浅谈英语新闻标题的翻译

黄丽萍

1.Chapter One Introduction

Nowadays， the world is becoming information age. Though most people spend their time on their mobile phones， media are still playing a significant role in peoples daily life. Moreover， news reading promotes the communication among different countries. Therefore， translation of English news headline would shorten the distance between both the English-speaking and the non-speaking countries.

As we all know that there isnt all of us can speak English. Some people dont read English news because they dont know the meaning when they read English news. Some are hateful to translate the English news into Chinese. As an English news translator， one must use all means to attract readers.

2.Chapter Two Features of English News Headlines

（1）Lexical Features of English News Headlines

News headlines are the eyes or windows of news. People get attracted of the contents of through it； readers understand the attitude of the media through it and choose what news to read by reading through it. We will discuss some features of news headlines with sports news headline examples， in order to have a better understanding of these functions.

（2）Grammatical Features of English News Headlines

Headline has its own grammatical features. When those rules are violated， they make the readers feel confused. Besides， an English news headline distinguishes itself from other styles of writing by its special characteristics on the grammar level.

3.Chapter Three Strategies and Methods of English News Headlines Translation

（1）Literal Translation or Semi-literal Translation

Literal translation is the basic approach used in English news headline translation since it can retain both the form and contents of the original to the maximum. Literal translation or semi-literal translation can be used if the original English news headline is clear and direct of its meaning and if literally translated there will not be problems for Chinese readers understanding of its meaning.

（2）Free Translation

Free translation is employed when literal translation does not work well， and sometimes it is preferred because it adapts the original headlines to the target language. When the literal translation can not help to convey the content of the original news or express the author s intention or make the version understood by the target readers， we can choose free translation.

（3）Addition

Addition refers to supplying necessary words in our translation so as to make the version clear and correct. When the translated English headlines may cause confusion or misunderstanding among target readers for lack of information of relevant background information， addition becomes necessary. It means supplying necessary words in the translation on the basis of accurate comprehension of the original.

According to the differences in vocabularies the English news headline used two nouns together， in the first example， while the Chinese news headline used the verb. Due to the differences between Chinese and English news headlines in vocabularies， rhetoric and tense， we may employ devices such as addition.

（4）Reduction

Reduction is used when the translated headlines contain spare information. It is used to achieve the effect of succinctness， especially in dealing with the English pronouns and such functional words as the article， the preposition， the conjunction and so on.

（5）Conversion

Translation is not to rigidly adhere to the language structure of the original， especially in the translation of news headlines. It requires that the translators should make due changes on the basis of grasping the gist of the original headline and observing the norms of the target text.

4.Chapter Four Conclusion

Reading the headline news in todays fast-paced life becomes a social necessity for the reader. From the discussions above， it can be concluded safely that translating of English news headline is both a science and an art. In terms of being a science， it is in close accordance with the rules of general translating strategies， despite its own particularities in forms and translating methods. And in terms of being an art， a news headline is often culture-loaded， and translating of a headline does not simply mean the literary translating of the words from English to Chinese or vice versa. It requires profound cultural and background knowledge. So to sum up， we must omit the characteristics of the English headlines and methods clear in mind， we must know the similarities and differences between Chinese and English news headlines because of different cultural backgrounds and language usage， and different news tradition， will make the news headlines in English common than have their own distinct characteristics. Accuracy must be the first concern of translation and they should “invariably use meaning rather than words as their base.”