lexical and structural ambiguity in humorous headlines in english electronic newspapers = sự không rõ ràng về nghĩa của từ và cấu trúc trong tiêu đề hài hước trên báo điện tử tiếng anh

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART 1 – INTRODUCTION ……………………………… 1

1.Rationale …… …………………………………………… ……. 1
2.Aim of the Study ………………………………………………………………. 2
3.Scope of the Study ………………….…………………………………………. 3
4.Method of the Study ……………… …………………………………………. 4
5.Design of the Study ……………………………………………………………. 5

PART 2- DEVELOPMENT ………………………………… 6

Chapter 1 – Theoretical Background 6

1.1 Ambiguity in English ………………………………………………….……. 6
1.1.1 Concepts of Ambiguity ………………… ………………………….……. 6
1.1.2. Types of Ambiguity …………………………………………………….….7
1.1.2.1 Lexical Ambiguity ………………………………………………………. 7
1.1.2.2 Structural Ambiguity ……………………………………………. …… 9
1.1.2.2.1. Class Ambiguity ………………………………………………. …… 11
1.1.2.2.2 Syntactic Ambiguity …………………………………………….…… .12
1.1.2.3 Phonological Ambiguity ……………………………………………… 12
1.2. Humor in Language …………………………………… ……………….… 13
2.1. Definition of Humor …………………………………….………………… 13
2.2. Context of Humor ……………………………… ………………………….13

Chapter 2: A general Description of Electronic Newspaper Headlines 16

2. 1. Electronic Newspapers ……………………………………………… …….16
2.2. What is meant by Headlines? ………………………….………………….…16
2.2.1. What is a Headline? …………………………………………… …… ……17

2.2.2. The Differences between a Headline and the Headlines …………….… 17
2.3. Functions of Headlines………………………………….……………… ……18
2.4. The Language of Headlines …………………………………………… … 19
2.4.1. The Vocabulary of the Headline Writer ……………… …………………19
2.4.2. Language Devices in Headlines…………………………………………….20
2.4.3. What the Headline Writer Omits ………………………………………….21
2.4.4. How the Headline Writer Reorganizes Language ……………………… 22

Chapter 3: The Study 24

3.1 Methodology …………………………………………… …………………… 24
3.1.1 Samples. …………………………………………… …………………….… 24
3.1.2 Procedure. …………………………………………… ………………….… 24
3.2 Data analysis. …………………………………………… …………… …… 25
3.2.1. Lexical Ambiguity in English Electronic newspapers Headlines .…… 25
3.2.1.1 Nouns …………………………………………… …………………… 25
3.2.1.2 Verbs …………………………………………… ……………………… 28
3.2.1.3. Prepositions …………………………………………… ……………….…30
3.2.2. Structural Ambiguity in English Electronic newspapers Headlines …… .31
3.2.2.1Class ambiguity……………………………………… ……………….…….31
3.2.2. Syntactic Ambiguity ……………………………………… ………… … 33
3.3 Implications. …………………………………………… …………………… 36

PART 3: CONCLUSION……………………………….………….38

1. Major Findings from the Research …………………………….………………38
2. Suggestions for Journalists and Translators ….……………… … …….… 38
2.1 To Journalists ……………………………………………………………… … 38
2.2. To Translators……….…………………………………………………… … 39
3. Suggestions for Teachers and Learners of English in Vietnam … ………… 39

3.1. To Teachers of English. ………………………………………………… … 39
3.2 To Learners of English. ………………………………………………… … 39
4. Suggestions for Further Study ………………….…………………………… 40

REFERENCES

APPENDIX



1
PART 1: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
In today‘s hectic world one of the most important factors is information. The means of
information provision are quite different which can be summarized in one word: mass media.
The media is the whole body of communications that reach large numbers of the public via
radio, television, movies, magazines, newspapers and the World Wide Web. Conventionally, it
is believed that newspapers have more readers than any other kind of written text. According
to Van Dijk (1986: 156), "for most citizens, news is perhaps the type of written discourse with
which they are confronted most frequently." With the introduction of modern technology and
the emergence of Internet, the traditional newspapers have changed in many ways. In stead of
the only existence of print press, electronic or online newspapers have marked a milestone in
media and become very popular to the public in modern life. It has a variety of forms to
present information ranging from an electronic edition of the printed newspaper, search
engines to search for news topics of interest to news websites which enable the user to browse
items organized in subject categories and sub-categories in given menus. Therefore, electronic
newspapers not only attract internet citizens with their independent forms but also satisfy
readers of traditional press with electronic edition of printed ones.
Among means of language, it can‘t be denied that English has become the international
language bridge used dominantly in a large number of electronic newspapers. It makes a great

help in transferring written information from country to country universally. Therefore,
English electronic newspapers not only play a very significant role in broadening knowledge
and culture but also provide a beneficial unlimited source of materials for English learners all
over the world.
It can‘t be denied that it is headline, which summarizes the content of a story, and
entices an audience into reading the article, that have the highest readership. According to
Ungerer (2000: 48), "a headline describes the essence of a complicated news story in a few
words. It informs quickly and accurately and arouses the reader's curiosity." Newspaper
headlines are particularly important for the way readers comprehend a news text, ―they are
markers that monitor attention, perception and the reading process‖ (Van Dijk, 1988).



2
Nevertheless, many students of English find that electronic newspaper headlines are especially
difficult to understand. Obviously, it is not just a matter of vocabulary; even the style of
writing is different from any other text they have met in their studies. ―The language of
headlines is special and has its own characteristics on the lexical, syntactic, and rhetorical
levels for its brevity, attractiveness, and clarity‖(Reah 1998, 14).
The lack of clarity or clearness in the way headlines formed lexically and structurally
creates the biggest obstacle to process of interpretation, even leads to misunderstanding in
many cases. According to Stageberg, ―ambiguity is an ever-present peril to clearness of
expression‖(1998:501). The existence of ambiguity in electronic newspapers headlines makes
themselves become humorous linguistically.
FARMER BILL DIES IN HOUSE. (From the BBC, October 27, 2009)
Multiple ambiguities exist in the above headline. Bill could be a proper name instead
of 'legislative proposal'; then, depending on the interpretation of the grammatical subject, die
could be taken literally or figuratively and House can be interpreted as home or 'House of
Commons'. Therefore, humorous headlines which readers perceive as funny for the possibility
to interpret them in more than one way have recently become an interesting linguistic

phenomenon on Internet. There are many websites specializing in listing these kinds of
headlines from various online newspapers. For example, the web -with-
words.com/ambiguous_headlines.html, or
However, this thing is usually done for the
sake of entertainment alone and no attempt is made to analyze the linguistic characteristics
that make them humorous. The study is carried out to investigate some main forms of
linguistic ambiguity in a specific register, humorous headlines in English electronic
newspapers.



3
2. Aim of the Study:
The aim of this study is to make an inquiry into the nature of ambiguity in humorous
headlines in English electronic newspapers systematically. The focus of the research is on
examples of lexical and structural ambiguity that result in sources of humor. Therefore, the
research not only presents a scientific description about the ambiguity and gives a satisfactory
explanation about the linguistic characteristics that make English electronic newspapers
headlines humorous.
To achieve this aim, the author will make an attempt to examine the nature of linguistic
ambiguity and explore the notion of humor as well as the context of humor in language. The
distinctive features of electronic newspapers headlines will also be described briefly so as to
give guidelines for analyzing lexical and structural ambiguity in humorous headlines. During
the study process, the following research questions will be raised for investigation:
1. What are linguistic ambiguity and the notion of humor in language?
2. What are the distinctive features of electronic newspapers headlines?
3. How is lexical ambiguity exploited in humorous headlines in English electronic
newspapers?
4. How is structural ambiguity exploited in humorous headlines in English electronic
newspapers?

Through this study, the author would like to provide non-native readers especially
English learners with a profound and appropriate insight into ambiguity which will make a
help for them to eliminate gradually the difficulties in understanding English electronic
newspapers headlines. The study also aims at making some contribution to journalists, to
translators, to teachers and to learners of English in Vietnam by giving some suggestions
basing on the results of the investigation.
3. Scope of the Study
Since ―one of the goals of a semantic theory is to describe and explain ambiguities in
words and sentences‖ (Jame Hurford and Brendan Heasley 1983:121), this study only attempts



4
to investigate lexical and structural ambiguities in a specific register, electronic newspaper
headlines. However, the research does not mention to headlines in general but only a restricted
number of humorous ones from two websites and
which specialize in listing ambiguous
headlines in both British English electronic newspapers and in American English electronic
newspapers during a period of 6 years from 2005 to 2011 are selected to study. Although the
difference of cultures between Great Britain and America can influence differently on the way
the humor is created in headlines, this factor of culture is outside the scope of this study

It is also important to note that the concept of humorous headlines in this study is
interpreted as ambiguous ones which readers perceive as funny for the possibility to interpret
them in more than one way. Therefore, the author of this thesis distinguishes between
headlines containing linguistic ambiguity and those that simply report funny or incredible
stories. However, if linguistic ambiguity created in headlines is writers‘ intention is also not
the focus of this thesis.
Within the area of humorous headlines, the study will only focus on a corpus of 52

English electronic headlines selected from the collection available on the two above websites.
4. Method of the Study
As the study set its main objective to be investigating the nature of ambiguity in
humorous headlines in English electronic newspapers, it is explanatory research which begins
with a phenomenon and seeks to describe and explain it. The study is conducted in an
inductive approach where data is collected from English electronic newspapers to describe
lexical and structural ambiguity as a natural linguistic process. To achieve the result of the
research, the author of this thesis focuses on analyzing 52 humorous headlines founded in two
websites and
which specialize in listing ambiguous
headlines in both British English electronic newspapers and in American English electronic
newspapers from 2005 to 2011



5
In the exploration of nature of ambiguity in humorous headlines in English electronic
newspapers, linguistic theory on ambiguity developed by James R. Huford and Brendan
Heasley, Norman C. Stageberg, linguistic theory on language of humor by Alison Ross, the
research on the language of newspapers by Danuta Reah are adopted as the theoretical
framework.
5. Design of the Study
This study is composed of three main parts.
The first part titled ―INTRODUCTION‖ introduces the rationale, the aims the scope
and methodology of the study.
The second part named ―DEVELOPMENT‖ includes three main chapters.
Chapter 1 provides an overview of the theoretical background of the study. Its focus is
on introducing important concepts such ambiguity, types of ambiguity and the notion of
humor in language as well as its context.
Chapter 2 presents a general description of headlines in English electronic newspapers

which deal with the definition of headlines, the functions of headlines and their general
characteristics.
Chapter 3 is the main part of the study which investigates the nature of ambiguity in
humorous headlines in English electronic newspapers. A classification of the different types of
ambiguity founded in electronic headlines and some implications basing on the result of the
study are presented in this chapter.
Part 3 is the CONCLUSION of the study which summarizes the main content of the
research and giving some suggestions for journalists, translators, teachers and learners of
English in Vietnam.



6
PART 2: DEVELOPMENT
Chapter 1 – Theoretical Background
1.1 Ambiguity in English
The issue of ambiguity in language has attracted the interest of many linguistic
researchers such as Palmer F. R, Fromkin V. A, Randolph Quirk, and so on. Norman C.
Stageberg considers "ambiguity is an ever-present peril to clearness of expression" (1971:
232) while James R. Huford and Brendan Heasley state that ― one of the goals of a semantic
theory is to describe and explain ambiguities in words and sentences.‖ (1996:121) Therefore,
to say something about the nature of ambiguity, the author of this thesis will try her best to
give an explicit notion of ambiguity in which the definition of ambiguity and its main kinds
will be discussed in details.
1.1.1 Concepts of Ambiguity
Ambiguity (from the Latin adjective ambiguous, i.e. uncertain) means double
or multiple meanings. According to Norman C. Stageberg ―When a given word or language
structure can have two or more definite meanings in its context, we say that it is ambiguous‖
(1968: 19)
James R. Huford and Brendan Heasley looks ―a word or a sentence is ambiguous when

it has more than one sense‖ (1983:121)
Geoffrey Leech (1987) states ―ambiguity is a one-many relation between syntax and
sense.‖
The online dictionary named Wikipedia also defines that ―Ambiguity is the property of
being ambiguous‖ and ―a word, a phrase, or sentence, called ambiguous if it can be interpreted
in more than one way.‖(
In general, ambiguity can be understood as the presence of more than one
meaning in words, phrases and sentences. In the case of words and phrases, ―a word or phrase
is ambiguous if it has two (or more) synonyms that are not themselves synonyms of each
other.‖ (James R. Huford 1983:122)For example, Trunk is synonymous with elephant‘s



7
proboscis and with chest, but they are not synonyms of each other, so trunk is ambiguous.
Similarly, coach is synonymous with trainer and with charabanc (or bus) but they are not
synonyms of each other, so coach is ambiguous.
In the case of sentence, ―a sentence is ambiguous if it has two (or more) paraphrases
which are not themselves paraphrases of each other‖. (James R. Huford 1983:121) For
example: We saw her duck is a paraphrase of we saw her lower than her head and of we saw
the duck belonging to her, and these last two sentences are not themselves paraphrases of each
other. Therefore we saw her duck is ambiguous.
1.1.2. Types of Ambiguity
Ambiguity in English are caused by different sources such as polysymy and
homonymy (Palmer 1981:102; Huford 1983:123), sound links (Peter Roach 1983:109),
obscure reference and sentence structure (Norman C. Stageberg 1971:232). These sources of
this linguistic phenomenon show that ambiguity can occur through three fields of language:
lexicology, syntax and phonology. As a result, ambiguity can be classified into three main
kinds: lexical ambiguity, structural ambiguity and phonological ambiguity. Most linguists
differentiate between two most typical types: lexical and structural ambiguity, with the former

referring to ambiguity conveyed through polysemous words/homophonous strings and the
latter to phenomena of class ambiguity and syntactic ambiguity.
1.1.2.1 Lexical Ambiguity
When referring to lexical ambiguity, I adopt Huford‘s definition of this phenomenon,
which states that ―any ambiguity resulting from the ambiguity of a word is lexical ambiguity‖
(1983:128). We can take the sentence (1) The captain corrected the list (1983:128) as an
example. It is obvious that the word list is lexically ambiguous because it can be interpreted in
two different ways which are not paraphrases of each other as follows:
(1a)Paraphrase one: The captain corrected the inventory
(1b)Paraphrase two: The captain corrected the tilt
The word arms in the following example is also a case of lexical ambiguity: (2) his legs were
broken so he put away his arms (Hoang, Truong Tat 1993:89). We can understand arms as
part of body and as tool (the gun) to fight.



8
In brief, lexical ambiguity is conveyed by "a word with more than one possible
meaning in a context.‖ Meaning" hereby refers to whatever should be captured by a good
dictionary.
It is very significant to note that lexical ambiguity that Huford illustrates is a same-
class ambiguity in which, unlike in structural ambiguity, the lexical item does not change part
of speech.
Huford also points out the origin of lexical ambiguity is polysymy and homonymy
(1983:123). Therefore, it is necessary to make a distinction between polysymy and homonymy
which has basically to do with the closeness, or relatedness of the senses of the ambiguous
words.
1.1.2.1.1 Polysymy
The issue of polysymy is mainly the problem of interrelation and interdependence of
the various meanings of the same word. Not only do different words have different meanings

but the same word may also have a set of different meanings. For instance, the word ―bank‖
has several distinct lexical definitions, including ―financial institution‖ and ―edge of a river‖.
Hufford defines ―a case of polysymy is one where a word has several very closely
related senses.‖ Mouth (of a river vs. of an animal (1983:123) is an example of polysymy. The
two senses are clearly related by the concepts of an opening from the interior of some solid
mass to the outside, and of a place of issue at the end of some long narrow channel.
1.1.2.1.2 Homonymy
According to Huford, ―case of homonymy is one of an ambiguous word, whose
different senses are far apart from each other and not obviously related to each other in any
way‖ (1983:123). Cases of homonymy seem definitely to be matters of mere accident or
coincidence. Mug (drinking vessel vs. gullible person) would be a clear case of homonymy
because there is no obvious conceptual connection between its two meanings.
It is important to differentiate between absolute homonymy and partial homonymy.
Absolute homonyms will have to satisfy the following three conditions:
(i) they will be unrelated in meaning;
(ii) all their forms will be identical;



9
(iii) the identical forms will be grammatically equivalent.
(John Lyons 1995:55)
“Bank” (financial institution vs. side of a river )or ―sole” (bottom of foot vs. kind of
fisht or shoe) can serve as typical examples of absolute homonyms. If only two in the three
conditions are satisfied (including condition (i)), then we have partial hyponyms. Let‘s
consider the following example: They found hospitals and charitable institutions(John Lyons
1995: 56). The word found in this sentence can be interpreted as a form of find or a form of
found. In the former case, the tense of the sentence is past simple whereas the latter is simple
present. Therefore, although they are identical in sound and spelling, they are not
grammatically equivalent. Obviously, this is a case of partial homonymy.

When referring to homonymy, John Lyons states that “ambiguity which results from
absolute homonymy cannot be eliminated by manipulating the grammatical environment in
this way. But, it is quite possible for the partial homonymy of two lexemes rarely or never to
result in ambiguity.” (John Lyons 1995:57) For example, the partial homonymy of the
adjective last (as in last week) and the verb last (as in Bricks last a long time) rarely produces
ambiguiy. Therefore, the grammatical equivalence of homonyms usually creates lexical
ambiguity.
In a word, lexical ambiguity occurs when two or more meanings of a single word or
expression are applicable in a given context. It stems from the existence of polysemy and
homonymy. Whereas homonymy (whether absolute or partial) is always unrelated in
meanings, polysymy (multiple meaning) is a property of single lexemes which have several
very closely related senses.
1.1.2.2 Structural Ambiguity
We turn now from lexical to structural ambiguity. Structural ambiguity stems from the
grammar of English, not from the different meaning of individual words. According to James
R. Huford and Brendan Heasley ―a sentence which is ambiguous because its words relate to
each other in different ways, enven though none of the individual words are ambiguous, is
structurally (or grammatically) ambiguous.‖



10
For example, visiting relatives can be boring (James R. Huford 1983:121). It is
obvious that this sentence is structurally ambiguous because its grammatical structure permits
more than one interpretation although there is no the existence of any ambiguous words. It can
be understood either It can be boring to relatives or relatives who are visiting can be boring.
Similarly, the thing that bothered Bill was crouching under the table (James R. Huford
1983:122) can be interpreted either it was crouching under the table that bothered Bill or the
creature that bothered Bill was crouching under the table.
Structural ambiguity is basically a question of ―what goes with what‖ in a sentense,

(James R. Huford 1983:122) and this can be shown by diagrams of various sorts. We will
mention one such diagramming technique, constituency diagrams which will present with
square bracket around the relevant parts of the sentence (or phrase).
It is easy to recognize the phrase old men and women (James R. Huford 1983:128) is
structurally ambiguous because it is synonymous with women and old men and with old men
and old women. We represent these two senses with square brackets thus:
Old men and women
Diagram 1: [old men] and women
Diagram 2: old [men and women]

The first diagram indicates that old modifies only men, and the second indicates that
old modifies the whole phrase men and women.
In this way, we can represent two possible senses of the noun phrase a fat ladies‟ man (
Norman C. Stageberg, 1970) as follows:

a fat ladies‟ man
Diagram 3: a [fat ladies]‟ man
Diagram 4: a fat [ ladies‟ man ]

The third diagram indicates that fat modifies only ladies, whereas the fourth indicates
that fat modifies only man.
When referring to structural ambiguity, Norman C. Stageberg also agrees with James
Huford that it derives ―from the grammar of English, not from the different meaning of



11
individual words (Norman C. Stageberg 1968: 232-239). Jame Huford‘s question ―what goes
with what‖ is analyzed by Norman C. Stageberg more specifically. He states that structural
ambiguity can result from the arrangement of words and structures, or from grammatical

classification of words. Therefore, structural ambiguity is subdivided into two main kinds such
as syntactic ambiguity and class ambiguity.
1.1.2.2.1. Class Ambiguity
The first kind of structural ambiguity is called class ambiguity. This occurs when a
word can be classified as more than one part of speech in a given context.
For example, buy your girl a bikini and watch her beam with delight.( Norman
Stageberg, 1971:232). The confusion between beam which functions as a verb and beam
which functions as a noun in this sentence makes it structurally ambiguous.
In another example, ―Squad helps dog bite victim”(Alison Ross, 2002:20), this is a
headline of the news about a police squad helping the victim of a dog bite. In the intended
meaning "bite" is the noun modified by another noun (dog), while in the second case it is the
bare infinitive following the verb "helps." Therefore, this headline can be interpreted either a
police squad helping the victim of a dog bite or the police squad assisting a dog in biting a
person
1.1.2.2.2 Syntactic Ambiguity
The first kind is syntactic ambiguity. Syntactic ambiguity occurs when the arrangement
of words in a grammatical structure permits two or more meanings to emerge.
For example, a fat ladies‟ man. The arrangement of words in this noun-phrase
structure is adjective+noun+noun. When this grammatical sequence occurs, the adjective can
modify either the first or the second noun. Therefore, this phrase can be interpreted or a man
for fat ladies or a fat man for ladies.
Another syntactically ambiguous structure is this one: present or past participle + noun.
For example, frightening people in the sentence “Patent medicines are sold by frightening
people” can be a verb + its object—that is, someone frightens people. But it can also be an
adjective + a noun—that is, the people who sell are very frightening. And here is a similar



12
case: The ladies of the Walnut Street Mission have discarded clothes. They invite you to come

and inspect them.
Still another syntactic ambiguity occurs to prepositional phrase which modifies an
immediately preceding noun phrase or a verb. These problems are mainly related to the
placement of the modifier depending on the different interpretations. Consider the two
possible interpretations of "Can I try on the red dress in the window?" If the preposition phrase
"in the window" is interpreted as attached to the noun phrase "the red dress," then the sentence
is a perfectly normal request by a customer who wants to try on the dress that she saw in the
window. If, on the other hand, we interpret the preposition phrase as attached to the verb, then
the woman is asking to try on the dress while standing in the store's window. This sentence
well exemplifies the possible applications of structural ambiguity for humorous purposes

Can I try on the red dress in the window?
Diagram 5: Can I try on [the red dress in the
window]?
Diagram 6: Can I try on [the red dress] in the
window?

In another term, Hirst (1987) call this subtype of structural ambiguity PP attachment
ambiguity which includes those caused by the multiple possibilities of attachment in a
sentence.
1.2.2.3 Phonological Ambiguity
Contrary to lexical and structural ambiguity, phonological ambiguity results from
phonological phenomenon such as sound links, juncture and so on. In fact, the sound link can
make much misunderstanding in human communication. For example, in the sentence, I
scream can be understood by Ice-scream (book 14: 255). This type of ambiguity can create
very good effect of humor for the jokes. The following story can serve as an instance.
“How is bread made?” – asked the White Queen.
“I know that!” Alice cried eagerly.“You take some flour….”
“Where do you pick the flower?” The White Queen asked.
“In the garden or in the hedges” (Fromkin, V.A 1983:207)

13
The humor in this story is based on two sets of homophones: Flower - flour which are
pronounced the same but spelt differently. However, the possibilities for confusion can happen
only in spoken language, as the two words look quite distinct when they are written down.
Therefore, phonological ambiguity is outside the scope of this study which only focuses on
written language.

1.2. Notions of Humor
1.2.1. Definition of Humor.
According to the online dictionary named Wikipedia ―Humor (or humor in American
English) is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide
amusement.‖
Steve Sultanoff (1995 )defines “humor is the experience of incongruity” and “humor
is comprised of three components: wit, mirth, and laughter.” (Wit is the cognitive experience,
mirth the emotional experience, and laughter the physiological experience).
Another definition of humor quoted in The language of Humor by Allison Ross also
states humor is ―something that makes a person laugh or smile‖.
However, exceptions can be found in these definitions. It is possible to claim that
something is humorous, even though no one laughed at the time and it can often happen that
people laugh but someone can claim ‗that is not funny.‘ ―Smiling and laughter can also be a
sign of fear or embarrassment‖ (Allison Ross, 2002: 1). Despite the objections, the response
is an important factor in counting something as humor.
1.2.2. Context of Humor
It is important to note that we only focus on ‗verbal humor‘ which is the most tangible
and perhaps the most widely researched form of humor. Although other forms of humor (e.g.
visual or situational) have also received attention of research community, the writer of this
thesis only concentrates her work on the linguistic expressions of humor.

When mentioning to context for humor, the incongruity theory which focuses on the
element of surprise is adopted. It states that ―humor is created out of a conflict between what is



14
expected and what actually occurs in the joke.‖ (Alison Ross, 2002: 7) This accounts for the
most obvious feature of much humor: an ambiguity, which deliberately misleads the
audience, followed by a punchline.
“Do you believe in clubs for young people?”
“Only when kindness fails” (Alison Ross, 2002: 7)
It is reasonable to understand the word ―clubs‖ in the sense of ―leisure groups‖ but the
punchline shows that it was referring to ―weapons‖.
A dictionary definition of incongruous is: ―inconsistent; not fitting well together;
disjointed; unsuitable‖, which all sound like negative terms. Unintentional humor may well be
caused by some lapse in expression, but deliberate humor is carefully planned, often to exact
wording and timing. In The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language (Crystal 1987) David
Crystal comments: ―variations in self-expression are most noticeable in those areas of
language use where great care is being taken, such as literature and humor.‖ The lapse in the
previous example happens on the part of the tellee, who has failed to grasp the intended sense.
In this way, humor breaks an important rule of language use that ―we should try to
communicate as clearly as possible‖(Alison Ross, 2002: 8). The examples of humor in this
part use the possibilities for ambiguity in the words or structure of language. In such examples
of humor the term incongruity refers to the possibility for two meanings being understood
from the utterance. This is often called a pun. The humor often has the following elements:
- There is a conflict between what is expected and what actually occurs in the joke.
- The conflict is caused by an ambiguity at some levels of language
- The punchline is surprising, as it is not the expected interpretation, but it resolves
the conflict. For example, “Have you got a light, Mac?”
“No, but I‟ve got a dark brown overcoat.”

(Alison Ross, 2002: 8)
In the joke quoted above, there is an ambiguity at the level of lexis and phonology, as
there are two possible meanings for each of the words light and Mac/mac. There is also an
ambiguity in syntax: the listener interprets the structure as finishing on the noun light, with the
name of the person added on. The punchline shows that light mac should be regarded as an



15
adjective + noun unit.
In a nutshell, this part moves towards a definition of what counts as humor and
considers the factors that make us laugh. This part also focuses on the context for humor in
which some basic concepts such incongruity or pun and conditions of humor are discussed in
details.




16
Chapter 2 – A General Description of Headlines in English
Electronic Newspapers
2. 1. Electronic Newspapers
Today the internet is becoming more and more important as an unlimited and
invaluable source of information. The interest of readers into websites providing information
is prospering all over the world, too. Many of these informational websites can be regarded as
electronic newspapers as they display their information like articles in paper-based
newspapers. The MSN can be taken as an example of electronic newspapers.
Besides, an electronic newspaper is also a self-contained, reusable, and refreshable
version of a traditional newspaper that acquires and holds information electronically.
Therefore, electronic newspapers are often associated with an existing newspaper in print. The

BBC, the New York Times, the Guardian or the Chicago Sun Times are examples of electronic
newspapers in this case. In a word, electronic newspapers can be defined as ―a newspaper
existing on line or separately or as a version of a printed periodical‖
( Most electronic newspapers do not have
enumeration but they do have chronology, and many of them maintain archives of back issues
online.
According to Massey, BL & Levy, MR (1999), electronic newspapers have a variety
of forms to present information ranging from an electronic edition of the printed newspaper,
search engines to search for news topics of interest to news websites which enable the user to
browse items organized in subject categories and sub-categories in given menus. Most
electronic newspapers do not have enumeration, though they do have chronology, and many
maintain archives of back issues online.
Electronic newspapers own typical features. Ward, (2002: 202) claimed that striking
characteristics of online news include hypertext, multimedia and interactivity. Hyperlinks can
be used to navigate through a news website and to connect the web-user to related content.
This related content may be located in the web pages of the news site or somewhere in the
World Wide Web. The use of multimedia is another vital element of online journalism. News



17
stories published on the web can be complemented with graphics, photographs, animations or
video clips. Interactivity is another characteristic of online newspapers. It allows users to
move through the sites to topics of specific interest by clicking on relevant hyperlinks.

2.2. What is meant by Headlines?
2.2.1. What is a Headline?
In most general terms, a headline is text at the top of a newspaper article, indicating the
nature of the article below it. However, besides the up-mentioned function, newspaper
headings are also aimed at catching reader‘s attention. According to Oxford Advanced

Learner‘s Dictionary, “a headline is a line of words printed in large letters at the top of a
page or an article in a newspaper” (Hornby A.S. et al, 1999:551).
Many linguists seem to be interested in the concept of headline. Rober Grimmer (1997)
proposed that the word headline is ―a head of newspaper story or article printed in large type
and devised to summarize the story or article that follows ‖ (p497)
Dunata Reah (2002) defined ―the headline is a unique type of text. It has a range of
functions that specifically dictate its shape, content and structure, and it operates within a
range of restrictions that limit the freedom of the writer. ‖ (p13)
The followings are some examples of newspaper headlines quoted in BBC News on
November, 23
rd
, 2011
 Amanda Knox 'murder knife' tests
 'Disappointment' over Iran talks
 UK bank inquiry head urges reforms
 Algeria police break up protest
(
In brief, from the original literal meaning, headlines can be understood the short tittles
above newspaper articles which are often written in bold, and in a larger size than the article
discourse to catch the readers‘ attention.
2.2.2. The Differences between a Headline and the Headlines



18
It is necessary to distinguish a headline with the term the headlines. At first glance,
both terms seem to refer to the same thing with the same sound of ‗headline‘. However, in
fact, they are used differently with different grammatical forms and different meanings. Let‘s
have a look at the definition of a headline in comparison with that of the headlines:
o A headline is the title of a newspaper story, printed in large letters at the top of

the story
o The headlines are also the main points of the news which are read on radio or
television, e.g. „And now for the main headlines again‟.
(Cobuild English Learner‘s Dictionary, Larrousse; 1992:445)
The two definitions above show clear differences between a headline and the
headlines. First of all, they differ in the fact that the former can be used in the form of both
singular (a headline) and plural([the] headlines), whereas the latter is always used in plural
form with definite article the. Another difference lies in the semantic field. The first term
refers to the heading which is a part of a news item and carries the topic of the news discourse
while the headlines refer to ―a brief summary of the most important items of news on TV or
on radio‖. (Hornby A.S. et al, 1999:551)
2.3. Functions of Headlines
According to Dunata Reah (2002), the first function of headline is “to attract the
attention of the reader and interest him/her in reading the story” (p.28). It is not surprising
that all the headlines in English newspapers are printed in much larger size than the text of the
main articles they refer to. This feature is designed to create the eye-catching and help the
reader locate the news that interests him most as quickly as possible.
The second function of headlines is to introduce content of articles. Like any title,
every headline is aimed at introducing the news item, no matter whether it directly deals with
the content of the discourse or indirectly represents the topic of the news through an image. In
other words, the content and the topic of an article can be expressed shortly and generally by
its headline. Another function of headlines is that ―they are written to influence the opinion of
the reader” (Dunata Reah, 2002:28). There is no dout that all the facts in news items should
be reported exactly and objectively. Morever, the news writers should not impose his/her



19
personal ideas on the readership. However, the latter requirement hardly happens in reality and
the writer‘s attitude expressed in his/her article influences the opinion of the reader very

strongly. For example, after the death of the Princess of Wales, newspapers became a lot more
cautious about intruding into the privacy of the Royal family, particularly that of Prince
Edward. His name occurred frequently in many newspaper headlines such as:
Newspaper
Headline
Sun
Daily Mail
Sun
Sunday Mirror
Independent on
Sunday
1. EDWARD GOES SHOOTING AS THE WORLD MOURNS
2. I GOT IT WRONG OVER WILLS, SAYS EDWARD
3. STUPID SOPHIE GAGGED BY THE PALACE
4. DAFT UNCLE ED STRIKES AGAIN
5. ‗DIM‘ EDWARD GIVES TABLOIDS THE LAST LAUGH
The focus of the story is Prince Edward. Although the naming strategies adopted may
appear friendly – first name, nickname – they are in fact hostile. The name is modified by
adjectives such as „stupid‟, „daft‟, and „dim‟. The short form ‗ED‘ is not one used by the
prince or his fmily, it is imposed informality by the newspapers and denotes a lack of respect.
Prince William, on the other hand, is named by his family nickname, ‗WILLS‘, indicating a
friendly or sympathetic response.
To sum up, headlines are designed not only to grab a reader's attention, introduce
content of a news item but also to influence the opinion of the reader. “This mix of functions
immediately presents a problem: headlines can often , in their attempt to attract a reader to a
story, be ambiguous or confusing”. (Dunata Reah, 2002:19)

2.4. The Language of Headlines
2.4.1. The Vocabulary of the Headline Writer
The language of the newspapers headlines is quite special which is normally very brief,

elliptical and compressed. Overtime, headline writers have developed a vocabulary that fulfils
the requirements of the headline, using words that are short, attention-getting and effective.
Many of words that are ‗typical‘ of the headline are probably rarely found outside this



20
particular text type. The following table gives some examples of distinctive vocabularies
which are used frequently in newspaper headlines.
Word
Meaning
Aid
Assistance
Alert
warning to look out for
Axe
Cut, remove
Ban
Prohibition
Bid
Attempt
Blast
Explosion
Poll
Election
Plea
Request
Talks
Discussion
Key

Essential
(Dong, Nguyen Thi Van 2001:46)
2.4.2. Language Devices in Headlines
To attract the reader‘s interest, headline writers use a range of language devices to
make their headlines memorable and striking. The following headlines can serves as instances
of some devices in action.
Group 1- Word and meaning
Group 2 – Loaded word

1 AISLE NOT MARRY YOU
2 UP BEFORE THE BEAK
3 LABOUR BANKS ON CEREBRITY
SUPPORT
4 TITANIC KATE GOES ON DIET

1‗COVER-UP‘OUTCRY OVER FOOT AND
MOUTH PROBE
2 THE STREETS OF CARNAGE
3 GENIUS REV BUTCHERED AT
CHURCH
4 DYING SUE‘S CANCER RAP
(Dunata Reah, 2002:16)
Word and meaning



21
All the headlines in group1 play on the potential for ambiguity that can exist in the
relationship between word and meaning. For example, the word aisle is a homophone (i.g. is
identical in sound) of the phrase I‟ll. Headline 3, a story about the funding of the Labour Party

contains an ambiguous use of the word bank. This word is a polysemy which can be a noun
meaning an establishment where money is deposited but it can also be a verb meaning to
depend on – the factual meaning required by the story. A serious social issue is therefore
headlined by a linguistic joke. Headline 2 makes use of the fact that the word beak is a
homonym. It can mean the jaws of a bird, but it is also a slang term for magistrate or judge.
Michael Barrymore has been attacked by a swan, but he is also facing a criminal investigation.
Headline 4 makes use of metaphorical associations. Titanic means ‗of enormous size‘, but it
also refers to the film of that name, in which actress, Kate Winslett starred. Winslett had
recerntly been in the news because she had gained weight.
Loaded word
In order to make headlines attract the attention of the reader, headline writer may select
words that carry particularly strong connotations, that is, carry an emotional loading beyond
their literal meaning. A good example in group 4 is the word butchered in headline 2. This
word has the dictionary meaning of to slaughter and cut up an animal. When it is applied to a
human being, it carries both the meaning of extreme and cruel violence, and also implies that
the killer must have seen the victim as having the same status as an animal.
2.4.3. What the Headline Writer Omits
It can‘t be denied that English newspaper headlines which are compressed and
condensed have their own special rules and regulations. It is because, as Fairclough (1995)
says, "headlines have distinctive syntactic properties, which make them a grammatical oddity"
(p. 21). The headline writer needs to include the factual detail of the story in a way that will
attract the reader‘s attention. Given space is limited, lexical words (words that have meaning
such as nouns, main verbs, adjectives, adverbs) are far more useful to the writer than
grammatical words (words that signal grammatical relationships, such as determiners – the, a,
this, that, etc., auxiliary verbs be, have, do). But “it can occasionally lead to ambiguity, as



22
many lexical words depend on grammatical words to establish which word class they are.”

(Dunata Reah, 2002:19). This can lead to ambiguous headlines such as:
1. BRITISH LEFT WAFFLES ON FALKLAND ISLANDS
2. LUNG CANCER IN WOMEN MUSHROOMS
3. RED TAPE HOLDS UP NEW BRIDGE
4. POLICE BEGIN CAMPAIGN TO RUN DOWN RAYWALKERS
5. PROSTITUTES APPEAL TO POPE
6. SQUAD HELP DOG BITE VICTIM
(Dunata Reah, 2002:19)
The first two headlines are difficult to interpret because the word class of „left‟ and
„mushrooms‟ isn‘t clear, and the context leads the reader towards the wrong choice. The reader
is likely to make the obvious interpretation of „British left‟ as Subject and Verb in a sentence.
However, it is intended as a noun phrase. The word „mushrooms‟ is most frequently used as a
noun. This expectation leads the reader to see „women mushrooms‟ as a noun phrase. In this
case, „mushrooms‟ is being used as a verb, giving structure:
Lung cancer in women mushrooms
S V
In headlines 3 and 4, the ambiguity is caused by the different possible meanings of the
phrases „hold up‟ and „run down‟. Something similar is happening in headline 6. It is not
possible to tell whether the verb used is the phrasal verb „appeal to‟ or the single verb
„appeal‟. In headline 5, the ambiguity occurs because of the different but closely linked
meanings of „make‟. In headline 7, It is impossible to tell if ‗dog bite victim‘ is a noun phrase.
In the headline, it looks more like a noun followed by a verb and direct object.
In general, the absence of grammatical words in headlines obviously decreases the
clarity of meaning and leads to ambiguity in many cases.
2.4.4. How the Headline Writer Reorganizes Language.
In order to produce punchy, economical texts, headline writers also plays about with
the standard order of words and phrases. According to Dunata Reah (2002), “they often put
information into the modifier slot in the noun phrase, to produce a form of shorthand that is