Master Lb. Engleza, anul II, Student:

THE STYLE OF NEWSPAPERS
The newspapers’ style was the last that was recognized as a form of written literary English, dating from the 17th century (in the form of pamphlets) and until 19th century developed continuously into a distinct system of language with specific linguistic characteristics and functions. The materials that can be considered as belonging to newspapers’ style have to perform the following functions: to inform the reader, to persuade, to form people’s attitudes, etc. News style encompasses not only vocabulary and sentence structure, but also the way in which stories present the information in terms of relative importance, tone, and intended audience. Journalistic prose is explicit and precise, and tries not to rely on jargon. As a rule, journalists will not use a long word when a short one will do. They use subject-verb-object construction and vivid, active prose. They offer anecdotes, examples and metaphors, and they rarely depend on colorless generalizations or abstract ideas. News writers try to avoid using the same word more than once in a paragraph (sometimes called an "echo" or "word mirror").
They state only facts without giving comments. The vocabulary used is neutral and common literary. Specific features are: a) special political and economic terms, or terms specific to other fields of activity; b) non-term political vocabulary; c) newspaper clichés; d) abbreviations; e) neologisms.
In the following lines I’ll try to present some of the characteristics and functions of the journalistic style with the help of an article taken from a famous newspaper – The New York Times.

May 3, 2012; The New York Times; By SINDYA N. BHANOO

Island’s Genetic Quirk: Dark Skin, Blond Hair

In the Solomon Islands, about 10 percent of the dark-skinned indigenous people (attributive adjectives) have strikingly blond hair (attributive adjectives). Some islanders theorize that (that-clause) the coloring (non-finite form) could be a result of excess sun exposure, or a diet rich in fish. Another explanation is that (that-clause) the blondness was inherited from distant ancestors — European traders and explorers who came to the islands(noun-postmodifier - relative clause). “For me it breaks down any kind of simple notions you might have about race,” said (direct speech) Carlos Bustamante, a geneticist at Stanford University (Appositive Noun Phrase. “Humans are beautifully diverse, and this is just the tip of the iceberg.” (direct speech)
The researcher analyzed saliva samples from more than 1,000 islanders, looking (non-finite form) closely at a subset of the samples — from 43 blond and 42 dark-haired islanders. (attributive adjectives)
They were soon able to identify (non-finite form) the single gene responsible for the variance in hair color. Called TYRP1, the gene is known to influence (complex construction, Nominative+Infinitive) pigmentation in humans.
The researchers also found that(that-clause) the variant of TYRP1 that causes blond hair in Solomon Islanders is absent in Europeans’ genomes.
“Here you go into an unstudied population with a small sample size and you can really find some cool things,” Dr. Bustamante said (direct speech). “So what about other places, like what about light pigmentation in parts of Africa? How do we not know the genetic basis of skin and hair pigmentations across the globe?” (interrogative clauses – rhetorical purposes)
He and his team (NP, coordinated subjects, use of 3rd person) hope to raise more money to further analyze the Solomon Islands data. (non-finite forms)
This article represents a brief news item in the scintific field, having the function to inform the reader on a research made on the Solomon Islands’ people genes.
So its main linguistic features can be summed up as follows:

I. SYNTACTIC STRUCTURE
Use of attributive adjectives for to add information: dark-skinned indigenous people, strikingly blond hair, dark-haired islanders, etc.
Use of relative clauses as noun postmodifiers used to identify or describe a person: European traders and explorers who came to the islands.
Use of appositive noun phrases so to provide descriptive information about the head noun: Carlos Bustamante, a geneticist at Stanford University.
Use of verbal constructions represented by the non-finite forms: the coloring, looking, to raise more money, to further analyze, etc.
Use of complex constructions: the gene is known to influence.
Use of proper nouns, referring to people, places, and institutions: Solomon Islands, Carlos Bustamante, Stanford University, etc.
Use of interrogative clauses for rhetorical purposes: So what about other places, like what about light pigmentation in parts of Africa? How do we not know the genetic basis of skin and hair pigmentations across the globe?
Frequent use of That-clauses: Some islanders theorize that the coloring could be a result of excess sun exposure, or a diet rich in fish.; Another explanation is that the blondness was inherited from distant ancestors.; The researchers also found that the variant of TYRP1 that causes blond hair in Solomon Islanders is absent in Europeans’ genomes. ;
Use of verbs of speaking in reported speech: “For me it breaks down any kind of simple notions you might have about race,” said Carlos Bustamante.
Use of third person, singular or plural, to give the impression of an unbiased presentation of the news: They, He and his team, etc.

II. LEXICAL FEATURES

Use of direct speech: “For me it breaks down any kind of simple notions you might have about race,” said Carlos Bustamante…
Use of scientific terminology, terms specially used in geography or genetics: Solomon Islands, geneticist, saliva samples, gene, pigmentation, Europeans’ genomes, population, Africa, genetic basis of skin and hair pigmentations, etc.
Use of newspaper clichees, sterotyped expressions, commonplace phrases familiar to the reader: you can really find some cool things, the tip of the iceberg, etc.
Use of abbreviations: TYRP1
Use of emotionally marked language: Humans are beautifully diverse…