On the translation of news headlines in the modern English media texts

Abstract

 One cannot but agree that a headline is the most striking element of any media text, regardless of its type. At the same time, English news headlines are characterized by certain syntactic, lexical, and stylistic features that distinguish them from headlines of other types of media discourse. The purpose of the article is to outline the grammatical and lexical features of English headlines and suggest possible ways of their translation. The comprehensive research of English headlines and their translation into Ukrainian required employing the following methods: continuous sampling method (to gather headlines from media texts), descriptive method (to elucidate characteristics of headlines and potential translation ways), as well as methods of analysis and synthesis (to categorize headline features, identify grammatical and lexical peculiarities in their translation, and draw conclusions). Results. News headlines play a crucial role in catching readers' attention and conveying key information. However, the translation of these headlines into other languages, including Ukrainian, often faces numerous challenges related to both grammatical and lexical features. It is important to consider the context of the news and the author's intention when translating a headline to ensure its accuracy and clarity. Translation of English news headlines into Ukrainian requires not only a profound knowledge of both languages but also the ability to use and adapt grammatical and lexical structures to the context and audience. The proper headline can have a significant impact on the perception of the news and reader engagement. The complex study of news headlines in English online media enabled singling out the following syntactic features: omission of the verb “to be” (in passive constructions, in the Present Continuous Tense, Present Perfect Tense); wide spread of the Present Simple Tense; compound and complex subordinate clauses; using questions, punctuation marks; expressing the future tense with the infinitive constructions; adverbial modifier at the beginning; omission of articles; use of quotations from speeches, interviews of officials, with the author of the message indicated etc. In addition to the grammatical features of news headlines, lexical characteristics have been identified. The titles of English media texts have a compressed form, which requires the use of short and vivid words. Headlines in English news usually include short, dramatic, often hyperbolic words that are not common in everyday speech and, therefore, attract the reader's attention. Originality. The article attempts to study the grammatical and lexical peculiarities of the headlines in media texts and includes the author's translation of the headlines in the modern English media. Conclusion. The results of the study prove that to create an adequate translation, a translator needs to use lexical, grammatical, and complex lexical-grammatical translation transformations. The most common syntactic features of headlines are the deletion of the verb “to be”, the use of simplified tenses, and special punctuation marks. The newspaper headlines often contain specific, short, and dramatic lexical means. We believe that conducting additional research on the characteristics of English headlines and exploring possible translation ways into Ukrainian holds great promise.