Language Features in English Advertisements.docx
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Language Features in English Advertisements.docx
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LanguageFeaturesinEnglishAdvertisements
LanguageFeaturesinEnglishAdvertisements
Abstract:
Asawayofpropagatingandtransmittinginformation,advertising'srolecannotbeunderestimatedbecauseitisnotonlyanartfultechniqueinpersuadingpeopletobuy,butalsograduallyhasbecomeamustforsocialcommunicationwhichinturninfluencesthedevelopmentofsocietyandeconomy.ThepurposeofthispaperistostudythelinguisticfeaturesofadvertisingEnglish,inthehopetohelpcopywritersandEnglishlearners.Nowadaysadvertisinghaspenetratedintoeverycornerofourlife;thegoalofadvertisingdecidesitslanguagetobesimpleanddirect,distinctfromthecharacteristicsofotherdiscourses.Thus,ananalysisonthelinguisticfeaturesofadvertisingEnglishinthelinguisticfieldisworthwhile.Thispaperwillbepresentedinfiveparts.Thefirstpartistheintroductionandthelastconclusion.Thefocusofthepaperislaidonthethreemiddleparts,whichrespectivelyanalyzelanguagefeaturesatlexical,syntacticandrhetoricallevels.
KeyWords:
Englishadvertisements;linguisticfeatures;lexical;syntactic;rhetorical
摘要:
作为一种宣传和传播信息模式,广告的作用不容忽视,因为它不仅只是一种说服顾客进行消费的技巧,更重要的是,它已逐渐成为社会交流的必须手段之一。
本文的目的主要是通过对广告英语语言特点的分析,期望对文字工作者和英语学习者有所帮助。
广告在我们今天的社会几乎是无孔不入,广告具有鲜明的目的性,即说服顾客进行购买,这种目的性决定了其语言的特色性风格,使其独立于其它文体,在语言学范畴内值得研究。
本文共分为五章,第一章追溯了广告的起源,最后一章结论,中间三部分分别详细分析了广告英语在词汇,句法,修辞方面的特点。
关键词:
广告英语;语言特点;词汇;句法;修辞
1.Introduction
NootherstatementcouldhavesummedupthecharmofadvertisementthanwhatAldousHuxleyhascommented.Ashehassaidadvertisementasaliteraryformisthemostexciting,themostarduousliteraryformofall,andthemostpregnantincuriouspossibilities.Inhiscomment,heassertedadvertisementisaliteraryformandthecopywritingprocessisthedelightfulandsalubriousexerciseforthemind.Weliveinaworldofadvertising.Aspotentialconsumers,weareendlesslybombardedwithallkindsofproductorserviceinformationfromvariousmediaincludingnewspapers,magazines,television,radio,postersandInternet,etc.Advertisingprovidesavaluableservicetosocietyanditsmembers,becauseitdefinesthemeaningandtheroleofproducts,services,andinstitutionsforconsumers.Itindicatesthedifferencethatexistsbetweenbrandsofproductsandalternativeservices,aswellasthedistinguishingcharacteristicsofcompaniesandinstitutions.Advertisingalsotellstheconsumerwhataspecificproduct,brandorserviceshoulddowhenitisusedandthushelpshimorhertounderstandandevaluateexperiencewiththeproductsandservicesthatheorsheuses.Ontheotherhand,bymakingpeopleawareofproducts,serviceandideas,advertisingpromotessalesandprofits.Finally,advertisingisoneofthemajorforcesthatarehelpingimprovethestandardoflivingaroundtheworld.Combinedwithallthesecommunicational,marketingandsocialfunctions,Advertisingbecomesindispensableinthemodernworld.
Usually,advertisingcommunicatesinformationinthreetypes:
audio,visual,andlanguage.Itisamorecommoncasethatanadvertisementisamixtureofthethree.Inradioadvertisements,musicisalwaysaccompaniedbylanguage;onTVandmotionpictures,musicandlanguageillustrationaremixedwitheachother.Inmagazinesandnewspapers,advertisementsareacombinationofpicturesandlanguageofwritteninformation.Althoughmusicandpicturescanprovidesomehints,orcreateakindofatmosphere,theinformationabouttheproductislimited.Evenworse,itmayleadtomisunderstanding.Thus,wemaysaythatlanguageinawayprovidesmoreexact,detailedanddependableinformationwhereasmusicandpicturesonlyactasasupplementarymedia.However,whateverthepromotivestrategiesadvertisingtakes,languageisthemaincarrierofmessageallalong,asTheLanguageofAdvertising,byVestergaard&Schroder,says,“Advertisingtakesmanyforms,butinmostofthemlanguageisofcrucialimportance.”Advertisinglanguageisastyleofimmediateimpactandrapidpersuasion.Advertising,whichaimsatthepotentialcustomer,hastobeattractive,pleasanttoreadandeasytoremember.InthedevelopmentofadvertisingEnglish,thiskindoflanguagehasformeditsownfeaturesinseveralaspects.Asmentionedabove,advertisingisessentiallypersuasivecommunication.Accordingly,itslanguageismainlypersuasiveorinformative.Inordertoattract,impress,convinceandmovetheaudience,thecopywritercombinesvariouslanguagetechniquestomaketheadvertisementattractive,impressive,convincingandeasilycomprehensible.Asaresult,thelanguageofadvertisingisespeciallycolorfulandpresentsitsspecialcharacteristicsatdifferentlanguagelevels,suchasthelexical,syntactical,rhetoricallevel.
2.LexicalFeature
Thewordingofadvertisinglanguageis,inmostcases,carefullycraftedtomeetparticularends.Sometimesitisintendedtoinform,butmoreoften,andmoreimportantly,topersuade.
2.1UseofMonosyllable
Verbsaremostimportantpartofalanguage.Alargenumberofverbs,monosyllableverbsinparticular,areappropriatelyemployedinadvertisingtexts.“Simplicityofverbalmeaningcanbeassociatedwiththemorphologicalsimplicityofverbs(veryfewverbsinadvertisinghaveaffixes),andthestructuralsimplicityoftheverbalgroup”(Leech,1966,P154).Obscureverbsdonotencouragepeopletoreadanadvertisementcompletely,formostpeoplewillshunadvertisingtextsthattaxthem.Bycontrast,monosyllableverbsarequiteeasytoreadandunderstand.E.g.
(1)PepperidgeFarm’sdelectablenewstuffingtastesremarkableliketheholidaystuffingyoubakeinaturkeyforhours.Butyoucanfixthemonthestove,innexttonotimeatall.
PepperidgeFarmpacksallfourvarietiesfullofthefancyextrasyou’dputinyourself.
TryHarvestVegetable&Almond,CountryGardenHerb,WildRice&Mushroom,orApple&Raisin.
(2)ItchangedourWellWatertoWonderfulWater.
Theverbsusedintheabovetwoexamplesareallmonosyllableverbs.InExample
(1),theverb“tastes”denotesdirectlinksbetweenproductandconsumer.SincePepperidgeFarm’sstuffingtastesremarkable,itmustbemostdeliciousandthereforeworthbuying.Itistruethatwhatthisverbtellsaboutthefoodiswhatconcernstheconsumermost.Theverb“fix”effectivelysuggeststhatPepperidgeFarm’sstuffingisveryconvenienttocook.Theverb“pack”hintsthatthefourvarietiesfullofthefancyextrasareputtogetherinbagsorboxesneatlyandtightlysothattheyareconvenienttocarry.Theverb“put”tellsusthatthefoodissodeliciousthatyouwilllikeitverymuchandeatplentyofit.Theverb“try”indirectlyurgesthepotentialcustomerstobuyandconsumeit.Thesewordsdon’treachtoofartomakeapoint.Theverb“changed”intheexample
(2)conveysthewonderfulfunctionoftheproduct.Allthesesimple,colloquialverbsputacrossconvincinginformationofthecommoditiesbecausepeopletendtobelieveadvertisedmessagespresentedtothemineasyandsimplewords.
2.2NewWordsConstantlyAppear
Inordertoattractpeople’sattention,copywritersliketocreatesomenewwords.Mimesisormisspelling,ingeniouscreationandconversionofpartsofspeecharethethreetypicalapproaches.
2.2.1MimesisorMisspelling
Mimesis,theimitationofincorrectspelling,ismainlyusedfortruthfulness,humororemphasisinEnglishadvertisingtexts.
(1)Frresh!
(2)Ooohh–Pizzahut.
Example
(1)isanadvertisementforabrandofcream.Itjustusesonlyonewordwhichisderivedfromtheword“fresh”.Thiswordhasastimulatingeffectthatpeopleseemtotastethisdeliciouscreamwhentheyarereadingthisadvertisement.Inexample
(2),themisspelledword“Ooohh”isintentionallyderivedfromtheEnglishword“Oh”.ItexaggeratedlyexpressesthefeelingofamazementandhappinessinPizzahut.Theword“Ooohh”lookslikeanopenmouth.Moreover,whenpeoplereadthisadtext,theyarenaturallyattractedandassociatethefoodwithlusciousness.Itgivespeoplevisualandphoneticstimulation.
Inordertocreatetheuniquenessornoveltyofaproduct,copywritersmisspellsomecommonlyusedwordswiththesamepronunciationonpurpose.Therearesomeexampleshere.
(3)WeknowEggsactlyHowtoSellEggs.
(4)KoinKleanlaundry.
(5)Whatcouldbedelisherthanfisher?
Theword“Eggsactly”inexample(3)comesfromtheword“exactly”.Itskillfullytakesadvantageofthesamepronunciationoftheword“Egg”,whichhelpsconsumerstomemorizethebrandeasily.Copywritersusuallyreplacetheletter“c”with“k”.Example(4)showsthisclearly,where“koin”and“klean’respectivelystandfor“coin”and‘clean’.Inordertocomposearhyme,“delicious“,whichpraisesthetasteoffood,ischangedinto“delisher”inExample(5)undoubtedlyallthesenewspellingsarouseconsumers’interestandhelpthesebrandscomealiveinconsumers’memoryeffortlessly.Furthermore,themimesisdrivespeopletotakegreatinterestinowingtheproduct.
2.2.2IngeniouslyCreatedWords
Inordertodrawthereaders’attentiontothespecialoruniquefeaturesorfunctionsoftheadvertisedproduct,thecopywritercreatessomenewwordsflexiblyandingeniously.Let’sseeandanalyzesomeexamples.
(1)Hi-Fi,Hi-Fun,Hi-Fashion,onlyfromSony.Dynamicstereosoundsingsfullandclearfromthesetiny,comfortableFontopia.
(2)HomeApplianceOfficeAutomation
Samsung’sfeather-weight8mmcamcorderprovesthatyoucanhavebothsophisticatedtechnologyanduserfriendlyfeatures.
(3)GiveaTimextoall,andtoallagoodtime.
InExample
(1)“Hi-Fun”and“Hi-Fashion”areinventedfrom“Hi-Fi”.Theconnectionofthesethreewordshasanalliterativecharacteristicthatemphasizesthesound
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