Skip to main content

The Meaning of Headlines: 'breaking up' - relationships




The International New York Times, in its Fashion & Style section, included an article, ‘Why I’m Breaking Up With the Apple Watch’ on June 13, 2015. Its June 11 version of the same article was headlined, ‘Let’s Call This Thing Off.’

The Apple Watch (38-millimeter case) is an innovative smartwatch. The author of the article bought one, wore it, and decided that she was over it. ‘The relationship was, despite all expectations, not what I needed.’ She explains why she will no longer be wearing it – ‘it still looks like a gadget’ – ‘the screen is small’ – seeing somebody staring at her wrist … is rudeness or geekiness – and people were constantly asking to try it, or asking questions about it. And the main reason for ‘breaking up’ is: ‘The watch isn’t actually a fashion accessory for the tech-happy. It’s a tech accessory pretending to be a fashion acessory. I just couldn’t fall for it.’ But, as a colleague tells her, ‘It’s not you, it’s me.’

The definition of ‘breaking up’ is ‘to cause a relationship, interaction, or gathering to end, or come to an end’ according to EncartaDictionaries. Relationships are complex: they can break down. When they ‘break down’ the two individuals, instigated by one or both, can ‘break up’ or ‘break off’ or ‘break apart.’ They can do many other things too, such as ‘uncouple’ but the main verb in this instance is ‘to break.’

Note that the watch is not breaking – it is not breaking up, or breaking down, or breaking apart. At least not yet. In this article, the watch is inanimate and static. The person writing the article is the doer, the initiator, the breaker upperer (but don’t ever use this phrase!).

The interaction has, or may in the near future, come to an end. The initiator is still in the transitional phase – in the act of breaking up. She has not yet ‘broken up’ or broken down.’ She is not using the past tense. Readers do not know whether she actually will ‘break up’ with the watch.


Scorecard for The International New York Times headline is 60% - the author is not sure about the relationship – she wants to break up, but she has not yet broken up – she is still in the act of breaking up. No matter what she does, even if she does break up, she is not going to break down over the parting. The whole article is too indecisive – and yes, readers, ‘it’s her, not you.’
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The acacia thorn trees of Kenya

There are nearly 800 species of acacia trees in the world, and most don’t have thorns. The famous "whistling thorn tree" and the Umbrella Thorn tree of Kenya are species of acacia that do have thorns, or spines. Giraffes and other herbivores normally eat thorny acacia foliage, but leave the whistling thorn alone. Usually spines are no deterrent to giraffes. Their long tongues are adapted to strip the leaves from the branches despite the thorns. The thorny acacia like dry and hot conditions. The thorns typically occur in pairs and are 5-8 centimetres (2-3 inches) long. Spines can be straight or curved depending on the species. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Suda...
1 comment
Read more

Hop on hop off bus tourism comes to Tbilisi, Georgia

City Sightseeing buses have arrived in Tbilisi. The iconic red double-decker buses, a feature of many cities around the world since the company was established in Seville, Spain in 1999, is now in six continents and almost 100 cities. The company established its Tbilisi business in November 2013, with its operations commencing in February 2014. The 90-minute tour stops at 11 major locations in Tbilisi (with 2 to 5 minute waiting times at each location): the Old City (where it commences), Freedom Square, Rose Revolution Square, Marjanishvili Square, the Dry Bridge, Konka, Avlabari, Metekhi, Akhundov Museum, the Sulfur Baths, and European Square. Passengers can hop off at any stop and see the sights, hopping back onto the next bus at any time. Alternatively, passengers can remain on the bus for the whole tour and take photographs when the bus stops at each location. There are one day (24-hour) passes (for 35 lari – about $20) and 48-hour passes for 55 lari, with family d...
2 comments
Read more

The Knight in the Panther Skin by Shota Rustaveli (2015 translation): book review

The Knight in the Panther Skin (12th century, this edition 2015) is a recent translation by American poet and author, Lyn Coffin. The author, Shota Rustaveli, is Georgia’s most loved poet. This poem is mammoth, a magnum opus – it is 1,656 verses long, separated by chapters. But readers, don’t give up, because every verse is worth reading. It is akin to 1001 Arabian Knights, Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, or Shakespearean poetry. King Rostevan of Arabia has a daughter, Tinatin. She loves the knight Avtandil and he loves her. Verse 368 from Avtandil: ‘The doctor’s could do nothing. A dark twilight on my heart now pressed, I was on fire because of love, but nobody knew or guessed. They blamed my blood. The king decided bleeding my arm would be best; I let it be done to hide the suffering I had not confessed.’ But a knight in panther skin is seen weeping, and subsequently kills the king’s soldiers, sparing the king. Before Tinatin weds Avtandil she r...
Post a Comment
Read more