Metaphors as Relevance Maximizers in Malaysian Newspaper Headlines

This study examines metaphors in newspaper headlines from a relevance-theoretic perspective (Sperber and Wilson 1995). The data are drawn from the Malaysian tabloid The Star, issued in English. The study seeks to draw the major conceptual metaphors prevalent in the headlines. It embarks on how the metaphorical construction contributes to the formation of the headline genre. More specifically, the study seeks to prove that the metaphors are used in newspaper headlines as a tool to maximize the relevance of the content of the newspaper article to the readers. This theorization is hoped to build on what Molek-Kozakowska (2014) has started in tackling the role of metaphors in news headlines. The study utilizes frame semantics (Fillmore 2006; Fillmore 2010) as an explanatory tool for how the relevance maximization potential operates.