Leaving
out words to avoid repeatation or in other cases when the meaning can be
understood without them is called ellipsis (Swan, 1996:172). The use of
ellipsis was first detected in the ancient German dialect. It is often used in
writing and speech. In writing, ellipsis can be found easily in the literary
works, articles, etc. Roedig describes that ellipsis is also used in the
newspaper reporting frequently. It is especially used because word omission
implies hidden implications which captivates the imagination and attention of
an audience
In
accordance with a demand of news writing which must be brief, solid, simple,
fluent, clear, unadorned, and interesting language, the use of ellipsis can not
be avoided especially in writing a news title. In compiling a news title, the
writer leaves out some words from a sentence in order that it is attractive and
catchy so it can create enthusiasm and expectation in readers.
There
are many kinds of ellipsis in English. They have different structure and use.
In his book, Swan writes some types of ellipsis, such as:
1. Ellipsis with and, but, and or
2. Ellipsis at the beginning of sentence
3. Ellipsis in noun phrases
4. Ellipsis after auxiliary verb
5. Ellipsis with infinitives
In
this study, the researcher uses types of ellipsis described by Swan to analyze
elliptical sentences used in the titles of headline news in the The Jakarta
Post.
Type
of Ellipsis
Ellipsis
is the omission of words from sentences that are automatically understood so
that the words do not need to be stated (www.geocities.com/
eowilliam11/guide.html). There are some types of ellipsis in English. Here,
they will be discussed in detail.
Type
of ellipsis described by Swan below can be found in spoken and written text.
They can be in a formal style. The headline news titles analyzed in this
research are in formal forms. Therefore, the researcher doesn’t use some types
of ellipsis in informal forms like: (and) then in ellipsis with and, but, and
or, ellipsis after adjectives in noun phrases, short answer and so am I in
ellipsis after auxiliary verbs, and ellipsis of infinitives because most of
them are often used in informal styles and in spoken languages.
Ellipsis
1.Various kinds of word left out
When
expressions are joined by and, but or or, we often leave out repeated words or
phrases of various kinds.
Example
-An
apple or grapes
-Antique
(furniture) or modern furniture
2. Word order
When two verbs,
objects etc are the same, it is not always the second that it left out. We
leave out the first if that will produce a simpler word order and sentence
structure.
Example:
-winda
(playing music) and wanda playing music (not winda playing music and wanda)
3.
Singular and plural
When
one verb follows two singular subjects connected by and, a plural verb forms is
of course used if necessary.
Example:
-
My mother and father smoke. (Not My mother and father smokes.)
When
two singular subjects are connected by or, the verb is singular.
Either
Jake or Steve was here this morning.
4. Other conjunctions
Ellipsis
is not normally possible after other conjunction besides and, but and or.
Example:
-
She didn’t know where she was when she woke up. (Not … when woke up).
5. (and) then
In
an informal style, ellipsis is sometimes possible after then even if and is
dropped.
Example:
Peter
started first, (and) then Colin (started).
Ellipsis
at the beginning of a sentence
1. Words that can be left out
Words
that can be left out include articles (the, a/an), possessives (my, your etc),
personal pronouns. (I, you, etc), auxiliary verb (am, have etc) and the
preparatory subject there.
Example:
-
deer’s that ran fast(= a deer’s…)
-
fishing dad’s(=my dad’s…)
2. Unstressed forms of be, will, would, have
We
do not usually drop so as to begin sentences with unstressed forms of be, will,
would or auxiliary have (though this sometimes happens in postcard, diary
entries and other kinds of very informal writing).
Example:
Example:
I’m coming tomorrow or coming tomorrow.
But not Am
coming tomorrow (Am is not stressed)
3. I
and it
Auxiliary verbs can be
left out before personal pronouns excepts I and it.
You ready? (= Are you
ready ?)
4. Tags
Ellipsis is very
common in sentences that have some sort of tag.
Example:
-Can’t swim. Myself
-Dutch, aren’t
you ?
