Rajapaksha, R.S.G.Nandasiri, A.G.A.U.2025-06-242025-06-242025-06-26International Conference on Library and Information Science (ICLIS) 2025, University of Peradeniya P. 6https://ir.lib.pdn.ac.lk/handle/20.500.14444/5121A headline is a writing style that summarizes the information contained in a news or feature article in a concise and attractive way. Headlines are intended to directly attract the readers’ attention to the news or feature article. It is frequently observed that colloquial language is used in modern newspapers to creatively present information. Accordingly, this study investigates how colloquial language has been used to create newspaper headlines to attract readers. Under the qualitative analysis method, the content of headlines published in newspapers in contemporary society such as Lankadeepa, Divaina, Dinamina, Sathi Aga Aruna, Silumina, etc. was analyzed. The data obtained by examining the headlines which contained colloquial language were used as sources and were subjected to comparative self-analysis. In this context, the way in which colloquial language had been used for the creative needs of expression, both semantically and phonetically were examined. It appeared that colloquial language had been used for headlines for the purposes of conveying information simply and concisely, enhancing the meaning, attracting and instigating reader curiosity and enhancing the creativity of the content. The use of colloquial language in the way it is existing, the use of colloquial phrases together with modern language patterns and the use of colloquial words and colloquial verbs for headlines were notable. Accordingly, the newspaper, which is becoming a traditional medium with the development of media technology, is making efforts to attract readers by improving its linguistic capabilities through the usage of colloquial language. This effort can be considered as a creative attempt to motivate the reader to read the newspaper.en-USColloquial languageInformationNewspaper headlinesReaderMotivationArticle