Spanish Newspaper Headlines

[Marianopolita]

In addition to formal studies reading Spanish newspapers is always a suggestion in order to observe syntax, grammar usage, learn new vocabulary, expressions, idioms etc. The quality of Spanish newspapers varies greatly, however there are many well-written ones to choose from. IMO, a good focus to start with are the headlines. Each headline is a short phrase thus an easy way to observe and learn how a phrase is said in Spanish. It is important to note that newspapers are not error free, but it does not take away from the benefits of reading the newspaper as a daily supplementary language learning tool.

Over the past week, I selected headlines from a few newspapers. See below for my observation suggestions.

1/ La ola de calor africano trae temperaturas significativamente altas a casi toda Espa?a- El Pa?s- 08/04

2/ Las autoridades de EE UU ordenan revisar todos los puentes similares al que se derrumb? en Minneapolis- El Pa?s- 08/04

3/ As? funciona el 'metrob?s'- El Pa?s- 08/04

4/ Alerta extrema por incendios debido a la ola de calor- El Pa?s- 08/04

5/ Estudiantes deben pelear por mejor educaci?n- El Siglo- 08/04

6 / Faltan recursos para combatir delincuencia -El Siglo- 08/04

7/ Los 19 turistas espa?oles heridos en Egipto vuelan hoy de regreso a Espa?a- El Pa?s- 08/05

8/ Cierran tres estaciones de subte- El Pa?s Digital (Montevideo, Uruguay)- 08/08 Tres estaciones del servicio del tren subterr?neo de la ciudad de Washington estuvieron hoy cerradas ...

9/ Uruguay "ejemplo" de cambio clim?tico- El Pa?s Digital (Montevideo, Uruguay)- 08/08

10/ Mattel retira juguetes con plomo pero desconoce cu?ntos fueron vendidos- List?n Diario- 08/08

11/ Se elevan casos de abortos entre j?venes de HM - List?n Diario- 08/08
HM= Hato Mayor

12/ Fortalecen vigilancia para evitar sigan entrando al pa?s habichuelas verdes enlatadas- List?n Diario- 08/08

13/ A la escuela, aun debajo de un ?rbol - Diario Libre- 08/11

14/ Alex llega a los 37 jonrones en una victoria de Yankees- List?n Diario- 08/11

15/ Salud dice virus que afect? a turistas ya fue controlado - List?n Diario- 08/11


Suggested Observations-

1/ Observe the usage of the rules of capitalization in Spanish. Fewer capital letters are used.

2/ Newspaper headlines in Spanish are short phrases. Observe the way a phrase is said and the required grammar.

3/ Headlines styles- some headlines are complete phrases some are fragments to just give the reader the gist of what the story is about.

4/ Compare headline styles- Spanish papers vs. Latin America papers. Is there a difference?

5/ If a phrase, usage of grammar, vocabulary etc. does not makes sense (to you) do some research and see if you can find the answer. In the long run it will improve your comprehension and knowledge of Spanish.

Samples were taken from the following newspapers:


El Pa?s- Spain
El Siglo- Panama
El Pa?s Digital- Uruguay
List?n Diario- DR
Diario Libre- DR

_________________


-LDG.

 

[planner]

You are a wealth of knowledge! Thank you for this. I try to read and understand the newspapers daily but never thought to compare to other spanish papers.

Just the headlines alone can be challenging at times.

 

[Marianopolita]

Thanks planner-

My suggestion is to read Spanish newspapers at your own pace meaning if you can only read one or two articles a day for now that?s good enough. New vocabulary, expressions, idioms etc. can be overwhelming. The idea is to just practice. Be selective. Pick an article that is of interest to you so you will read it willingly and not focus on the challenge of understanding the vocabulary and the article in general.

IMO, the headlines of newspapers from Spain are easier to understand because they are full phrases and not fragments. You will note that in newspapers from Latin America it varies greatly. In some papers the headlines are fragments of a phrase therefore it may be more of a challenge for beginners to get used to the style and understand the gist. My suggestion is just to keep reading those headlines daily. You will eventually get used to them and understand them just as easily as the complete phrases.

I read parts of several Spanish newspapers daily and I will stick with three or four for a few months and then switch to a new set of newspapers just for the diversity. One of my favourite newspapers is El Pa?s from Spain. In general, it?s well-written, the new design of their website is so user-friendly and the articles are very interesting. In today?s paper the headlines are good examples of what I have been saying. Here are a few:

1/ Los balseros cubanos cambian de ruta

2/ Retrasos en alta mar

3/ Cuatro espa?oles detenidos en M?xico denuncian maltrato policial

4/ Las mejores fotos del mundo

5/ "De lo malo puede salir una buena pel?cula"


These are headlines but they are also good phrases in Spanish. There?s a variety of language benefits for example, vocabulary los balseros, a good everyday word to know. En alta mar, is an idiomatic expression. Denunciar, a verb used often in newspaper articles. Phrases #3, #4 & 5 are just examples of good grammatical phrases in Spanish.


Good Luck.


-LDG.

 

[Marianopolita]

Spanish Newspaper Headlines II-

Here are more phrases that I gathered since August 13, 2007. For those of you who are grammar conscious these are examples of good grammatical phrases. Once again you can observe how a phrase is said in Spanish, observe correct usage of the language and enhance your vocabulary.

Proper language learning is a sacrifice. Not only are formal studies essential you have to be creative outside of the classroom to help yourself. These particular phrases have fixed expressions (idiomatic phrases) and unique grammar nuances. Once again question what you don't understand and try to find the grammatical answer or the meaning of a word in question.


1/ Aumenta el n?mero de maletas perdidas por Iberia y Spanair- El Pais- 08/13

2/ Mala la sequ?a, peor la lluvia- El Pa?s- 08/13

3/ El que juega con candela termina "quemao"- El Panam? Am?rica- 08/16

4/ Falta de luz, agua y alimentos en las zonas m?s afectadas por el fuerte terremoto en Per?- El Mundo (el mundo.es)- 08/16

5/ Paname?os est?n a salvo tras terremoto en Per?- El Panam? Am?rica- 08/17

6/ M?s de 500 muertos deja terremoto en Per?- ABC Digital (Paraguay)- 08/17

7/ Sem?foros de Asunci?n, en estado de emergencia- ABC Digital (Paraguay)- 08/17

8/ Los 'trabajos basura' de EE UU- El Pa?s- 08/18
-Reponedores, manicuras y lavanderos son los peores empleos en el pa?s de las oportunidades

9/ Una canadiense da a luz a cuatrillizas monocigotas- Listin Diario- 08/18
-Una canadiense dio a luz esta semana a cuatrillizas monocigotas (gemelas id?nticas)

10/ Suspenden los vuelos hacia islas del Caribe por el paso del hurac?n Dean- Listin Diario- 08/18

11/ Transporte p?blico sin soluci?n a la vista- El Panam? Am?rica- 08/18

12/ Falla en servicio el?ctrico provoc? protesta en avenidas de Cartagena -El Universal 08/19

13/ Trece subsaharianos mueren de sed tras seis d?as a la deriva al sur de Canarias- El Pa?s- 08/21

14/ Un estudio argentino demuestra que la carne roja reduce el colesterol- Listin Diaro- 08/22

15/ Ni?o de tres a?os sobrevive ca?da desde un s?ptimo piso- Listin Diario- 08/22

Newspaper sources:

El Pa?s- Spain
El Mundo- Spain
El Panam? Am?rica- Panama
ABC Digital- Paraguay
El Universal- Colombia
Listin Diario- Dominican Republic

__________________


-LDG.

 

[Marianopolita]

Fragmented headlines

This is just a reminder when reading Spanish newspaper headlines, the style varies from newspaper to newspaper as I mentioned in my posts above. You will either see complete phrases or fragmented phrases. We have had brief discussions in the past about Dominican journalism and its lack of quality writing etc. However, mistakes are found in all newspapers but there is a noted difference in quality when comparing newspapers within the same country and across the Spanish-speaking world.

In my observation, the fragmented headline style is prevalent in Latin American journalism as opposed to Spain. As well, there seems to be no consistency when using fragmented headlines vs. full phrases. I believe it?s a space issue especially on the front page of the newspaper.

As I have said many times before, I don?t read Dominican newspapers on a regular basis due to the errors and sentence structure. However, I do like to read certain sections of List?n Diario, which in my opinion is one of the better ones and still could be better as well as Diario Libre.

Newspapers in general are a great supplementary learning tool. A sign of progression and command in the language is when you can not only read and understand most of the article but also question the grammar especially the verbs.

In this case it could be a particular journalist who keeps using habr?a instead hab?a. It?s quite possible that the journalist speaks that way not realizing that it?s incorrect grammar. Then it becomes a question of proofreading. Is any proofreading being done? In broad terms newspapers should make for good reading.


Sample newspaper headlines from today's newspapers

1/ Serbia, de nuevo en la encrucijada- El Pa?s

2/ Lluvias torrenciales en tiempo de sequ?a- El Pa?s

3/ Citigroup lanza un agresivo plan de venta de activos- El Pa?s

4/ El Pa?s de Espa?a revela supuesto apoyo de Hugo Ch?vez a las FARC- El Universal, Cartagena, Colombia

5/ "Un artista debe ser apol?tico y dedicarse a sus canciones": Luis Miguel- El Peri?dico de M?xico

6/ Son seis mil personas las que estar?an afectadas por medicinas contaminadas en Panam?- List?n Diario

7/ Partido Popular busca mantener alianza con PRD- El Panam? Am?rica

8/ Otro polic?a baleado en M?xico- BBC Mundo


Samples with fragmented headlines

1/ Ve proyecto reelecci?n descompuesto- El Nacional- RD

2/ Est? estable ni?o nacido tras madre ser asesinada- List?n Diario- RD

3/ La imprudencia de chofer habr?a provocado tragedia caravana PLD- List?n Diario- RD


La República - La imprudencia de chofer habr?*a provocado tragedia caravana PLD


-LDG.

 

[Norma Rosa]

Hi, Lesley.
Thanks for bringing this up front again.
I did notice the heading ". . . habr?a provocado tragedia. . ." (by another columnist).

I e-mailed the newspaper asking to explain the use of that tense. I hope to receive a response.

 

[Marianopolita]

I will research this usage of the 'conditional tense'-

Hola Norma,

Gracias por tu comentario. Estoy de acuerdo contigo. Se equivocaron.

When I posted the samples, I knew the heading was incorrect just by reading it because the usage of the conditional habr?a in that phrase makes no sense to describe a 'choque' that already occurred. It should be either the past perfect tense hab?a provocado (pluscuamperfecto) or I agree with you that it's the journalist's attempt to describe the 'possibility of' or in grammatical terms to show conjecture. If that's the case it's a very flawed usage of grammar in Spanish which I have yet to hear in the spoken language or see written in other newspapers were the context of probability is required.

Errors with verb usage are possible. I see them from time to time in the novels I read but that usage of the conditional is not logical. As well, in some written contexts, I have seen the usage of si estaba when it definitely should be si estuviera to show contrary to fact but that's not normal and also possibly regional.

I will do some grammatical research to see if anything has been documented about using the conditional tense this way in everyday speech or in 'journalistic writing'. IMO, it's great that you sent an email but do not expect a response or even for List?n Diario to understand the grammatical error. Two journalists with the same error is not a coincidence. Once again, it's another flaw against Dominican newspapers in my book. I will stick to the ones I read from other countries.


-LDG.

 

[Marianopolita]

Norma-

I looked up the conditional perfect tense in one of my preferred newer grammar references to get more details and yes, the conditional perfect tense can be used to express probability in the sense of 'must have', this I knew. However, in the context of the article I referenced it does not fit IMO. This is my point of reference. If you read it, I don't see the need to speculate. IMO, the way the accident happened it was definitely imprudence on the part of the driver that caused the crash. The textbook also indicates "deber de" as an equivalent to habr?a xxx.

For example (from the reference)- Habr?a escrito la carta antes= Debi? de haber escrito la carta antes.

I am not saying it can?t be used. I just don?t think it's correct after you read the article. My opinion only of course.


-LDG.

 

[Norma Rosa]

That is why I told Chip that I needed to read the article. After reading it I realized that the headline should not have carried that uncertainty (or probability) since the article itself does not. The writer uses verbs in the past tense, and quotes a very reliable source - PN spokesman, Nelson Rosario:

"El vocero de la Polic?a Nelson Rosario, dijo que Jos? Antonio Beltr? Montero de 53 a?os, admiti? que dispar? contra el coronel Cordero, supervisor policial de asuntos criminales en la zona." (La Rep?blica, mayo 2)

"Asegur? que una multitud lanz? piedras y botellas contra los agentes que acudieron a una casa donde supuestamente estaba guardado un dinero robado."
(La Rep?blica, mayo 2)

Norma

 

[Marianopolita]

Good luck // Suggestions

Norma,

Your argument is justified IMO. Frankly, this is the first time I have seen titles like this in any Spanish newspaper which automatically catches one's attention then after reading the article one discovers that the usage with respect to what is being reported is not correct. If you get a response I will be surprised. I agree with you List?n Diario normally has good headlines and very passable journalism so hopefully this not a journalistic writing trend that will continue. I will keep reading the paper occasionally. As well, I wish they would use less fragmented headlines some are really just not logical although comprehensible. For example from today's headlines:

1/ Atracan dominicanos fueron de visita Italia- List?n Diario
2/ Chilote Llenas seguir? como presidente ?guilas- List?n Diario


Anyway for those of you who do wish to improve via reading and making that sacrifice to work hard at understanding the grammar of the language, good newspapers are helpful. One method that I recommend is reading short articles and highlighting some parts of speech i.e. verbs, nouns, adjectives, and understanding their usage as well as highlighting and researching any unknown vocabulary if the meaning is incomprehensible from the gist of the article.

Here's a sample of what one can do:

Source: El Heraldo.COM.CO (Barranquilla, Colombia)

EL HERALDO

Breves Nacionales

Cinco pa?ses piden apoyo para TLC

Bogot?. Primera P?gina. Los gobiernos de Costa Rica, Rep?blica Dominicana, El Salvador, Guatemala y Honduras le enviaron una carta a la presidenta de la C?mara de Representantes de los Estados Unidos, Nancy Pelosi (en la foto), para que apoye la firma del Tratado de Libre Comercio, TLC, entre Colombia y Estados Unidos. ?La aprobaci?n del TLC entre Colombia y Estados Unidos ser?a otro paso para profundizar esta relaci?n hacia una m?s justa y equitativa integraci?n de nuestras naciones?, dice la carta en uno de sus apartes.


M?s de 300 damnificados en Choc?

Bogot?. Primera P?gina. Las autoridades confirmaron que por lo menos unas cien viviendas resultaron afectadas por el desbordamiento del r?o Atrato en Choc?. Seg?n los voceros de los organismos de atenci?n de desastres, la mayor?a de estas personas lo perdi? todo, la fuerza del r?o destruy? sus viviendas y enseres, adem?s quedaron incomunicados del resto del Departamento, debido a que las aguas destruyeron la v?a que los comunica con el sector El Siete y con Quibd?. Se?alaron que las veredas m?s afectadas por esta emergencia invernal est?n La Mariela, El Siete, El Tren y La Arboleda.


_______________

-LDG.

 

[Chip]

I think I have noticed a lot of errors in the actual articles as well. Specifically, leaving out prepositions and such. In fact, when I moved here two years ago that with the words that that are not used in general everyday conversation caused me to refrain from reading the articles.

I wonder why these people don't just get a simple program like MS Word, it does spellcheck and simple grammatical checks in addition to adding the accents automatically at times. One doesn't even need a Spanish keyboard either.