarks, brand names, etc. ● e. g. : Xerox, aspirin, band-aid, Kleenex Ø Through the Internet ● e. g. : Google meaning to look someone or something up Ø Borrowings from other languages ● e. g. , cannibal, desperado, ghetto, casino, umbrella, dollar, karma, yoga, jungle, shampoo, hashish, hurricane, tobacco, tiger, spaghetti, … © M. Grazia Busà 2013

Use of words in news reporting Ø Great exploitation of the flexibility of English vocabulary ● Use of foreign words, new coinages, adaptations and resemanticisation ● New words are invented all the time ● e. g. , bouncebackability from bounce + back + ability; boomerangst from boomer + angst; snow(po)calypse from snow + apocalypse; snowicane from snow + hurricane allows journalists to express concepts in novel, appealing, incisive ways © M. Grazia Busà 2013

Some characteristics Ø Common word associations may lead to the creation of clichés (overused expressions) ● e. g. : tragic accident, brutal murder, sudden death Ø Existing word meaning may be extended to create new meaning ● e. g. : tweet ‒ extended from ‘a chirping note’ to ‘exchange of messages on Twitter’ Ø Use of borrowings to talk about foreign affairs ● e. g. The iron Frau: Angela Merkel (http: //www. independent. co. uk, April 12, 2010) ● Signor Fini, where do you stand? (http: //www. economist. com, Aug 5, 2010) © M. Grazia Busà 2013

Use of words to convey point of view Ø Selection of words to tell stories is not an objective process Ø The choice of words reflects viewpoints, reveals a hidden opinion or judgment, and influences the readership Ø Viewpoints/attitudes can be implied through: ● Choice of ‘neutral’ or ‘emotionally-loaded’ words Examples: The shameless boy; The hopeless request Tony said vs Tony claimed vs Tony argued © M. Grazia Busà 2013

How does choice of words reflect or affect the presentation of the event? Ø Word choice in the headline is key to the article’s interpretation ● Unappetising truth about free-range Christmas turkeys (Daily Mail, December 14, 2012) ● Car advocates fuming over plan to reinstate plate fee (http: //cphpost. dk/news/national/car-advocates-fuming-over-plan-reinstate-plate-fee, December 10 2012) ● Visit by President Obama causes traffic headaches in Los Angeles (http: //www. swrnn. com/2010/08/17/visit-by-president-obama-causes-traffic-headaches-in-los-angeles) © M. Grazia Busà 2013

Irony Ø Words convey a meaning that is the opposite of the literal meaning. ● ‘Nice weather!’ (when in fact it is raining) ● ‘Your mother will be happy to hear what you have done!’ (but in fact she will not be happy) Ø An important mechanism for establishing and reinforcing consensus between the newspaper and the readership ● Based on sharing the different levels of meaning in the text © M. Grazia Busà 2013

An example of use of irony in the news Ø http: //www. thetimes. co. uk/tto/news/world/agenda/article 1840365. e ce Ø Particular choice of words is used to create a strongly ironic, derogatory (sarcastic) tone, a special effect to reinforce consensus between newspaper and readership Ø Use of quotes (‘’) and combination of direct and indirect speech are used for the same purpose © M. Grazia Busà 2013

Quotes are used to report Sarko’s critics’ usual way of referring to his son World Agenda: 'Prince Jean' and the court of King Sarko (The Times online, October 20, 2009) but neither Sarkozy nor his son are of royal blood © M. Grazia Busà 2013 The idea of a Prince is connected with the idea of monarchy So the use of these words is ironic and derogatory here

Compare headline from the Guardian written with no ironic tone Sarkozy’s son sparks nepotism row after being tipped for top public job (the Guardian online, October 9, 2009) © M. Grazia Busà 2013

About the language used in the story Ø A few words are reported in quotes, sometimes in French with a translation, to add a touch of French flavour to the news, to make the news more vivid, and to take distance from its truth-value Ø Quotes are also used as a strategy that allows the reporter not to commit about the truth-value of the reported words ● ‘une rupture’ ● ‘le fiston à piston’ ● ‘hysterical manhunt’ ● ‘reflexes of the court’ © M. Grazia Busà 2013

How is Jean Sarkozy referred to? Ø Prince Jean Ø The President’s undergraduate son Ø aged 23 and repeating his second year at the Sorbonne Ø Sarko junior Ø Super Sarko’s golden boy Words used to refer to Jean Sarkozy do not show him much respect © M. Grazia Busà 2013

What’s in a name? Ø Naming people is an important aspect of social conventions ● The names used to address/refer to people provide information about the relationships existing between those people ● Calling people by the ‘wrong name’ may be a taken as derogatory and/or cause insult or offence q e. g. , ‘North Americans’ vs ‘Yankees’ © M. Grazia Busà 2013

Naming strategies in newspapers Ø Different attitudes can be implied by the way people or groups are referred to ● Prince Charles ● Charlie ● The longest-serving heir-apparent in British history Ø Naming can signal ● Friendship, affection, dislike (nicknames, first names, adjectives …) ● Lack of deference, superiority (no title before name …) © M. Grazia Busà 2013

Compare the following headlines dated April 1, 2009 (during the G 20 summit, in London, UK) How are the people in conflict with the police referred to in the different headlines? © M. Grazia Busà 2013

Comparing the use of words to describe the same event and people Ø Demonstrations turn violent (the Independent, UK) Ø G 20 Protesters clash with London cops (www. cbsnews. com) Ø G 20 protests: Rioters loot RBS as demonstrations turn violent (www. telegraph. co. uk) Ø G 20 protesters smash windows, clash with police (www. reuters. com) © M. Grazia Busà 2013

Lexical choices Ø demonstrations < protesters < rioters Ø turn violent < clash with < loot < smash From more to less neutral language © M. Grazia Busà 2013

Naming as a key to interpreting the newspaper stance News story Ø Levi Bellfield found guilty of killing two young women and attempting to kill another ● The man is also the main suspect in another young woman’s killing [i. e. , Milly Dowler’s] in 2002 What is the effect of the naming conventions used in the different newspapers on the presentation of the killer and the story told? © M. Grazia Busà 2013

Some facts about the story Ø Man is suspected of killing 20 women Ø No police action was taken for a long time, and the man was free to kill for many years before he was eventually uncovered Ø All victims were young (from 13 to 37), slim, blonde, well-off © M. Grazia Busà 2013

The Times Woman is named by first and last name The headline: Violent woman-hater is main Milly Dowler murder suspect Implies probability, not certainty. There may be other suspects Introduces the man and mentions the characteristics most relevant to the killing. Man is presented as not known to the readers Cannot be considered guilty until he has been sentenced © M. Grazia Busà 2013

The Daily Telegraph The headline: Bus stop killer’s link to Milly Only first name, to signal affection, acquaintance Man is introduced as ‘the killer’ © M. Grazia Busà 2013

Daily Mail The headline: Will he get away with Milly’s murder? Only first name, to signal affection, acquaintance Use of the pronoun implies that he is known to the reader ‘Get away with’ expresses the idea that he did it, but may not get convicted © M. Grazia Busà 2013

The Sun Only first name, to signal affection, acquaintance The headline He killed Milly too ‘too’ implies that he is known to have killed also someone else The use of the pronoun implies that he is known to the reader The action is presented as a certainty © M. Grazia Busà 2013

Subheads The Times: ● Police errors left killer free to continue attacks ● Task force to examine links to 20 other cases The Daily Telegraph: ● Nightclub bouncer who murdered two young women is prime suspect in schoolgirl’s death Daily Mail: ● Bus-stop predator guilty of killing two young girls, but after catalogue of police blunders The Sun: ● Bus-stop beast found guilty ● Now Dowler cops believe maniac L. B. murdered © M. Grazia Busà 2013

Effects of naming on presentation of L. B. The Times: ● Most balanced ● No explicit judgment of L. B. is expressed ● Milly Dowler is presented as not known to the reader The Daily Telegraph: ● Suggests that L. B. is guilty ● Elicits readers’ sympathy for Milly as a young girl The Daily Mail and the Sun: ● Bellfield is presented as a monster ● Judgment of guilt is expressed clearly ● Elicits readers’ sympathy for Milly as a young girl © M. Grazia Busà 2013