“Hard questions on horizon for space agency”

The second shuttle disaster is likely to bring changes to the U.S. space program that will be more profound than the focus on safety that followed the Challenger explosion in 1986, analysts and members of Congress say…

…The demise of Columbia also has reinvigorated debate over whether the risks of manned flight are worth the costs, human and dollar, and whether adequate scientific work can be done with unmanned spaceships…

…But even the most optimistic estimates put a new-model spaceship at least 10 years away. And besides budget hurdles, those with lucrative stakes in the status quo, including contractors and those representing congressional districts with space operations, are not eager to mothball the shuttle…

Isolated translation of the 2d headline makes no sense as the contents of the 2d article make up the logical continuation of the 1st one: after the author has illustrated the present-day situation and the possible future of NASA in the light of the tragic events, he passes on to the description of the following necessary measure in the 2d article – increasing financing of NASA for the sake of creating new safer shuttles . The necessity of this measure originates from the arguments given in the 1st article. From this comes the following translation: “Космическое агентство столкнется с трудноразрешимыми вопросами” and “Критика безопасности «подержанных» шатлов вспыхнула с новой силой”.

When making the translation of news headlines it is necessary to keep in mind their following distinctive features I have picked out when carrying out my research:

1. Authors rarely use full sentences (without the omission of articles and prepositions) as the headlines. Here it's important to understand and interpret the headline correctly and make its adequate translation: “Hundreds wounded, scores dead in Russia hostage crisis” – “Сотни раненых, десятки убитых в результате захвата заложников в России” («International Herald Tribune»). «Small Investments That Make A Big Difference» -- «Небольшие инвестиции играют большую роль»; “Czechs pay a heavy price for bank sell-offs” – “Чехи дорого платят за распродажу банков». (The Financial Times). «Guardsman found guilty of treason» – «Караульный признан виновным в государственной измене» («International Herald Tribune»)>
2. Full sentences taken for headlines are mainly characterized by the omission of articles : «Italy's bank governor paints [a] black picture» -- «Председатель правления итальянского банка рисует картину в черных тонах».(The Financial Times). The article should only be left in case its omission might lead to the wrong semantic interpretation of the headline: "National Gallery Launches Bid to Buy the Titian"— "Национальная галерея пытается приобрести картину Тициана"(Daily Star). Here the article indicates that the matter concerns the picture but not the artist.
3. One more distinctive feature of news headlines – abbreviations of various kinds. Their meaning is generally expressed in the 1st paragraph of the article: «Handspring reduces IPO price range» -- «Компания Хэндспринг сокращает диапазон предлагаемых стартовых цен»( The Economist). (The meaning of the abbreviation IPO – Initial Public Offering -- is explained in the 1st paragraph). “NASDAQ and DOW soar on tech buying” – «Индексы НАСДАК и Доу Джонса резко повысились на приобретении акций высокотехнологичных компаний». (Business Week). (NASDAQ – National Association of Securities Dealers automated quotations – система автоматической котировки Национальной ассоциации биржевых дилеров; Dow – Dow Jones index – индекс Доу Джонса Ньюйоркской фондовой биржи; tech – high technology – зд. Акции высокотехнологичных компаний). «MoMA goes to Berlin: a tale of two Europes».(«International Herald Tribune»). The set-out reads: In 2003, Berlin's Neue Nationalgalerie scored big with an exibition of East German art, attracting 220,000 visitors. So when an exhibition of 200 pieces from New York's Museum of Modern Art opened in February this year, half a million was thought to be required minimum, 700,000 a «sensation». Thus, the final variant might read as follows : «Ньюйоркский музей современных искусств приезжает в Берлин: сказка о двух Европах».
4. From the viewpoint of their structure news headlines can be referred to as ellipses (sentences with the omission of certain words for the sake of drawing attention to the subject matter). Along with the omission of articles, prepositions and other functional words, forms of the verb to be are often omitted as well : “Sara Lee [is] to refocus [its] activities” – “Компания «Сара Ли» собирается расставить новые акценты в своей деятельности ”; “OAS [is] divided on the Peru action” -- “ОАГ (организация американских государств) разделилась в мнениях по вопросу о действиях Перу”. (Business Week). Notional verbs can be omitted as well : “California [‘s voters stand] for GOP” -- “Избиратели голосуют за республиканцев”. (GOP – Grand Old Party – традиционное название Республиканской партии в США). Israel and Palestine envoys are heading for talks – Посланники Израиля и Палестины направляются на переговоры. (The Economist).
5. Denominative sentences are also widely used as news headlines : «A brave new economy for Singapore» -- «Смелая новая экономика для Сингапура»; “DT incentives for retail buyer” -- “Стимулы компании Дойче Телеком в работе с индивидуальными заказчиками”. (The Economist).
6. Word combinations with a gerund or a participle can also be used for headlines: «Muddying the waters» -- «В мутной воде»; “Keeping up the pace” -- “Сохраняя темп”. (The Financial Times).
7. In order to draw readers’ attention authors widely use colons and question-marks in news headlines: “Laptops: Do we need that speed?” -- “Портативный компьютер – есть ли необходимость в такой скорости?»; “Is the weak Euro making Germany complacent?” -- “На руку ли Германии падение Евро?” (“Business Week”).
8. The question used in a headline can be indirect: “Why big tobacco can’t be killed” -- “Почему нельзя ликвидировать тобачную промышленность”; “What’s wrong with paying off the national debt” -- “В чем заключается проблема с выплатой государственного долга”. (“Business Week”).
9. In order to draw public attention to the subject matter authors may often resort to various forms of slang and colloquial language in news headlines: “Hey, wanna buy some used mortgages?” -- “Не хотите ди приобрести подержанную ипотеку?” ; “Coke: Say good-bye to the good ol’boy culture” -- “Кока-кола: Прощай, старое доброе время”. (The Economist).
10. The use of pun (play upon words) and purposely changed set expressions complicate the translation of news headlines a good deal: “Has Ford backed Detroit into corner?“ – „Загнал ли Форд Детройт в угол?“ (to back into corner – загонять в угол; the main Ford enterprise is situated in Detroit, USA) (The Economist) ; “To save or not to save?” -- “Спасать или не спасать?” (paraphrase from Shakespeare “To be or not to be?” – “Быть или не быть?”) (“USA TODAY”); “Much ado about lending” -- “Много шума из денежной ссуды” (paraphrase from Shakespeare “Much ado about nothing” – “Много шума из ничего”) (The Economist).
    Another example is taken from the magazine “Business Week” : “Suddenly Goldman is less golden”. Here the pun is created over the combination of the company’s name “Goldman, Sachs & Co.” and the word “golden”. ( The company was criticized for its doubtful operations). Here the only way out is the neutral descriptive translation – “Неожиданные проблемы у компании “Гольдман, Закс и Ко”.
    As a rule, the headline is followed by a sentence-annotation which explains the meaning of the pun or gives a clue to understanding the meaning of the headline. Thus, the following sentence-annotation clears up the meaning of the previous headline: After a string of troubled deals, the firm ( Goldman, Sachs & Co.) is facing criticism. – После ряда сомнительных сделок фирма (Гольдман, Закс и Ко.) подвергается критике.
    As pun is based on the double meaning of a word, with the second meaning often being a slang, the translator has the right just to give a certain commentary or explanation to a word combination because the translation is theoretically impossible. Here is the example of pun based on 2 meanings of the word “grand”: 1) великолепный, восхитительный; 2) сленг: тысяча долларов. It’s obvious that the pun can be translated only in the following way – “Любовь дорога. Развод может обойтись еще дороже” or explained : “Любовь ГРАНДиозна. Развод в тысячу раз ГРАНДиозней” where the footnote explains: заголовок основан на игре слов -- Grand (англ.) – великолепный; сленг. тысяча долларов.
    Now let us move on to the headlines which can be understood and interpreted correctly only in case the reader possesses certain knowledge of realities and culture of the country. In order to understand the meaning of such headlines the translator needs context. Here are the examples of the headlines which include set expressions. Sentences-annotations which immediately follow them help grasp their meaning:
    “Rich man, poor man” -- “Богач, бедняк”. Sentence-annotation: The gap between high earners and the lowest paid has widened. (The Economist).
    “Keep the hive humming” – “Пусть улей жужжит». Sentence-annotation: Immigrants may prevent the economy from overheating. (The Economist).
    Now the meaning of the headline is clear: immigrants having low-paid jobs feel the labour market and give the opportunity to the economy to develop dynamically.
    “The sinking feeling” -- “Ощущение идущего на дно» ( 2 meanings of the verb to sink – идти на дно и потерпеть фиаско – are used with effect here). Sentence-annotation: Once a sure way to make a fortune, the personal-computer business is an even surer way to lose one.
11. It's advisable to keep in mind that the majority of english headlines are laconic. Laconicism is the peculiarity of the English language so when rendering a headline into English its important to read carefully the context so as to provide adequate translation : «Bus-death strike» -- «Забастовка в связи с гибелью водителя». («The Sun»).From the context one may find out that the driver was forced to work overtime, fell asleep at the steering wheel, got into a crash and died.
12. English news headlines are also distinguished by the wide use of pet names when denoting public figures : Tricky Dicky (Nickson), Teddy (Theodor Rousvelt). In order to deliver adequate translation the translator should either provide commentaries or replace pet names by full ones.
13. Authors frequently use occasional innovations in their news headlines for the sake of seeking publicity. Here descriptive translation and background knowledge are the main clues to successful translation : “Jiscarded” – this innovation is based on the pun: To discard – to dismiss, Jicsar d’Esten – the French president who discharged the Prime-minister Shirak because he was keeping to de Gaulle’s principles. “Jiscarded” – “Увольнение Ширака Жискар д’Эстеном” (“Daily Mirror”).
14. It is a usual thing for journalists to give the titles of public figures in news headlines even when they are heavily criticized in the article. All these titles are a mere formality in the English language that’s why they are usually omitted in the translation : Chancellor Adenauer or Doctor Adenauer _-- Аденауэр; - Mr. Macmillan -- Макмиллан, General de Gaulle -- Де Голль, Sir Winston Churchill or Sir Winston -- Черчилль. The exception is specially official publications in which these titles are translated, Mr. and Mrs. being rendered as “господин и госпожа” but not as “мистер и миссис”.
15. Many English abbreviations have their russian equivalents which should be used when translating a headline. It's worth remembering that these equivalents are composed of intial letters of the corresponding organization's name in Russian. For instance: GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) -- ГСТТ (Генеральное соглашение по таможенным тарифам и торговле (стран Атлантического союза). What is more, the translator has the right to use the full name of the organization in the translation: NLRB -- National Labor Relations Board – Национальное управление трудовых отношений (США).
16. When carrying out the research I have found out that there is obvious domination of verbal phrases over nominal ones in english news headlines: "11 Die in South Africa";"Britain's Labour Party Makes Garns";"Pickels Stop Murdoch Papers";"China Compounds US Space Gloom"(“The Times”); whereas nominal phrases in news headlines are more frequent to come across on the pages of Russian periodicals ("Очередное коммюнике";"Ситуация на Гаити” (“Вечерний Минск”). This peculiarity should not be ignored when aiming to make adequate translation: "Festival Closes in Mexico" -- "Завершение фестиваля в Мексике" («The Sun»).
17. English headlines are characterized by the absence of past-time verbal forms. Present-time forms are used instead: : "Commission Meets in Baghdad" -- "Приступила к работе комиссия в Багдаде "; "Aid Comes in Time" -- "Помощь прибыла вовремя". (Daily Mirror); “Libya signs deal to pay Berlin bombing victims” – “Власти Ливии подписали договор о выплате компенсации жертвам бомбежки в Берлине” («International Herald Tribune»). What is more, English news headlines generally lack personal verbal forms of future tenses. They are replaced by the infinitive : "NATO to Test Air Power in Europe" – “НАТО подвергнет испытанию военно-воздушные силы Европы” («The Independent»); "MPs to Ask Questions on Cruise" – «Члены парламента зададут вопросы по поводу крылатой ракеты» («The Guardian»). Sometimes it even seems to be more convenient to choose a word combination as a russian equivalent of the english headline. In the russian variant the future tense may be manifested in a preposition, forms of an adverb or an adjective, whereas in the english headline it is expressed in the corresponding infinitive construction : "Seven to Meet in Tokyo" -- «Перед встречей „семерки"в Токио » (“The Times”). So in such cases an english ifinitive construction undergoes certain interlevel transformation.
18. It's worth remembering that journalists are in the habit of turning to literary images in their headlines. Not only the context but also extralinguistic aspects such as background knowledge are indispensable for accurate understanding and adequate translating of a headline. When making a translation the most appropriate way is to give explanation : «Albatross around the neck» -- «Альбатрос на шее» (The Sun). Образ создан англ. писателем Дж. Колдриджем. Согласно легенде, описанной в его произведении, моряк, убивший альбатроса, в наказание за свой поступок должен был носить на шее труп птицы всю оставшуюся жизнь.
19. It is necessary to highlight frequent use of neologisms as a peculiar feature of news headlines. Neologisms can be derived from diverse lexical items. Here are the most typical sources of the formation of english neologisms: