Monday, October 29, 2018

words - what is the name of the abbreviated writing style used in newspapers?



To make articles as short as possible in newspapers, certain conventions are used. One such convention is that when a sentence ends with サ変名詞{へんめいし}、「をする」is omitted. Another is that the full names of companies, such as "三菱重工業株式会社" can be abbreviated as "三菱重工".


I could be wrong, but I am pretty sure that abbreviated writing style has a formal name. What is it?
What are some other conventions?



Answer



As I stated in the comment, the set of "rules" that are used to save space in newspapers and magazines (nowadays, websites as well) is commonly called 「[見出]{みだ}し[文法]{ぶんぽう}」, literally meaning "headline grammar".


Some of the characteristics of 見出し文法 are:


1) Use of [省略語]{しょうりゃくご} (abbreviated words).


2) Omission of all forms of 「する」,「なる」,「いる」 and 「ある」. Instead of 「オバマ[大統領]{だいとうりょう}が[来日]{らいにち}する(or した)= "President Obama visits/visited Japan."」, you will see a 「オバマ大統領来日」 as the headline.


3) Omission of particles -- most importantly, that of 「」 and 「」. I say "most importantly" because, as many of you would know, particles in general often get omitted in informal conversations, but が and を are the ones that are least often omitted. For this reason, the omission of those two in 見出し文法 is of significance.


You will see a 「俳優田中明警官刺し逃走」with just a single kana instead of a 「[俳優]{はいゆう}田中明{たなかあきら}が[警官]{けいかん}を[刺]{さ}して[逃走]{とうそう}している」= "Actor Akira Tanaka stabs policeman and runs away."



4) Omission of the predictable verb following the object of the phrase. For instance, if a native speaker saw the short phrase 羽生「金」, he will be able to tell that it is the 見出し form of the sentence 「[羽生]{はにゅう}が[金]{きん}メダルを[獲得]{かくとく}した」 = "Hanyuu won the gold medal."


***Please note that only #1 above is used in BOTH headlines and articles. The other techniques are used only in headlines.


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