TRULY AMBIGUOUS NEWSPAPER HEADLINES:
http://www.kaos2000.net/archives/backpages/newsheadlines.html
Here's a list of newspaper headlines that got by the copy editors. Explain the mistake
1. • Something Went Wrong in
Jet Crash, Expert Says
19. • Juvenile Court to Try
Shooting Defendant
2. • Police Begin Campaign to
Run Down Jaywalkers
20. • Stolen Painting Found by
Tree
3. • Safety Experts Say School
Bus Passengers Should Be
Belted
21. • Two Soviet Ships Collide,
One Dies
4. • Drunk Gets Nine Months in
Violin Case
22. • Two Sisters Reunited after
18 Years in Checkout
Counter
5. • Survivor of Siamese Twins
Joins Parents
23. • Killer Sentenced to Die for
Second Time in 10 Years
6. • Farmer Bill Dies in House
24. • Never Withhold Herpes
Infection from Loved One
7. • Iraqi Head Seeks Arms
25. • War Dims Hope for Peace
8. • Is There a Ring of Debris
around Uranus?
26. • If Strike isn't Settled
Quickly, It May Last a While
9. • Stud Tires Out
10. • Panda Mating Fails;
Veterinarian Takes Over
11. • British Left Waffles on
Falkland Islands
12. • Lung Cancer in Women
Mushrooms
13. • Eye Drops off Shelf
14. • Teacher Strikes Idle Kids
15. • Squad Helps Dog Bite
Victim
16. • Enraged Cow Injures
Farmer with Ax
17. • Plane Too Close to
Ground, Crash Probe Told
18. • Miners Refuse to Work
after Death
27. • Cold Wave Linked to
Temperatures
28. • Enfields Couple Slain;
Police Suspect Homicide
29. • Red Tape Holds Up New
Bridge
30. • Typhoon Rips Through
Cemetery; Hundreds Dead
31. • Man Struck by Lightning
Faces Battery Charge
32. • New Study of Obesity
Looks for Larger Test Group
33. • Astronaut Takes Blame for
Gas in Spacecraft
34. • Kids Make Nutritious
Snacks
35. • Chef Throws His Heart into
Helping Feed Needy
36. • Arson Suspect is Held in
Massachusetts Fire
37. • British Union Finds Dwarfs
in Short Supply
38. • Ban On Soliciting Dead in
Trotwood
39. • Lansing Residents Can
Drop Off Trees
40. • New Vaccine May Contain
Rabies
41. • Man Minus Ear Waives
Hearing
42. • Steals Clock, Faces Time
43. • Prosecutor Releases Probe
into Undersheriff
44. • Hospitals are Sued by 7
Foot Doctors
45. • Some Pieces of Rock
Hudson Sold at Auction
46. • Sex Education Delayed,
Teachers Request Training
47. • Include your Children when
Baking Cookies
There are often news items in Dutch papers/magazines and on TV about people and/or events in English-speaking
countries. Usually these Dutch news items do not give as much detailed information as newpapers and TV news in
e.g. England or the USA do.
Choose a news item about people and/or events in English speaking countries in a Dutch paper and try to find
more details about the person(s) and/or events mentioned in the particular item, using sources in English on TV
(e.g. CNN, BBC, BBC World) or on the internet (e.g. The Guardian,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/ The Times,
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/ The Mirror,
http://www.mirror.co.uk The New York Times,
http://www.nytimes.com USA Today). http://www.usatoday.com/
Compare the original Dutch news item with the information you have found in the English sources, and write a
short comment (in English) on the similarities and differences between the Dutch and English reports of the events
and the people involved in the news item.
Werk in tweetallen en verdeel de taken onderling. Lever 2-A4 getypt (als je [een stuk] erin plakt mag het meer
worden) in in je mediadossiermapje met jullie namen eronder. Hierin verwerk je tenminste onderstaande vragen.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Het gekozen onderwerp en de verklaring voor je keuze.
Welke Nederlandstalige kranten/(nieuws-)websites heb je bezocht en welke leerling was dat?
Welke Engelstalige kranten/websites heb je bezocht en welke leerling was dat?
Welke overeenkomsten waren er?
Welke verschillen waren er?
Citeer uit elke bron circa 5 regels waaruit dit blijkt
Is er verschil in wat Engelsen noemen "register" het niveau van het taalgebruik (chique versus
volks)
Is er informatie weggelaten?
Citeer de 2 koppen/headlines. Welke indruk krijg je als de kop leest? Welke is de beste?
Verzin 1 nieuwe Engelstalige headline
Welke plaats heeft het artikel gekregen in de krant (prominent, weggestopt,is het opinierend, een
achtergrondartikel)?
Welk onderdeel van de door jullie onderzochte websites kun je aanraden en waarom?
.......... Wat viel jullie nog meer op?
bron: http://www.talentinternationaal.slo.nl/hoogbegaafden/overzicht.htm
Aims:
 For you to appreciate how different AS English Language is from the English courses you might have studied
before.
Class work:
 Read the explanations of the ambiguous headlines we considered last lesson. Highlight all of the linguistic
terminology you are going to need to develop an understanding of in the coming weeks.
 Now make a list of the range of linguistic issues covered by these examples. From class discussion, add to
these so that you have the complete set of 7 language frameworks that we will be studying.
Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
The ambiguity centres on the verb form to run down. It is created because the verb has different meanings: to
run someone over with a vehicle, and to chase something into non-existence. This is an issue of semantics.
Safety Experts Say School Bus Passengers Should be Belted
The ambiguity centres on the verb form belted. Again, it is created because the verb has different meanings,
here one that is clearly the product of 20th century language change. Taking a longer view, if one were belted,
it would either mean that one was wearing a belt, or, in more colloquial usage, that one had been physically
beaten. However, the development during the 20th century of cars, and then of traffic problems, and then of
seatbelts and safety awareness, has given the word the additional meaning intended here of wearing a seatbelt.
This process of language change is called widening. The example raises the issue of semantics.
Drunk Gets Nine Months in Violin Case
The ambiguity centres on the noun case. In the everyday register, this refers to the outer covering of an object,
but in the legal register it refers to a law suit; this double meaning creates the ambiguity. This is an issue of
lexis.
Farmer Bill Dies in House
This example is very similar to the one above. The ambiguity centres on the nouns Bill and House. In the
everyday register, Bill would be a person’s name (and a proper noun), and house would be his dwelling (a
common noun). However, in the political register, bill would be a draft Act of Parliament (a common noun),
and House would either be the House of Commons or the House of Lords (the two parts of the Houses of
Parliament, and a proper noun). Again, this is an issue of lexis. In addition, the verb dies has a literal meaning
(the real death of a living organism) and a metaphorical one (the end of something). This is an issue of
semantics.
Iraqi Head Seeks Arms
This is another example of a lexical issue. In the everyday register, the nouns head and arms refer to body
parts. In the register of international war-mongering, however, they refer to a head of state and weapons
respectively.
Is There a Ring of Debris around Uranus?
The ambiguity in this examples centres of the proper noun Uranus. It is created by the similarity in ordinary
pronunciation of this word and your anus. This works because in real connected speech we make use of a
linguistic phenomenon called linking r. When the words are pronounced separately there is no r sound, but
when we run the words together, as we do in real connected speech, we do. This creates the similarity with
Uranus. This is an issue of phonology.
Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over
This ambiguity centres on the noun phrase Panda mating. In the first clause of this headline, the emphasis is on
the mating, clearly referring to the physical act of sexual intercourse. In the second clause, one is expected to
understand Panda mating as any process by which a panda might become impregnated. This is an issue of
semantics.
British Left Waffles on Falkland Islands
This ambiguity centres on how one interprets the word class of the words Left and Waffles. In one
interpretation left is a verb form and waffles is a noun; this creates the idea that the British deposited a pile of
Birds Eye potato waffles on a distant colony. In the other interpretation, Left is a noun from the political
register, referring to adherents of left wing politics, whilst waffles is a verb, referring to a pointless style of
speech. This is an issue of grammar.
Lung cancer in women mushrooms
This example is similar in nature to the one above. In the first interpretation, women mushrooms is a noun
phrase, making the headline a rather absurd statement, suggesting both that mushrooms have a gender and that
they are capable of contracting lung cancer. In the second interpretation, lung cancer in women is the noun
phrase acting as the subject of the sentence, with the verb form mushrooms completing it. This creates the
meaning that the incidence of lung cancer has seriously and dangerously increased amongst women. This is an
issue of grammar.
Eye Drops off Shelf
Another grammatical issue here. In the first interpretation, the noun eye is the subject of the sentence and
drops is its attendant verb form; this creates the surreal image of an eyeball falling from a shelf. In the second
interpretation, the noun phrase eye drops (the liquid you put in your eyes for medicinal purposes) operates in
relation to an omitted verb form such as are taken.
Enraged Cow Injures Farmer with Ax
This is a trickier one, but also a grammatical issue. It all centres on which part of the headline with Ax
modifies. If it is interpreted as an adverbial phrase modifying the verb form injures, the headline conjures an
image of an axe-wielding bovine. If it is interpreted as an adjectival phrase modifying the noun farmer, it
conjures an image of an axe-wielding farmer. In addition, the variant American spelling of the weapon in
question raises an important issue of language variety.
Plane Too Close to Ground, Crash Probe Told
In this example, the ambiguity centres on to ground. This is another grammatical issue. In the first
interpretation, to ground is a verb form meaning to bring down to the ground, creating the idea of the plane
being too close to a building or a mountain for the pilot to land it safely. Alternatively, this headline is an
absurd statement of the completely obvious, to ground being a shortened form of the noun phrase to the
ground.
Miners Refuse to Work after Death
This ambiguity centres on a different issue. In the first interpretation, the adverbial phrase after Death refers
to the miners’ own deaths, creating an impression of zombie miners having a contretemps at the Job Centre. In
the second, it refers to the death of a colleague in service, presumably the consequence of some appalling
health and safety issue. This is a semantic issue. If the headline was used in a spoken context, for example as
part of a radio news broadcast, an additional ambiguity would exist because of the identical pronunciation of
the two different words, miner and minor. This is a phonological issue.
Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
We’re back to grammatical issues here, centring on the word shooting. In the first interpretation, shooting
forms part of the noun phrase shooting defendant (someone who is defending themselves against a charge of
shotgun crime), creating a perfectly sensible headline about a court case. In the second, it forms part of the
verb phrase to try shooting, creating the more alarming impression of lawyers lining up to pop shots at the
person in the dock.
Two Soviet Ships Collide, One Dies
This ambiguity is created by the use of numbers in the two parts of the headline. (In fact, this is carelessly
punctuated – the comma should be a full stop or a semi colon.) In the first interpretation two ships have
collided and one of the ships has died. This meaning is created by the apparent syntactic parallelism of the two
statements, and the omission of the noun in the subject position of the second sentence. This leads the reader
to believe that the One in the second statement refers back to the Two Soviet Ships in the first. However, the
second
interpretation recognizes that the two statements are, in fact, unconnected, the first referring to ships, and the
second to the people who were on it when it collided. This is another grammatical issue.
Killer Sentenced to Die for Second Time in 10 Years
Another tricky grammatical issue here, centring on what part of the headline the adverbial phrase for Second
Time is modifying. If it is modifying the verb phrase Sentenced to Die, then this is perfectly straightforward
with the killer receiving his/her second death sentence. If it is modifying the verb to die, the headline implies
that the killer has already died once.
Red Tape Holds Up New Bridge
Phew, that’s enough grammar for a moment… This ambiguity centres on the noun phrase Red Tape. In the
everyday register, this means some kind of red strip of fabric, sticky or otherwise, which is bizarrely preventing
a bridge from impending disaster. In the bureaucratic register, it means some legal complication that is
preventing the bridge from being built. This is a lexical issue.
New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
Another nice easy one (relatively speaking!). This ambiguity centres on the comparative adjective Larger. This
can either mean that the test group has more members, or that those members of the test group are larger in
size. This is a semantic issue.
Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft
This ambiguity centres on the noun Gas. The straightforward meaning is of a substance that is neither liquid or
solid; in this headline the astronaut has made some kind of scientific mistake. However, in the second
interpretation, the astronaut is suffering the effect of eating beans for a month, and Gas is a euphemism. This
is a semantic issue.
Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
There is more than one ambiguity here. The first centres on the verb Make. Either the children are busy in the
kitchen and the verb is dynamic; or the children constitute a nutritious snack and the verb is stative. The
second ambiguity centres on the noun Kids. Either small children are connected in some way to nutritious
snacks; or small goats are. Both are semantic issues.
Chef Throws his Heart into Helping Feed Needy
This ambiguity all depends upon whether you interpret the noun Heart in a literal or a metaphorical sense. If
taken literally, the headline is rather gruesome, with the chef hacking out his chief organ and feeding it to the
hungry. If taken metaphorically, the headline is an expression of the chef’s compassion. This is an issue of
semantics.
Prosecutor Releases Probe into Undersheriff
This is a straightforward matter of the noun probe having two different, though related, meanings. In the first
interpretation, it is a medical instrument for investigating a wound which makes one feel quite sorry for the
poor Undersheriff who turned up at court simply expecting to give evidence. In the second, it has the more
general meaning of an investigation, in which case the Undersheriff would appear to have done something
dastardly. This is an issue of semantics.
Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors
This ambiguity centres on the noun Foot. If it is modifying the noun Doctors all by itself, the headline is quite
ordinary in meaning, with 7 chiropodists suing their hospitals. If, however, it combines with 7 to modify Doctors
then we have a bizarre scenario involving people who could also have pursued a career in international
basketball. This is a grammatical issue.
Include your Children when Baking Cookies
This ambiguity depends upon the verb include having two meanings. In the first interpretation, it means involve
and creates an image of a warm hearth and a happy family. In the second, it means incorporate into the
mixture, giving a much more sinister impression of American life. This is an issue of semantics.
Homework:
 Start an A-Z glossary of linguistic terminology, either in your file or in a separate notebook. Enter all the
terms you highlighted in class today so that you are ready to note their meanings as we work through them in
class in the coming weeks.
Suggestions for private study:
 Start using the Language resources in the LRC or those available on the internet to identify the meanings of
some of these terms.