A Syntactical Analysis on the sentences found in the Jakarta Post headlines

ABSTRACT

Headlines as the eye-catching features of the newspaper and other mass media carry a significant role to attract the readers to read the news further. Applying linguistic features, especially from grammatical angle, on arranging the headline sentences are mostly done to get the most attractive news title. This way took the researcher an interest in analyzing the headline sentences by utilizing the Syntactic Structure.

This study intended to understand and describe the Syntactic Structures on the sentences found in The Jakarta Post headlines and when they are diagrammed in the Chinese Boxes. Consequently, the research used descriptive qualitative.

There were several steps to analyze the headline sentences. To begin with, the data headline sentences were broken down into two kinds: well formed and ill formed structures. Second, the well-formed structures would go to the direct analysis; the ill-formed structures were constructed to be the well-governed structures first to find the constituent of each word, and they then went to the analysis. Third, the data were examined by using Syntactic Structure; it was started by detecting structure of predication, and was followed by the three other structures. Next step was describing their functions and positions of words in detail, and the sentences then were diagrammed by using Chinese Boxes. Final step was discussing the findings, and drawing conclusion of the analysis.

The analysis found several omissions. Omission of auxiliary occurred in structures of predication – built from passive voice pattern and in future tense, in structure of predication – predicate in adjective form, and in structure of coordination omitted coordinator. By dropping auxiliary and coordinator could save valuable space but could convey clearly a message of story.

Other findings are First, Structure of predication has dominated all the headline structures. Second, structures of modification tend to have head noun with modifier noun or proper name. Third, structure of predication frequently consisted of subject noun-proper name and had predicate structure of complementation. Fourth, the structure of complementation was dominated by verbal element transitive verb and complement direct object, to detect directly the object of agent action. Five, structure of coordination tend to have two structure of predications linked with coordinator and and but.

It is suggested for the next researcher to use tree diagram in analyzing the headlines. However, the focus of analysis is on the ambiguous sentences or confusing constructions. A syntax tree diagram can be used to understand both the different types of sentence structure and ambiguous sentences.