Selkoistamisen vaikutukset uutistekstin aloitukseen

This article presents a functional way of describing and analyzing news according to differencies in starting point of texts. My study is concerned with news texts and how these are adapted into plain Finnish. The data of my research has been published by Finnish News Agency [STT], by newspapers and by Selkouutiset [Plain News]. The basic theoretical ground is in M.A.K. Halliday’s functional grammar, especially ideas of different metafunctions and text as a meaning making potential. The simplifications identified reveal the intention of the writer to produce a version in keeping with a text which is simpler and less elaborate than standard language. The study shows that rendering texts into simplified language affects headline and first sentences of the text. The most significant differences concern how language is used to create and sustain interaction