Đề tài A study on the structural featues of english news story

om a tugboat that capsized in Hong Kong waters and searched for 16 more Ukrainian sailors believed to be dead after being trapped in the overturned hull last weekend, the Hong Kong government said. (IHT. March 27, 2008) And more another example 2.1.2.1.e2: The headline: Party goes on at Sevens, market troubles or no The topic sentence: HONG KONG : Hong Kong’s annual rugby sevens tournament, a lure for bankers in the Asia Pacific region and beyond, sold out in record time this year and needs a new stadium to cope with demand, tournament officials said. (IHT, March 29-30, 2008) - At the beginning of some topic sentences, we can easily see that the name of a country, a city or a place which is to inform where the source of the news comes from. E.g.2.1.2.1.f1: The headline: Goalie saves Australia in China The topic sentence: KUNMING, China: Mark Schwarzer saved Shao Jiayi’s penalty two minutes from time as Australia held China, 0-0, Wednesday to collect a valuable away point in Asian qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. (IHT. March 27, 2008) E.g.2.1.2.1.f2: The headline: Destruction of tapes hovers over CIA The sub-title: Move is used as basis for legal challenges The topic sentence: WASHINGTON: When CIA officers destroyed hundreds of hours of videotapes documenting harsh interrogations in 2005, they may have believed they were freeing potentially serious legal trouble. (IHT, March 29-30, 2008) 2.1.2.2 Content features of the topic sentence It is the topic sentence that decides the whole structure of the news. If its content cannot create a certain connection to the readers, they would stop their reading as the topic sentence has the duty to attract them to the whole news. So, according to Bush [1], topic sentence has some features as follows: - The topic sentence is first to inform the main content or the gist of the event decided by the writer. In another word, due to the writer’s purpose, this aspect or others of the event will be the main content. This function is sometimes called “playing the feature” that means to highlight the chosen aspect. E.g.2.1.2.2.a: The headline: U.S. memo authorized extreme methods The sub-title: Wartime powers made interrogators exempt, legal brief contended The topic sentence: WASHINGTON: The Justice Department gave military interrogators broad authority in 2003 to use extreme methods in questioning detainees and argued that wartime powers largely exempted interrogators from laws banning harsh treatment, according to a publicly disclosed memorandum. (IHT. April 3, 2008) In this example, the writer wants to report the information of the publicly disclosed memorandum that the U.S. administration authorized the extreme methods to the detainees in 2003 but still argued to largely exempt them from laws banning harsh treatment. This is a good attraction to any reader who cares for the peace. - The second function of the topic sentence is to join the reader into the news by using various ways. And a special one is the use of the questions. For example 2.1.2.2.b: The headline: Dylan fans grapple with his Pulitzer The sub-title: Does prize lessen his rebel status? The topic sentence: How did it feel? Perhaps you were thrilled last week when Bob Dylan earned a special award from Pulitzer board for his “profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power.” (IHT. April 16, 2008) - Thirdly, the topic sentence helps the reader understand the news by using words or building up the events into the story. E.g.2.1.2.2.c: The headline: R.E.M. wakes to old fans, but with something new The topic sentence: On the ground floor of a nondescript building, a few blocks from University of Georgia campus here, sits a little room stuffed with instruments and decorated with Christmas lights, lava lamps, old concert posters and tacked-up 45s. (IHT. April 3, 2008) The above topic sentence describes the scenery of the concert rehearsed by an old band. The usage the image words like “a nondescript building”, “a little room”, “Christmas lights” …ect helps the reader know what is new at the concert. Most of the social and political news stories are brief in not only the main content but also the main events. In detailed, according to some experts, the topic sentence must provide the information of 5 Wh-’ questions: Who?, What?, Where?, Why? And one “H”- How?. The following topic sentence is an example: E.g.2.1.2.2.d: Coalition forces were drawn deeper into Iraq’s four-day-old crackdown on Shiite militants on Friday, launching airstrikes in Basra for the first time and battling militants in Baghdad. (IHT, March 29-30, 2008) This topic sentence gives the reader the news of: Who: Coalition forces What: were drawn deeper into Iraq’s four-day-old crackdown… When: Friday Where: Basra and Baghdad The elements of “Wh” or “H” of the topic sentence depend on the writer’s aims. Thus, the main tendency in this text is using the topic sentence with the contents of “Who” and “What”. In addition, the topic sentence focusing on time with “When” element is rare. E.g.2.1.2.2.e: The headline: 10 years old, bloated Citi struggles to find footing The topic sentence: Ten years ago this Sunday, on April 6, 1998, Sanford Weill rewrote the rules of Wall Street. (IHT. April 4, 2008) The information of time: “Ten years ago this Sunday, on April 6, 1998” is the main news of the story. Throughout the story, the writer mentions to the days and events relating to this main news. 2.1.3 Structure of news story’s body The structure of an essay, a graduation paper usually has three parts: the beginning, the development and the conclusion. Thus, a news story in newspaper is reported in a brief way, its structure is quite different from these. MacDougall stated, “Every news in newspaper needs escaping from partially and subjective ideas, and press should have equality and balance when giving news to the reader.” For that, news story in newspaper, especially in English has only two parts: content summary and content development. In addition, every news story in English in general has an identical structure consisting of a headline, a topic sentence and a content development. According to Nguyen Hoa, “the main tendency in English news story is the using the mixed sentences including compound and complex sentences” E.g.2.1.3.a: LONDON: The European Commission said Tuesday that legitimate European worries about human rights and Tibet should not be “walled off” from a trading relationship with China but that it did not support the idea of boy-coots. (IHT. April 16, 2008) This using would trouble the reader in understanding sentences and create long sentences. However, every event will be put in its correct relation due to mixed sentences rather than the simple ones. Moreover, the length of a sentence also relates to the difficulty or the easiness of the story to read. It is a common advice to the journalists and the correspondents that “Press needs to easy for readers to understand and they can read fast. One of the ways to gain this target is to use shot sentences.” According to Bush, “the reasonable length of a sentence is 20 words.” The readers who have average educational level and rarely read newspaper could remember immediately 8 words; and 16, at maximum, to high-educational level readers. Another study shows that average educational level readers have capable of remembering 12 words. It is okay if there are 12 words in a sentence. But when reading a 17-word sentence, readers remember only 12 words, which means that out of every two words, only one is remembered. Similarly, if a sentence is 40-word long, the reader can remember only 12 words, of which 10 in the first half and 2 in the second one. Such a sentence can exist only when each half of it is an independent unit of information. Under that circumstance, the reader needs not to read this half to understand the other one. It means that the sentence can be divided into separate parts or sentences. In brief, each unit of information must not be more than 17-word long. E.g.2.1.3.b: Each required three million rivets, and shortage peaked during Titanic’s construction. (IHT. April 16, 2008) Thus, the sub-clause should not be abused. If not, each sentence consists of no more than 12 words. Imagining that we insert a clause or phrase that has more than 12 words between the subject and the object of a sentence, the reader might understand the whole sentence by reading the second time. Therefore, each unit of information contains at most 17 words is an effective way to form. Reading is a psychological process. The reader can normally remember and understand ideas one by one. If there is too much information packed into a sentence, it will cause difficulties to the reader. As a result of this, such sentences should be avoided. E.g.2.1.3.c: On Thursday night, the Obama campaign, in an effort to shift the spotlight to the Clintons, provide The New York Times with a picture of Wright and President Bill Clinton at the White House in 1998, at a breakfast meeting with religious leaders just hours before the report on Monica Lewinsky scandal by the independent counsel Kenneth Starr was made public. (IHT, March 22-23, 2008) A 50-word long sentence with three information units is more readable than a 20-word long one with a single information unit. Moreover, another feature in the development part of the news story is passages. It is very different from other kinds of news, as the purpose the story in news story is to report the events or the news, not to develop the ideas. The majority of passages in news story are one sentence. Thus, if we regard the news story as a “big” paragraph, the passages are really supporting sentences. According to some experts, “one of the reasons to make the paragraphs consisting one sentence is due to the work of ordering the lay-out of a newspaper. Otherwise, the one-sentence paragraphs are usually easier to read than the others” E.g.2.1.3.d: Lee, who first joined the Legislature in 1985, said he would step down as a lawmaker at the end of his current term in July but would remain a member of Democratic Party. (IHT, March 29-30, 2008) In conclusion, a little bit long sentence with proper structure and punctuation is acceptable. Therefore, the length of the sentences in the news story’s body is not as important as its structure. To write the most effective sentences, journalists should apply these strategies: - A sentence should be divided into the information units, each of which is not more than 17-word long. - Sub-clause should not be abused. - Sub-clause should not consist of more than 12 words. - The main information should always be ordered from the beginning of the sentence. 2.1.4 Sub-title in English news story There is a separated part from the body part of the news story discourse, the sub-title. It is recognized easily by the italic letters and be printed smaller than the headline. The sub-title is widely used in English newspaper. E.g.2.1.4.a1: The headline: North Korea hit hard as food crisis worsens The sub-title: But angry Pyongyang won’t seek South’s aid (IHT. April 4, 2008) E.g.2.1.4.a2: The headline: High rice prices fall to trickle down The sub-title: Rising costs and small harvests leave farmers struggling (IHT. April 7, 2008) E.g.2.1.4.a3: Te headline: A rare opportunity to make Beijing sweat The sub-title: Pushing Darfur into the Olympics (IHT, March 29-30, 2008) Many people misunderstand that the sub-title is or is a part of the topic sentence. To know deeply about this problem, let us consider the two terms of its form and content features. - In term of form feature, we cannot unify the sub-title and the topic sentence for the following reasons: Although this part has the some grammatical features of the topic sentence, it develops the content feature of the headline in using the ellipsis of article, particle. E.g.2.1.4.b1: As club owners feud, supporters remember deadly crush (IHT. April 16, 2008) E.g.2.1.4.b2: U.S. Treasury official pushing a news plan (IHT. April 16, 2008) From the above examples, at the first, there is an absence of the determiner such as “the, his, her…” before the word “supporters”. Or at another one, the verb is bare-infinitive, which just exists in the headlines. The headline is written briefly, so it is difficult to express the whole content needed shown. The writers clarify the content by the sub-title. Most of them are the simple narrative sentences, as nearly long as the headline, and use the vigorous, conservational idiomatic language. According to the statistics, 100% the sub-title are the narrative sentences. E.g.2.1.4.c1: Congress wants answers from Fed chief (IHT. April 3, 2008) E.g.2.1.4.c2: Treasury acting with long term in mind (IHT. April 1, 2008) E.g.2.1.4.c3: News Corp. could team with Microsoft (IHT. April 11, 2008) - In term of the content feature, the sub-title is closer to the headline. They are developed in the body part or even right in the topic sentence. E.g.2.1.4.d1: The headline: Accommodating Muslim becomes issue at Harvard The sub-title: Special requests challenge secular tradition The topic sentence: CAMBRIGE, Massachusetts: A small controversy over how Harvard practices tolerance has been sparked by two issues relating to Muslim belief – whether to call to prayer should ring out across Harvard Yard and whether women should be granted separate gym hours. (IHT. April 22-23, 2008) E.g.2.1.4.d2: The headline: Fight for Basra a struggle for Iraq The sub-title: Shiite cleric tells followers to stop battling government forces The topic sentence: NAJAF, Iraq: The Iraqi Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr called on his followers on Sunday to stop battling government forces, seeking to stamp down violence in tows and cities that has threatened to spiral out of control. (IHT, March 31, 2008) In the following example, the sub-title is repeated at the seventh paragraph: E.g.2.1.4.e: The sub-title: An escapee from U.S. military prison emerges as a possible heir to bin Laden. The seventh paragraph: “And he is very charismatic, young, brash rising star within AQ and I think he has become the heir apparent to Osama bin Laden in terms of taking over the entire, global jihadist movement.” (IHT. April 5-6, 2008) The headline and the sub-title have their own roles. The headline is developed in one part of the body part and the sub-title is done in the others. E.g.2.1.4.f: The headline: Wall St. tests Fed’s lending facility The sub-title: Financial companies average $13.4 billion in daily borrowing The developing part: Big Wall Street investment companies are taking advantage of the Federal Reserve’s unprecedented offer to secure emergency loans that are part of a major effort by the central bank to help a financial system in danger of freezing… The companies averaged $13.4 billion of daily borrowing over the past week from the new landing facility, the central bank said Thursday… (IHT. April 22-23, 2008) The content of the headline part is described at the former paragraph about the Wall Street. And the sub-title part is at the upper one to re-inform that the financial companies have on average $13.4 billion in daily borrowing. For the above reasons, sub-title is very a separated part from the body part of the news story discourse. The sub-title summarizes the content, which will be developed in the body part, especially in the news plentiful of content and the content expresses the reaction to the news. Like the headline, it attracts the reader’s attentions to the main content of the news story. CHARPTER III: SOME DIFFICULTIES AND REQUIRED SUGGESTIONS IN TRANSLATING NEWS STORY 3.1 Some difficulties in translating news story While Vietnam has gone through ‘renovation” to being a market economy, the people of Vietnam have also gone through various stages, rushing and elbowing their way through to learn an international language as a mean of relating meaningfully to the wider world. This has created what could be could ‘English fever’. The government plans to popularize English until 2010 at schools. Thus, Vietnamese learners of English tend to encounter a lot of difficulties in their acquisition of the target language especially in press. In this paper, I would like to mention about the barriers of culture and language for Vietnamese to understand English news stories. 3.1.1 Cultural difficulty Our culture provides the lens through which we view the world. It refers to a group or community with which we share common experiences that shape the way we understand the milieu in which we live. Culture is a kind of meta-preference, in the sense it tells us what we should want to want. The term ‘culture’, is a complex concept which has been defined in numerous ways often reflecting the writer’s academic orientation. Common to all definitions of culture, however, is that culture is something shared by members of a social group. The system of language is a part of shared cultural knowledge of social groups, and ways of communicating are an important part of the observable behavior of people in social groups. It is clear that there is climate close relationship between language and culture. For example, thinking of the richness if vocabulary to take about relations in languages spoken by people whose culture places a strong emphasis on family ties, such as Pitjantjatjara, Burmeae or Vietnamese, to mention only a few. In fact, most linguists today would agree that it is impossible to prove that language determines or only reflects the way we think. Some questions relating to language are raised that if there are any concepts which can’t be translated or expressed in some other languages, especially in press. Answering it briefly, it is clear that there are some concepts which need many words to express into another language. For example, the English word ‘baby-sister’ is central to western cultures in which it is assumed that a baby or a child will from time to time be left in the care of an individual who is not a member of the family, and who undertakes to care for the baby or child usually in return for remuneration. And it may be translated into Vietnamese as ‘cô trông trẻ’, ‘cô nuôi dạy trẻ’ or ‘vú em’… It would be strange to Vietnamese if someone says [22]: “… these which survive may live for twenty years and reach the size of a dinner plate”. Traditionally, Vietnamese might not know what a dinner palate is. We always have meals with bowls and chopsticks and hardly know the size of a dinner plate. Therefore, this group of words is a barrier preventing Vietnamese reader from understanding the text. In conclusion, language consists of a complex system of communication, which enables people to construct the meanings needed to communicate with each other. Culture is the whole complex of ways of acting, believing, valuing and thinking which are shred by group of people and passed on one generation to others. In addition, the cultural differences between Vietnamese and the English speaker are a lot, which causes plenty of difficulties to the Vietnamese learner as well as the translator. Therefore, just by obtaining the knowledge of all aspect, can the reader understand, since translate the news stories well. 3.1.2 Linguistic difficulty Newspapers impart news by the language. And it is newspaper that is the most typical mean of indicating language as well as indicating any change of language and life. Because language is a mean of human interaction and people are social beings in a society with specific values, norm and cultural traditions, the language people use will be intricately linked to and shaped by their social and cultural practices. In a particular society and culture, the socialization process will include leaning to use language appropriately according to the norms of that society. If not then one needs to learn how to behave linguistically in ways appropriate to society. It is obvious that languages are not the static. They change over time not only in lexicon but also with regard to grammar, pronunciation, spelling or signing. The uses of language also change which will affect meaning. All this makes language learning a complex task. Therefore, the differences between languages: between Vietnamese and English in particular, as well as our use of language is also a factor in preventing us from understanding English newspaper. English preposition is a truly difficult aspect for Vietnamese learners to use preciously. The Vietnamese often says ‘dưới nền nhà’ (under the floor) when the English says ‘on the floor’, we say ‘bơi dưới sông’ (under the river) while the English says ‘in the river’, we say ‘trên trời’ (on the sky), meanwhile the English says ‘in the sky’. In addition, in Vietnamese there are phrases or clauses that need no preposition. But its equivalent clauses in English need one. The Vietnamese says ‘buổi sáng’ (the morning), ‘buổi tối’ (the evening), but the English says ‘in the morning’ and ‘in the evening’. Here, the preposition ‘in’ is placed before a noun phrase ‘the morning’ and ‘the evening’. In Vietnamese, we say ‘lúc đi học’ (without preposition) but in English, it is ‘on the way to shool’ (with preposition ‘on’). Eg: In Vietnamese: đường tới vinh quang (without preposition) In English : on the road to the glory (with preposition ‘on’) Moreover, in Vietnamese-English translation, the word ‘President’ can be translated as ‘tổng thống’ if the article refers to the position in USA or Russia ( eg: President George Bush= Tổng thống George Bush). On the contrary, the word must be translated as ‘Chủ tịch nước’ if the position taken by a Vietnamese or Cuban official (President Trần Đức Lương = Chủ tịch nước Trần Đức Lương, or President Fidel Castro = Chủ tịch Fidel Castro) In Vietnamese – English translate, the world ‘Thủ tướng’ can be translate as ‘Prime Minister’ or ‘Premier’ if the position holders are Vietnamese, Thailand official. However, it must be translated as ‘Chancellor’ if the position belongs to the German official (Chancellor Helmut Kohl). Sometimes, paraphrases can make the readers or translators embarrassed. For example, the word ‘alcohol’ in English includes all alcoholic beverages in its meaning. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese word for this generally understood as ‘rượu’ and it does not include beer in its definition. As a result, the Vietnamese translators should add the word ‘beer’ in its definition to convey the full meaning of the English word. Otherwise, using an idiom of fixed expression of similar meaning but different form is also one difficult for Vietnamese readers of translators to find its equivalents in Vietnamese. Eg - To toil and moil : Bán mặt cho đất, bán lưng cho trời - Sell like hot cakes : Đắt như tôm tươi - To pick and choose : Kén cá chọn canh Since idiomatic expressions are culture-bound, they can not be understood and translated exactly. In search for idiomatic equivalence when reading or translating, we should concentrate on expression and transfer from one culture to another. In summary, the society in which we live and the culture of that society can influence how we use language in these major functions. Knowing how to use language in a culturally appropriate way is something we acquire as part of the socialization process for our first language. When learning a second or subsequent language or receiving a language, this process is not only more conscious but also more difficult because the learners are often not familiar with the cultural practices associated with the language they learn. 3.2. Some required suggestions for translation It is very necessary to point out of some requirements that translators should possess in translating news story. Unfortunately, some persons fail to recognize the need for basic processes in translating news story. They think that some knowledge of a source language and a good bilingual dictionary is all that is required. In fact, there are four basic procedures in translating news story which must be taken into consideration analysis, transferring, restructuring and testing. Analysis consists of essentially of determining the meaning of the whole story. In other words, all the content of the story must be considered in analysis. Transfer consists of a shift from the source language story to the target language. It is the task of translators to restructure the form of the news story so as to make it appropriate for the presumed readers. Translation is a process of reproducing in the target language, the closed natural equivalence of source language story, firstly in terms of meaning and secondly lies in terms of style. The process of reproducing equivalence includes all the eleme