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Contents
Acknowledgement
My grateful acknowledgement is devoted to my tutor
present thesis.
(上面还可多写一点)下面提供的致谢供你参考。
Acknowledgements
parents, who
This paper is presented in six chapters. The First Chapter is the introduction and
the last the conclusion. The Second Chapter gives the general idea about advertising
and its language. The third, forth and fifth chapters of the paper, which constitute the
main body, respectively analyze language features at lexical, syntactic and rhetorical
levels. In the process of analysis, examples are provided to make the paper
understandable and persuasive.
It is hoped that this study can shed light on the language features of English
advertisements and also provide help for copywriters and advertising English learners.
摘要
本文旨在通过对书面英语广告的语言分析总结出广告英语在词汇﹑句法﹑
修辞方面的语言特点。为了使研究从数据出发得出科学结论,作者选用各类英文
广告实例加以深入细致的定量和定性分析,总结出广告英语的语言特点,并且
根据语言的意义与功能解释广告英语的共性及特殊性。
全文共分六章,第一章和第六章分别为介绍与结论,第二章介绍广告的基
本情况,第三、四、五章为本文核心,分别探讨广告英语的词汇﹑句法和修辞特
点,从这三个层面对英语广告的语言特点进行分析与概括。
希望此论文的分析结果能给英语广告的写作者以及广告英语的学习者提供
帮助。(摘要的第二部分可多写几句话,使结构平衡!!!)
关键词: 广告英语;语言特点;词汇;句法;修辞
Advertising is something that we are all exposed to. It is also something that is
likely to affect most of us in a number of different spheres of our lives. It is
reasonable to say that we live in a world of advertising. As potential consumers, we
are always bombarded with all kinds of product or service information from various
media, including newspapers, magazines, television, radio, Internet, etc. Advertising
indicates the difference that exists between brands of products and alternative
services. Advertising also tells the consumer what a specific product, brand or service
should do when it is used, thus helping him or her to understand and evaluate
experience with??? the products and services that he or she uses.
On the other hand, by making people aware of products, service and ideas,
advertising promotes sales and profits. Therefore, the forms of advertising are very
important. Advertising has many forms, but in most of them language is of crucial
importance. The words in advertisements are carefully crafted to meet particular
needs.
Finally, advertising is one of the major forces that are helping improve the standard
of living around the world. Combined with all these communicational, marketing and
social functions, advertising becomes indispensable in the modern world.
这里要写明论题的研究现状!!!!
1.2The focus of the study
Advertising language sometimes is intended to inform, but more often, and more
importantly, to persuade and influence. It has developed its own features.
Graph 1 a framework of advertising language analysis(说明出处!!)
No matter what form advertisements take, the advertising text is most important.
Accordingly, this thesis focuses on the language features of English advertisements at
lexical, syntactic and rhetorical levels through argumentation and illustration.
From these definitions, we can see that advertising is very important not only to
producers but to consumers as well. Besides, it has great impetus to the society.???
It develops and changes with the evolution of society. It is “a mirror of society”
(Russell, 1996:508) which reflects the society we live in. Let’s see the evolution of
advertising.
Up to now, advertising has fully developed. It’s very crucial not only to consumers,
but also to social development. It performs three basic roles in society.
1. Marketing role-helping companies sell their products or services
To the producers, advertising provides the chances of promoting the products or
services, communicating with the consumers and developing the business, which does
much good to economic development.
2. Educational role-helping people learn about new products and services
As consumers, we can get information of the world from advertisement. Then it
performs the educational role. We can compare the products or services of one brand
with another from which we can make our choices.
3. Social role-helping increase productivity and raise the standard of living
To the society, advertising can accelerate the growth of economy, and thus improve
the standard of living. It also promotes the mass-media and gives the society very rich
cultural meaning.
In order to fulfill these roles, advertising may have various forms and strategies to
stimulate the sale of products. It has resorted to all kinds of techniques –– audio-
visual, sound and light, display and acting, photographs and drawing and so on. But
its language plays the most important role. Language is the most important tool of
human communication. Language serves as an effective tool in persuading and
influencing the audience, and, most important, in doing the selling.
According to Leech (1978:47-50), as a tool for communication, language has five
functions. First, language has the informative function to convey information to
people through words, expressions or gestures. It also has the expressive function to
express human feelings, attitudes, etc. The directive function of language enables us
to influence the behavior or attitudes of others, such as commands and requests. The
aesthetic function is used for the sake of linguistic artifact itself. Last but not least,
language has the phatic function to keep social relationships in good repair. All the
different kinds of functions of language are highly effective in advertising. For
example, the informative and expressive functions are used in advertising to convey
the messages about the products or services, while the directive function influences
the attitudes and behaviors of consumers and persuade them to purchase the products
or enjoy the services.
In short, the functions of language in communication play crucial roles in the
linguistic strategies of advertisements. There’re also some basic principles of
advertising language. And thus, the advertising language forms its own style and
characteristics.
2. arouse interest;
3. stimulate desire;
4. create conviction;
5. get action.
Thirdly, the advertising text must be memorable. If the consumers can remember
the advertisement, then they will be the potential customers. Using parallelism or
alliteration or other rhetorical devices will make the advertisement impressive. E.g.
Lastly, the ad text should so well designed as to stimulate consumption. The final
aim of advertisement is to promote products or services. So the advertising language
should be vivid and have the force to drive the readers to consume.
It’s no doubt that nouns are most widely used in advertising. Almost every sentence
and every phrase have nouns because nouns are the key words. They are crucial and
indispensable.
The most representative use of nouns in advertising lies in the brand names of the
products or the services. A brand name, also a trade name, is “an arbitrarily adopted
name that is given by a manufacturer or merchant to an article or service to
distinguish it as produced or sold by him and??? that may be used and protected as
a trademark.” (Webster’s, 1994:1250) A good brand name can help develop the
consumer’s loyalty to a specific brand or product. It also gives the consumers
different feelings about different products or services. For example:
Clinique
Clarins
Lancome
These brand names of cosmetics give consumers the feeling of cleanness, elegance
and natural beauty.
The brand names of cars, such as Blue Bird, Jaguar and Mastang are full of charm
of speed and power (谢文怡, 1997:44).
Nouns are also widely used in simile, metaphor and metonymy. For example:
Laurent Beaute invites you to discover his new collection of colors, as warm and
sheer as a summer breeze: delicate corals, pinks and peaches for lips; matte,
muted earthy neutrals for eyes; and whisper of color for nails….” (New York
In this way, the quality, characteristic and function of the product can be well
delivered to the readers. And the advertisement is most likely to stimulate
consumption.
Monosyllabic and simple words are preferred in advertising, for they are smooth to
read and easy to understand. G. N. Leech, a great English linguist, lists 20 most
common verbs in his English In Advertising: Linguistic study of Advertising In Great
Britain (方薇, 1997:20). They are:
make, get, give, have, see, buy, come, go, know, keep, look, need, love, use,
feel, like, choose, take, start, taste.
We often read simple advertisements. E.g.
Buy one. Use it. We make… One will give you what you need. You’ll love one.
Get one free.
You’ll love it even more with the 2.1 megapixel C-2000 ZOOM. (Olympus
Camera)
All the verbs used in the above examples are monosyllabic and most of them have
Anglo-Saxon origin that is the common core of English vocabulary???. Linguistic
study shows English native speakers tend to use words of Anglo-Saxon origin,
because native words have comparably stable meaning. In advertising, these simple
words can help win consumers by their exact, effective expression and a kind of
closeness. Etymological studies show that eighteen of the 20 verbs listed above,
except use and taste, which are from ancient French, are of Anglo-Saxon origin. Even
the two words use and taste have long become indispensable lexical items in the stock
of common core vocabulary of the English people.
As to adjectives, monosyllabic ones are also preferred with the same reason. The
most frequently used adjectives are as follows:
v.+ing+n.: waiting-room
n.+v.+ing.: sun-bathing
adv.+n.: outbreak
v.+adv.: Break-through
Some other examples:
The adv.+n. compound “sweet-to-drink” gives readers the feeling of beauty and
desire.
Kodak Single-use-cameras take pictures where you wouldn’t normally take your
camera. (Kodak)
3.4 Coinages
There are many methods to create new words, such as compounding, derivation
acronym, etc. A number of coinages in advertisements are names or brands of
products. For example, cellophane refers to thin transparent material used for
wrapping goods. It comes from cellulose and diaphane, two raw material names of
cellophane. “Cellophane” is a compound word. ??? “Cellophane” is not a
compound, but a clipped word. !!!A compound word is often a noun or an adjective
made up of two or more words but it functions as a single word. Compound adjectives
are often seen in advertisements. In the present study, ??? we found compound
words turn up much more frequently in technical equipment advertisements with the
rapid development of high-tech. For example:
The new four-wheeled servo-assisted disc brakes …
In comparison with daily consumer goods and services, technical equipment is much
more complicated in function and structure. It is just the advantageous function or
newly designed structure that the advertiser wants to highlight in technical equipment
advertisements. The advertiser employs, even coins??, so many compound words that
they can make the introduction of complicated technical equipment brief and precise.
Grammatically, compound words help to avoid using clause, which enhance the
readability of advertisements.
More examples:
Another main method is using prefixes and suffixes to create new words in
advertisements. Word choice in advertisements is flexible. In advertising language, a
lot of words begin with super-. Most of these words are usually rhetorical. Some
others end with –ex, which tends to be associated with the word excellent. For
example, Kleenex (a brand of tissue) is a combination of clean and excellent. Windex
(a kind of window detergents) conjoins window and excellent. More examples:
Washmatic and hydromatic comes from automatic. The suffix –matic
associates with a machine or equipment.
Footique and bootique come from boutique, a French word, which means a small
shop for women selling up-to-date clothes and other personal articles of the newest
kind.
New words are created outright to fit some purpose. These coinages reflect the ability
of advertising language to keep up with the changeable market. “Madison Avenue has
added many new words to English, such as Kodak, nylon, Orlon, and Dacron.
Specific brand names such as Xeron, Kleenex, Jell-o, Frigidaire, Brillo, and Vaseline
are now sometimes used as the general name for different brands of these same types
of products” (Victoria & Robert: 120).
4.1.1 Statements
Audio CD, Video CD, and CD ROM… It uses your TV as a full screen monitor. It
can link with you Video and Hi Fi. It’s a link to the Internet. … (INDEPENDENT ,
In this advertisement, all the sentences are simple statements. They are clear
enough to show the capability and quality. They also stimulate the readers’ desire and
help realize the function of advertising——do well in selling.
Another example:
Only two very short and simple sentences show the leading position of this product
and let the buyers feel very proud of using it.
In advertisements, complex sentences are not often used because they will most
likely frustrate readers in understanding the advertiser’s message because of their
trickiness and obscurity. With the neat structure and easy flow, simple statements are
more reader-friendly though similarly info-packed, thus becoming quite effective in
getting messages across to readers.
All these imperative sentences are short, encouraging and forceful. They are used to
arouse audiences’ wants or encourage them to buy something immediately. As in an
order tone,??? the audience will follow it unconsciously. As Leech (1966:80)
mentioned “…the imperative in public communication does not suffer from the
implication of its use in private contexts. We are used to receiving exhortations and
directives in the imperative mood from all manner of public sources: road sighs(‘Halt
at major road ahead’); public transport notices(‘Do not lean out of the window’);
instructions from Government departments…”So Most of the commands are really to
the point and make the readers very interested in the products or services. Thus, it
stimulates the desire and creates the consumption.
A What’s in Woman’s Realm this week? A wonderful beauty offers for you.
B There’s a wonderful beauty offer for you in Women’s Realm this week.
Apparently, the sentence A is much more attractive to the audience than the
sentence B.
4.2.1 Ellipsis
Obviously, through use of an elliptical structure, sentence A is far more brief, eye-
catching and forceful than sentence B. What’s more, it conveys attitudes that sentence
A lacks. Sentence A implies a kind of appreciation for the phone, by splitting the
sentence into several fragments and rearranging its word order. Therefore skillful
arrangement of elliptical sentences may add color to a sentence.
Certainly, not all the subjects omitted refer to the products or services. It can also
refer to the consumers. In general, the subject omitted is YOU.
Rhetorical devices serve as a tool to give beauty, variety and power to the language
in which we intend to state. They are highly valued in the development of
contemporary English advertising. To achieve vividness and humor and to appeal to
more readers, various rhetorical devices are employed in advertising. Some of the
most commonly used rhetorical devices are discussed in the following.
Silk is known for its quality of smoothness. Here the advertiser uses simile, which
is usually introduced by “like” or “as,” to associate its excellent services provided for
the passengers and thus help create an impressive vivid image in the mind of the
passengers.
Another example:
Breakfast without orange juice is like a day without sunshine. (Orange juice)
Here, the writer compares this brand of orange juice to sunshine, which provides
people with comfort and warmth. Drinking the orange juice will give you the pleasant
feeling of have sunshine???, which gives the readers very fresh and warm feeling.
Thus, it realizes its function of persuasion.
Now two examples of metaphor:
Clean skin from head to toe. Neutrogena Body Clear body wash treats, even
prevents body breakouts. (Cosmo Girl, Oct. /Nov., 1999:8) (This sentence
It's a country rich in art, with a wealth of museums. Blessed by year round good
Traveling Advertisement)
The first one implies that this kind of body wash can help clean your skin
completely.???? The second one likens Spain to a magnet which strongly attracts the
travelers there.
From these examples, we can find that with these figures of speech, the readers
can get very wonderful imagination??? when reading these advertisements. Besides,
through the abundant application of figures of speech in the advertising, the
creativeness and imagination of the advertisers can be revealed. Simile and metaphor
have been the shortcut to arrest the readers’ attention.
5.2 Personification
In these advertisements, the products are treated as human beings. The first one is
specifically treated as a baby, since babies are always deeply loved and kindly treated
by their parents and others. From the advertising slogan we can easily know that Ford
Quality-Care workers love and care for Ford cars as much as they do their own
children. The other three advertisements touch upon emotions of love, care and
happiness. Flowers from Interflora are no longer emotionless plants but truthful
messengers. The advertised dye can send messages through its thirty colors. The
Rolex’s excellent quality is quite evident as it doesn’t need rest. They have good
access to the would-be buyers. The advertisement composers succeed in establishing
the affinity between customers and the advertised products with appropriate
application of personification.
5.3 Pun
Advertisers usually play with words to make the advertising language interesting
and attractive. Pun is an amusing use of a word or phrase that has two meanings
which is called Polysemy or of words with the same sound but different meanings,
which is called Homonymy. We often use puns to make jokes. Although pun is
implicit, it gives the readers much food for thinking. For example:
Pointless means dull and blunt here. It also means meaningless. The meaning of
this sentence is that a pencil without a sharp end can’t write well and meaningfully.
The one who invented the doorknocker got a No-bell (Nobel) prize.
Pun, the game of words, is used widely in our life. It will leave a deep impression
on readers by its readability, wit, and humor. However, to make a successful and
impressive pun is not easy. Except for its own meaning, the word used as a pun is
usually closely related to the characteristics of a certain product or the brand name of
the product in advertising language. Such coincidence doesn’t occur often. Here we
present several classic pun-used advertisements. For example:
“Can” has two meanings. One is to be able to do something. The other is a closed
metal container in which foods or drinks are preserved, called tin also. The two
different meanings of “can” give rise to two different interpretations of this
advertisement: Coke refreshes you like no other drinks can do; Coke refreshes you
like no other can-packed drinks can do. Here is another example:
Filled with wit and humor, puns help the advertised product win favor from readers
or potential consumers. Through use of pun, advertisements will be easily
remembered by the readers. (More sentences are needed here!!!)
5.4 Hyperbole
In this advertisement, the advertiser uses “rewrite history”, which exaggerates the
quality of the product which can give users the incredible beauty.
Another example:
Samsung presents “World best”. (Samsung)
Here, the advertisement composer uses the hyperbole to claim that their product is
the best in the world. It shows the confidence and heroic spirit of this brand of
product. Thus, it gives the readers a very profound impression.
Of course, hyperbole should be appropriately used in advertising, otherwise it will
arouse the readers’ doubt about the products or services and make the advertisement a
total failure.
5.5 Repetition
Birth of Vangogh
Birth of Einstein
This advertisement of public utility repeats “Birth” several times to show the tree is
time-honored. At last, it accuses the man who cuts down the tree and calls for
stopping orestation.
Furthermore, an advertisement often pretends to be talking to the prospective
customer. There is therefore heavy use of “You”.
You want to brighten your teeth,
5.6 Alliteration
Alliteration is the use of words that begin with the same sound in order to make a
special communicative effect. For instance, “The fair breeze blew, the white foam
flew, the furrow followed free.” It is often seen in idioms and poems. E.g.
Alliteration is also applied in advertising because of its aesthetic feeling for the
audience. Usually alliterations are pleasing to audience’s ears because of the clever
choice of the word by the advertiser. By using alliteration, rhythms are bestowed on
advertisements. In addition, the repetition of the beginning sound emphasizes the
meaning the advertisement wants to express. The following are examples:
only twenty sun-soaked steps from the beach this new luxury hotel looks out on
beach resort)
… when you consider their carpeted comfort and their crisp, neat, individual
In the above advertisements, the same sound at the beginning of some words
attacks the audience’s ears and minds repeatedly, continually and rhythmically. The
sound has a strong appealing power to the audience. This kind of stress makes the
audience pay more attention to the advertisements and appreciate the advertisements
and even the products as well.
As to lexical features, nouns are widely used as brand names. They help to make
the consumers remember the products or services and deliver the information very
well. Monosyllabic and simple words, such as get, make, good and new, are often
used. These short words can hit the goals in the shortest time. Compounds and
coinages are invented constantly. Some of them are so successful that they are added
to our modern English vocabulary.
As to syntactical features, simple statements are often used. Sentences in
advertisements are short. On average, a sentence consists of 11.8 words. Some of the
short sentences are elliptical sentences. Elliptical sentences are used to spare
advertising cost and at the same time improve advertising effectiveness. Imperative
sentences and interrogative sentences are common in advertisements. They make
advertisements like dialogs and easy to be understood. And also exclamatory
sentences, which are very emotive, are frequently used. They make the information
that the advertisement wants to deliver seem more important. Sentence fragments
have the unique value of emphasis and association. Thereby, the advertiser can
encourage people to buy more efficiently.
As to rhetorical devices, smile and metaphor are used in advertisements to vividly
highlight the characteristics or special features or functions of the advertised products
or services. The effectiveness of personification in English advertisements lies in its
potency of endowing products with emotion and liveliness. Puns make advertisements
more meaningful and interesting while alliteration renders advertisements more
effective and rhythmical. Through use of hyperbole, advertisements become effective,
emotional and humorous. Repetition is often designed to make advertisements more
attractive, impressive and memorable.
Last but not least, some features commonly appear in one advertisement together.
Lexical and syntactical features are mixed in one advertisement, which can make it
more appealing to the audience and persuade them to buy the product or use the
service. For example:
Give your hair a touch of spring.
In short, no matter which structure and what words are used in an advertisement, all
of them serve the purpose of attracting the audience, conveying information to them,
urging them to purchase the product or to use the service. That is what an ad for, and
that is also the function advertising language performs.
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小蒋:
我的意见如下:
1. 要下大工夫写好摘要和前言。注意参考穿插在文章中的意见。
2. 注意黑体部分,黑体部分是有问题的。
3. 将文章中的所有例子编上序号。
4. 参考文献已经改好,个别问题注意解决。
5. 整理设计好论文,使之美观大方。