Headlines, leads, attribution and evaluative language - how Belarusian news and opinion writing is built, and how to read what it is doing.
I can read a Belarusian news or opinion piece critically and write in the register myself.
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Новы мост праз Нёман - у наступным годзе.
New bridge over the Nioman - next year.
Міністр заявіў, што рашэнне ўжо прынята.
The minister stated that the decision has already been taken.
Кампанія нібыта ўжо звольніла палову працаўнікоў.
The company has allegedly already laid off half its staff.
Хіба гэта тое, чаго мы чакалі?
Is this really what we were waiting for?
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Belarusian headlines compress hard, and the commonest devices are worth recognising:
Who said it, and how much the writer vouches for it, are carried by the verb:
| Verb | What it signals |
|---|---|
| паведаміў | neutral report |
| заявіў | a formal or strong statement |
| сцвярджае | asserts, and the writer does not endorse it |
| адзначыў | noted, mildly agreeing |
| прызнаў | admitted, conceding something |
| нібыта | allegedly - marks the whole claim as unverified |
Нібыта is the one to watch for as a reader: it distances the writer from everything that follows.
Opinion writing chooses words that carry judgement, and the pairs are worth having: рэжым against улада, актывіст against парушальнік, рэформа against змены. Nothing here is ungrammatical; the whole effect is lexical choice.
The devices from the expressive-syntax article live here: rhetorical questions with хіба and няўжо, direct address to the reader, parcelling for emphasis, and the first person plural that includes the reader in the writer's position - мы ўсе ведаем, што... Recognising that last one is a reading skill as much as a writing one.
Three questions on any piece: which attribution verbs are used, whether the evaluative words come from the writer or from a quotation, and whether the first person plural is doing argumentative work.
Apply this grammar in C1 course exercises
Practice ExercisesTypical errors: using a strong attribution verb where a neutral one is meant, and missing that нібыта distances the writer.
Using a strong attribution verb for a neutral report
Паведаміў is neutral; заявіў and сцвярджае are not.
Missing that нібыта distances the writer
It marks the whole claim as unverified.
Using evaluative words as if neutral
Рэжым and улада are not interchangeable.
Burying the story below the opening
The lead carries it in two sentences.
Новы мост праз Нёман - у наступным годзе.
New bridge over the Nioman - next year.
A verbless headline, with the dash doing the work.
Міністр заявіў, што рашэнне ўжо прынята.
The minister stated that the decision has already been taken.
<em>Заявіў</em> marks a formal, strong statement.
Кампанія нібыта ўжо звольніла палову працаўнікоў.
The company has allegedly already laid off half its staff.
<em>Нібыта</em> distances the writer from the whole claim.
Хіба гэта тое, чаго мы чакалі?
Is this really what we were waiting for?
A rhetorical question plus the inclusive <em>мы</em>.
Як паведаміла прэс-служба, работы пачнуцца ў маі.
According to the press office, work will begin in May.
Neutral attribution, the writer neither endorsing nor doubting.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in C1 course exercises