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Why are newspaper headlines in the present tense? (1 viewing) (1) Guest
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TOPIC: Why are newspaper headlines in the present tense?
#78258
Spearmint Rhino
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Liverpool, Barry Town, Wales Gender: Male I think it could only be done with CGI Stay Beautiful McVitie's dark chocolate digestives The Provensen Book Of Fun And Nonsense ...& French, University College London 1986-90 Abba Greatest Hits Vol. 2 Location: Brighton & Hove Birthdate: 1967-09-25
posted 07-08-2008 13:43

 
Anyone know how that convention came about?
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#78261
evilC
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posted 07-08-2008 13:45

 
Spearmint Rhino wrote:
QUOTE:
Anyone know how that convention came about?



....and, given their 'present tense-ness', why they don't also say "...behiiind yooouuuuuu!!!"?
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#78262
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posted 07-08-2008 13:45

 
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#78268
Spearmint Rhino
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posted 07-08-2008 13:50

 
King Mob wrote:
QUOTE:
Some light reading that may be of interest


As far as I can see, that article merely notes that newspaper headlines tend to be in the present tense. It doesn't explain the reason or the history.
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Last Edit: 07-08-2008 13:50 By Spearmint Rhino.
 
#78280
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posted 07-08-2008 13:57

 
"These characteristics tend to place the event in a dehistoricised, static present. It is thus possible to read these headlines both as a comment on a current situation and as a description of perennial attitudes. Particular events or reactions are included in a series or class of events, creating unfounded generalisations. Comments about the behaviour or attitudes at a particular time are thus transformed into statements about unchanging characteristics - in this case, about national characteristics..."
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#78288
Spearmint Rhino
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posted 07-08-2008 14:04

 
King Mob wrote:
QUOTE:
"These characteristics tend to place the event in a dehistoricised, static present. It is thus possible to read these headlines both as a comment on a current situation and as a description of perennial attitudes. Particular events or reactions are included in a series or class of events, creating unfounded generalisations. Comments about the behaviour or attitudes at a particular time are thus transformed into statements about unchanging characteristics - in this case, about national characteristics..."


That starts off as a description of the effect the present tense-ness has on the reader (as opposed to the rationale behind using it), then degenerates into a load of meaningless wafflewank.

I mean, thanks and everything, but that's not what I was looking for.
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#78323
posted 07-08-2008 14:27

 
I don't know about the origin of the convention, but I gratefully use it to make use of shorter words in a headline.

I suspect the answer to your query is what you probably suspect anyway: that headline in the present tense headline sounds more immediate than it would in the past tense. Which was probably a useful device in times when some news were really old ("from our correspondent, by Air Mail"); the convention allowed such news to appear fresh.
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#78330
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posted 07-08-2008 14:37

 
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#78339
Spearmint Rhino
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posted 07-08-2008 14:46

 
Good work!
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#78692
Ant van Oviedo
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posted 07-08-2008 23:20

 
Isn't it just that the present simple tense is the main narrative tense? "A man walks into a pub..." That must have something to do with it. Mind you, headines are a linguistic law unto themselves, with no articles or auxilliary verbs and a peculiar use for some otherwise ordinary words (blast, probe, shock, storm etc.).

At least we don't go in for incorrect comma usage like the Yan...our American friends.
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