I read an article which has a title (but it's now changed):
India fisherman killed as Pakistan navy opens fire at two boats off Gujarat Coast
My questions are: Which word is correct in this context, 'India' or 'Indian'? Why?
Thanks for your help.
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CowperKettle
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Rucheer M
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1I'd certainly use the adjective. – Maulik V Sep 18 '15 at 12:13
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2Looking at the article now, it says "Indian" in the headline. – Mason Wheeler Sep 18 '15 at 17:11
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1@MasonWheeler An ELL's impact! :) – Rucheer M Sep 21 '15 at 05:24
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1Now that's called an ELL effect! But those guys keep on changing the headlines, not fair! https://web.archive.org/web/20150918104410/http://www.firstpost.com/world/pakistan-navy-shoots-at-2-indian-boats-with-5-fishermen-onboard-kills-1-2438732.html – Maulik V Sep 21 '15 at 05:24
2 Answers
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The title is written in headlinese, a specific style for newspaper headlines. Headline writers often pick a noun where an adjective would've been more logical (in a general-purpose text).
As the article in WIkipedia states, "Country names are often used instead of their adjective form."
CowperKettle
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5This is the first time I encountered the term headlinese. Thanks for the info! – shin Sep 18 '15 at 12:33
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17@shin - you're welcome! "StackExchange user encounters headlinese, impressed". (0: – CowperKettle Sep 18 '15 at 12:34
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1Indian media can prove this incorrect! You may find them using 'adjective' in the headline and 'noun' in the body! (pun intended!) – Maulik V Sep 18 '15 at 12:55
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@MaulikV Good find! Indeed, the authors used headlinese where they should've journalese. (0: – CowperKettle Sep 18 '15 at 13:12
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8Since the headline now reads "Indian fisherman ..." it would appear that it was written in typoese. – Nick Gammon Sep 18 '15 at 22:29
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1Yeah, as a native speaker, "India fisherman killed..." just looks incorrect, no matter what the style may be. – Nate Barbettini Sep 19 '15 at 03:52
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I've always thought one of the reasons they do this is because the shorter the word, the larger the typeface they can use. – peterG Sep 19 '15 at 13:12
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1@PeterG: That, and using the adjective descriptor for a citizen of a foreign country might be more confusing than just using the country name. Some nationalities use adjectives that are substantially different from the country name. If the writer uses a country name, he can be sure that the readers will know which country the person is from. – Crazy Eyes Sep 21 '15 at 14:59
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I agree with CopperKettle's answer, and wanted to provide some more information. English language newspaper articles are a unique genre of English language writing, whose style is generally dictated by the Associated Press Stylebook. This guide not only defines headlines, but also what words are appropriate for use, how sources should be cited, and much more.
Brian
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1and to add more information - for some nations - if you were to try and describe the person's nationality via ethnicity you might end up either offending (some) people from that country, or being too specific and your readers don't know what you're talking about. It's easier just to list the country. – DoubleDouble Sep 18 '15 at 19:33
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1"[The style of] English language newspaper articles [...] is generally dictated by the Associated Press Stylebook." Is that true, outside the US? Also, by "dictated", I think you mean "informed". – David Richerby Sep 18 '15 at 22:14
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2Dictated is reasonable when talking about style manuals, because generally organizations involved in publishing will adopt a style manual and instruct their writers to follow it. The style manual does dictate, because you must follow the rules or face criticism or even disciplinary action. – barbecue Sep 19 '15 at 02:56