HEADLINESE
DEFINITION: The condensed, elliptical, or sensationalist style of language characteristic of (especially newspaper) headlines. Newspaper headlines make use of a great variety of less usual words, which can also make them harder to read by non-native speakers. Headlines also try to be ‘punny’ (making use of close synonyms or related words as a joke) and alliterative (using a string of words with the same initial letter or sound). They tend to use shorter words than normal, and often leave out unnecessary grammatical ‘extras’. All this makes headlines short and eye-catching (and less than easy to read). British newspapers also pander to the educational norms of their readers, and use vocabulary and references aimed at social classes. There is a world of difference between the style and content of UK newspapers The Times and The Sun, the former aimed at very well educated manager and diplomatic classes, the latter aimed at manual workers. Because space is limited, headlines are writt...