MOBILITY 2. Aspects of Teaching English. Brighton, the UK. Laura Borràs. Day 9

English in the media. Dealing with difficult language

Why are (tabloid) headlines sometimes tricky to understand?

-  Abbreviated language

- Puns

- Sense of irony

- Cultural references

- Use of dramatic language

- Double-meanings

Examples we find in today's papers:

- Nuke can't be serious : Nuke = nuclear war. Nuke can't = You can't

- Binidorm: bin + Benidorm

- Frankenswine, the less pungent pig: genetically modified