英语教学AN ANALYSIS OF LANGUAGE FEATURES IN ENGLISH ADVE
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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﹑篇章上的语言特点。为了使研究从数据出发得出科学结论，本文作者建立了一个拥有60篇各类广告的小型语料库。通过对此语料库中日用品广告﹑科技设备广告﹑服务业广告的深入细致的定量和定性分析，总结出广告英语在此三类广告中的相同点与不同点，并且根据语言的意义，风格及功能解释广告英语的共性以及广告英语在不同类型广告中的特殊性。
本文共分五个部分，第一部分和第五部分分别为介绍与总结，中间三个部分为本文核心，分别展开广告英语在词汇﹑句法﹑篇章三个层面的分析。本文的结论均来自于对语料库的分析。整个研究从数据出发，由数据驱动，由此进行语言学上的分析与概括。
本文作者衷心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。
关键词:广告英语，词汇，句法，篇章，相同点，不同点
ANANALYSISOFLANGUAGEFEATURESINENGLISHADVERTISEMENTS
Abstract
ThispaperpresentsananalyticalstudyofthelanguagefeaturesofEnglishadvertisementsatlexical,syntacticanddiscourselevels.Inordertoconductadata-drivenstudy,theauthorbuildsacorpusof60Englishadvertisements.Itishopedthatthroughthedetailedsurveyofthreetypesofadvertisements:namely,dailyconsumergoodsads,technicalequipmentads,serviceads,similaritiesanddifferencesinadvertisinglanguagefeaturescanbesummarizedandpossiblereasonswillbegiveninthelightofthemeaning,andfunctionoflanguage.
Thispaperwillbepresentedinfiveparts.Thefirstpartistheintroductionandthelastconclusion.Thefocusofthepaperislaidonthethreemiddlepartswhichrespectivelyanalyzelanguagefeaturesatlexical,syntacticanddiscourselevels.Theconclusionofthispaperisdrawnfromthedataanalysis.Intheanalysis,examplesfromthecorpuswillbegiven;figures,tablesandgraphswillalsobeofferedtomakethepaperunderstandableandpersuasive.
ItishopedthatthestudycanshedlightonthelanguagefeaturesofadvertisementsandalsoprovidehelptocopywritersandadvertisingEnglishlearners.
KEYWORDS:EnglishAdvertisements,Lexical,Syntactic,Discourse,
Similarities,Differences
Contents
1.Introduction………………………………………………………………1
1.1Rationaleofthestudy……………………………………………………...1
1.2Definitionofadvertising…………………………………………………...1
1.3Focusofthepresentstudy…………………………………………………1
1.4Sourcesofdata…………………………………………………………….2
2.Lexicalfeatures……………………………………………………………2
2.1Classificationofadvertisinganditsaudience……………………………..2
2.2Similaritiesatthelexicallevel…………………………………………….3
2.2.1Fewverbsareused………………………………………………………...3
2.2.2Useofemotivewords……………………………………………………..4
2.2.3Makepunandalliteration………………………………………………….4
2.2.4Useofweaselwords……………………………………………………….5
2.3Differencesatthelexicallevel…………………………………………….6
2.3.1Genderidentityinadvertisements………………………………………….6
2.3.2SelectionofAdjectives……………………………………………………7
2.3.3Compoundwords………………………………………………………….8
2.3.4Useofpronouns……………………………………………………………8
3.Syntacticalfeatures………………………………………………………9
3.1Similarities…………………………………………………………………9
3.2Differences…………………………………………………………………10
3.2.1Headlines…………………………………………………………………..10
3.2.2Comparisonofheadlinesofdifferenttypesofads………………………...11
4.Discoursefeatures...………………………………………………………..12
4.1Bodycopyofadvertisements……………………………………………...12
4.2Differencesinbodycopy…………………………………………….12
5.Conclusion…………………………………………………………………14
Acknowledgement
SincerethanksgotoDr.WeiNaixingforhisinsightfulguidanceandearnesthelpallthroughthesearching,analysisandpaper-writingstages.
TheauthoralsowantstoextendherthankstoMs.LindaFrostwhohasgivenmuchhelpindatacollecting.
[1]Bolinger,Dwight&Sears,DonaldA.AspectsofLanguagethirdedition
NewYork:HarcourtBraceJovanovich1981
[2]Bovee,CourtlandL.&Arens,WilliamF.ContemporaryAdvertisingforthedition
Homewood,IL:Irwin1992
[3]Gove,PhilipBabcockWebster’sThirdNewInternationalDictionary
Springfield,Mass.:G.&C.MerriamCo.1976
[4]Gregory,MichaelLanguageVarietiesandTheirSocialContexts
London:Routledge&KeganPaulLtd.1981
[5]Jefkins,FrankWilliamAdvertisingPhiladelphia,PA:MacdonaldandEvans1985
[6]O’Donnell,W.R.&Todd,LoretoVarietyinContemporaryEnglish
London:GeorgeAllen&Unwin(Publishers)Ltd.1985
[7]Roberts,WilliamH.&Turgeon,GregoireAboutLanguagesecondediton
Boston:HoughtonMifflinCo.1989
[8]Vestergaard,Torben&Schrder,KimThelanguageofAdvertising
Oxford[Oxfordshire];NewYork,NY,USA:B.Blackwell1985
[9]方薇《现代英语广告教程》南京大学出版社1997
[10]崔刚，韩宝成，李营，《广告英语》北京理工大学出版社1993
1.Introduction
1.1Rationaleofthestudy
Weliveinaworldofadvertising.Aspotentialconsumers,weareendlesslybombardedwithallkindsofproductorserviceinformationfromvariousmediaincludingnewspapers,magazines,television,radio,postersandInternet,etc.Advertisingprovidesavaluableservicetosocietyanditsmembers,becauseitdefinesforconsumersthemeaningandtheroleofproducts,services,andinstitutions.Itindicatesthedifferencethatexistsbetweenbrandsofproductsandalternativeservices,aswellasthedistinguishingcharacteristicsofcompaniesandinstitutions.Advertisingalsotellstheconsumerwhataspecificproduct,brandorserviceshoulddowhenitisusedandthushelpshimorhertounderstandandevaluateexperiencewiththeproductsandservicesthatheorsheuses.Ontheotherhand,bymakingpeopleawareofproducts,serviceandideas,advertisingpromotessalesandprofits.Finally,binedwithallthesecommunicational,marketingandsocialfunctions.Advertisingbecomesindispensableinthemodernworld.
Naturally,advertisementsinEnglishhavebecomeanimportantmeansofcommunicatingideas,demonstratingavarietyoflinguisticfeaturesofitsown.Thepresentstudyattemptstoexaminethesefeaturesatthelexical,syntacticanddiscourselevels,inthehopeofbringingthemtolightand,thereby,offeringhelptoadvertisementwritersandlanguagelearners.
1.2Definitionofadvertising
AccordingtotheDefinitionCommitteeofAmericanMarketingAssociation(方薇,1997:2)
,advertisingisdefinedasfollows:
Advertisingisthenonpersonalcommunicationofinformationusuallypaidforandusuallypersuasiveinnatureaboutproducts,servicesorideasbyidentifiedsponsorsthroughthevariousmedia.
1.3Focusofthepresentstudy
Usually,advertisingcommunicatesinformationinthreetypes:audio,visual,andlanguage.Itisamorecommoncasethatanadvertisementisamixtureofthethree.Inradioadvertisements,musicisalwaysaccompaniedbylanguage;onTVandmotionpictures,musicandlanguageillustrationaremixedwitheachother.Inmagazinesandnewspapers,advertisementsareacombinationofpicturesandlanguageofwritteninformation.Althoughmusicandpicturescanprovidesomehints,orcreateakindofatmosphere,theinformationabouttheproductislimited.Evenworse,itmayleadtomisunderstanding.Thus,wemaysaythatlanguageinawayprovidesmoreexact,detailedanddependableinformationwhereasmusicandpicturesonlyactasasupplementarymeansinadvertising.Advertisinglanguage,playingaroleofcommunicationandpersuasion,hasdevelopeditsownfeatures.
ThispaperwillfocusonthelanguagefeaturesofEnglishadvertisementsatlexical,syntacticanddiscourselevels.Itishoped,byacontrastivestudyofadvertisementsonthreetypesofproducts(dailyconsumergoods,technicalequipmentandservice),similaritiesanddifferencesofthethreetypesofadvertisementswillbesummarizedandpossiblereasonswillbegiveninthelightofthemeaning,andfunctionoflanguage.
1.4Sourcesofdata
AlltheadvertisementsstudiedinthispaperaretakenfromEnglishmagazines.TheyarechosenfromTime,PeopleandNewsweek(issuesfrom1999-2000),becausethesethreemagazineshaveahugecirculation,coveringallkindsofaudience.Almostallkindsofadvertisementscanbefoundinthesemagazines.Inordertogetvaluableinformationforthestudy,acorpusof60advertisementswasbuilt,whichconsistsof20dailyconsumergoodsads,20technicalequipmentads,and20serviceads.Conclusionswillbedrawnthroughquantitativeandqualitativestudiesofthedata.
2LexicalFeatures
2.1Classificationofadvertisinganditsaudience
Generallyspeaking,advertisementscanbedividedintotwotypes:publicrelationadsandcommercialads.Theformertriestoadvocatereputationforasocialgroup,mercialadsaremuchmorepresentedthroughmassmediaforthereasonthatmanufacturersandcompaniesarewillingtospendalargesumofmoneytomakeacertainproductknownortoboosttheimageofacertainbrand.Insomecases,competitors,likeCoca-colaandPerpsi,mercialadvertisingcanalsobedividedaccordingtothetargetaudienceintotwogroups:consumeradvertisingandbusinessadvertising.Mostoftheadsinthemassmediaareconsumeradvertisements.Theyaretypicallydirectedatconsumers.Bycontrast,businessadvertisingtendstobeconcentratedinspecializedbusinesspublications,professionaljournals,tradeshowstargetingatacertaingroupofpeopleinvolvedinsomebusiness.Sinceconsumeradvertisingismostaccessibletocommonpeople,thepresentstudyonwillfocusonconsumeradvertising.Theclassificationofadvertisingisclearlyshowninthefollowinggraph
Graph1Classificationofadvertisements
PublicadsDailyconsumergoodsads
AdvertisingConsumeradsTechnicalequipmentads
Commercialads
BusinessadsServiceads
Theboldpartsshowthescopeofadvertisementswestudy.Dailyconsumergoodsarenecessitiesofdailylife,suchasfood,detergent,hygiene,etc.Technicalequipmentistechnicaltoysandelectricequipmentsuchascamera,vehicle,hi-fi,etc.Servicecoversbank,insurance,fund,etc.
Actually,advertisingworkseffectivelysomeofthetimeanddoesn’tworkothertimes.Thesinglecrucialreasonthatadvertisingdoesnotworkisthatinspecificinstancestheinformationitconveysneverreachestheconsumeratall,orisjudgedbytheconsumertobeeitherredundant,meaningless,orirrelevant.Forexample,amotorbikeadvertisementwillprobablybeinvisibletohousewivesonthelookoutfornewcutlery.Socialstatusandindividualinterestdecidethatconsumergoodsadsaremainlytargetingatwomenwhiletechnicalequipmentadsarelargelyaimingatmen.Theamountofsharedknowledgebetweentheadvertiserandtheaudiencetogetherwiththethinkinghabitoftheaudiencedirectlyinfluencestheadvertisinglanguage.Sinceproductsandaudiencechangeineveryadvertisementinordertoachievehighadvertisingeffectiveness,languageuseddiffersindifferenttypesofadvertisements.Thus,inthispaperwediscussnotonlythesimilaritiesoflanguagesharedbyalltypesofadvertisementsbutalsodifferencesoflanguageusedindifferentkindsofadvertisements.
2.2Similaritiesatthelexicallevel
Inordertomaketheinformationaccessibletoaudienceeffectively,thechoiceofwordsinadvertisingisverycautiousandskillful.Theaimoftheadvertiserisquitespecific.Hewishestocapturetheattentionofthemembersofamassaudienceandbymeansofimpressivewordstopersuadethemtobuyaproductorbehaveinaparticularway,suchasgoingtoHawaiiforalltheirholidayneeds.Bothlinguisticandpsychologicalaspectsaretakenintoconsiderationinthechoiceofwords.Sharingthesamepurposeofadvertising－tofamiliarizeorremindconsumersofthebenefitsofparticularproductsinthehopeofincreasingsales,thetechniquesusedatthelexicallevelbyadvertisersdonotvarymarkedly.Thefollowingpointsaresomeprominentsimilarities.
2.2.1Fewverbsareused
G.N.Leech,Englishlinguist,lists20mostusedverbsinhisEnglishInAdvertising:LinguisticstudyofAdvertisingInGreatBritain(方薇,1997:20).Theyare:make,get,give,have,see,buy,come,go,know,keep,look,need,love,use,feel,like,choose,take,start,taste.
Alltheseverbslistedabovearealsopopularinthecorpuswebuilt.
Youwilloftenreadsuchsentencesinanadvertisement:
Buyx.Useit.Wemake…Xwillgiveyouwhatyouneed.You’lllovex.Getx.Foxexample:
We’llmakethisquick.(HertzCarReturn)
Getgreatcoveragethat’ssoweightlessandwater-fresh.(ALMAY)
Allyouneedisatasteforadventure.(MillstoneCoffee)
You’llloveitevenmorewiththe2.1megapixelC-2000ZOOM.(OlympusCamera)
Don’thavemuchofapersonality?Buyone.(HondaMotor)
…
AllthesefrequentlyusedverbsaremonosyllabicandmostofthemhaveAnglo-SaxonoriginthatisthecommoncoreofEnglishvocabulary.LinguisticstudyshowsEnglishnativespeakerstendtousewordsofAnglo-Saxonorigin,becausenativewordshavecomparablystablemeaning.Inadvertising,thesesimplewordscanwintheconsumersbytheirexact,effectiveexpressionandakindofcloseness.Etymologicalstudiesshowthatthe20verbslistedbefore,exceptuseandtastewhicharefromancientFrench,allareAnglo-Saxonorigin.Eventhetwowords,useandtastehavelongbecomeindispensablelexicalitemsinthestockofcommoncorevocabularyoftheEnglishpeople,developingtheirstablemeaningandusage.
2.2.2Useofemotivewords
Aclosescrutinyofrecentadvertisementssuggeststhatthesoft-selltechniqueisnowpopular.Bysoft-selltechniquewemeantheonethatfavorsamoreemotiveandlessdirectiveapproachtopromoteaproduct,mainlyfocusingonthebuildingofbrandimage.Asaresult,emotivewords,mostofwhicharepleasantadjectives,aregreatlyencouragedtouse.
Datafromthecorpusshowsthatthemostfrequentlyusedadjectivesareasfollows:
new,good/better/best,fresh,free,delicious,sure,full,clean,wonderful,special,crisp,real,fine,great,safe,andrich.
Theseadjectiveshelptobuildapleasantpictureinreaders’mindsandmanagetocreateabeliefinthepotentialconsumer:IfIbuythisproductorifIchoosethisservice,Iwillleadabetterlife.Inaddition,comparativesandsuperlativesoccurtohighlighttheadvantageofacertainproductorservice.Forexample:
Nothingcomesclosertohome.(VegetableandChickenPastaBake)
ThinkLysolisthebestdisinfectingspray.(DisinfectingSpray)
Theworld’scoolestCDsaren’tmadeinNewYork,LondonorL.A.Theyaremadeinmyapartment.(PhilipsCDRecorder)
TheCompaqArmadafamilyislighter,withnewroundededgesforeasierpacking.(Compaq)
…
2.2.3Makepunandalliteration
PunisanamusinguseofawordorphrasethathastwomeaningswhichiscalledPolysemyorofwordswiththesamesoundbutdifferentmeaningswhichiscalledHomonymy.Pun,thegameofwords,willleaveadeepimpressiononreadersbyitsreadability,wit,andhumor.However,tomakeasuccessfulandimpressivepunisnoteasy.Exceptforitsownmeaning,thewordusedasapunisusuallycloselyrelatedtothecharacteristicsofacertainproductorthebrandnameoftheproduct.Suchcoincidencedoesn’toccuroften.Herewepresentseveralclassicpun-usedadvertisements.Forexample:
Giveyourhairatouchofspring.
Askformore.(Moreisafamousbrandofcigarette)
Giveyourbusinessthesharpedge.(SharpCorporation)
…
Byusingpun,advertisementswillbeeasilyrememberedbythereaders.Inaddition,filledwithwitandhumor,punshelptheadvertisedproductwinfavorfromreaders.
Alliterationistheuseofwordsthatbeginwiththesamesoundinordertomakeaspecialcommunicativeeffect.Usuallytheyarepleasingtoearsbecauseofthecleverchoiceofthewordbytheadvertiser.Inaddition,therepetitionofthebeginningsoundemphasizesthemeaningtheadvertisementwantstoexpress.Thefollowingareexamplespickedfromthecorpus.
…,everythingyouneedforthatbigbargainbasementspecial.
…,andvitaminEtoleaveskinsoftandsmooth.
Treatyourwearyghostsandgoblinstoawarmbowlofchilland…
…
2.2.4Useofweaselwords
Aweaselwordisdefinedas“awordusedinordertoevadeorretreatfromadirectorforthrightstatementorposition”accordingtoWebsterDictionary(PhilipBabcockGove,1976).Theuseofweaselwordshasbecomeadeviceinadvertising.Weaselwordsmakepeoplehearthingsthataren’tbeingsaid,acceptastruththathaveonlybeenimplied,andbelievethingsthathaveonlybeenimpliedandsuggested.Let’stakealookunderastronglightatseveralfrequentlyusedwords.
Help
OceanSprayCranberryJuiceCocktailhelpsmaintainurinarytracthealth.
Ithelpscontrolthebacteriainthissystem.
Abreakthroughwaytohelpstopwear-out
Helpfinancethevideoequipment.
…
Alltheexamplesshownarefromourcorpus.23%advertisementsofallsamplesusethewordhelp.Thesehelpscanbeomittedbecausetheyhavelosttheiroriginalmeaning:aid,assist.Yet,helpinadvertisingEnglishisneverredundant.Ithasmagicpowerinadvertisers’eyes.
Helpisthegreatqualifier;oncetheadvertisersaysit,hecansayanythingafterit.Helpqualifieseverything.Theaudiencehasneverheardanyonesay,“Thisproductwillkeepyouyoung,”or“Thistoothpastewillpositivelypreventcavitiesforalltime.”Obviously,advertiserscan’tsayanythinglikethat,becausetherearenotanyproductslikethatmade.Butbyaddingthatonelittlewordhelp,infront,theycanusethestrongestlanguagepossibleafterwards.Andthemostfascinatingpartofitisthatthereadersareimmunetotheword.Thereadersliterallydon’thearthewordhelp.Theyonlyknewwhatcomesafterit.Thatisstronglanguage,andlikelytobemuchmoreimportanttothereadersthanthelittlewordatthefront.
Like
It’slikegettingonbarfree.
Cleanslikeawhitetornado.
It’sliketakingatriptoPortugal.
…
Likeisalsoaqualifier,andisusedinmuchthesamewayashelp.Butlikeisalsoacomparativeelement,withaveryspecificpurpose;advertisersuseliketogettheaudiencetostopthinkingaboutsomethingthatisbiggerthanorbetterordifferentfromtheproductwhicharebeingsold.Inotherwords,theycanmaketheaudiencebelievethattheproductismorethanitisbylikeningittosomethingelse.Likehelp,likedoesn’tcatchmuchattention.Howeverbyusingit,almostanythingcanbesaidandpromisedafterwards.
2.3Differencesatthelexicallevel
2.3.1Genderidentityinadvertisements
Whilewefoundquitealotofsimilaritiesinthechoiceofwords,wehavealsofoundsomedelicatedifferencesinthechoiceofwordsinthethreetypesofadvertisementsasclassifiedbefore:dailyconsumergoodsads,technicalequipmentads,andserviceads.
Language,asacommunicativetool,isnotonlytoimpartinformation,tocommunicateideasaboutaproduct,etc.,butalsotoconveyinformationabouttherelationshipbetweentheaddresser(advertisement)andtheaddressee(theaudience).Anintimaterelationshipbetweentheadvertisementandtheaudienceisalwayshopedtoachieve.Soaccordingtodifferentaudience,languageappliedisdifferent.
Whatconstitutesafemaleandamaleidentity,accordingtoadvertising?Table1,basedonthelanguageofadvertising(TorbenVestergaard&KimSchrder,1981:74),givesthecommodityprofileoftwogender-identifiedmagazines:WomenandPlayboyandalsoprovidesthedistributionofthedifferenttypesofadvertisements.
Table1Distributionofthreetypesofadvertisements
Percentageofads
Women(%)Playboy(%)
Daily
Consumer
Goods
Hygiene103
Beauty181
Clothes1214
Food,Detergents31-
Tobacco815
Beer,Spirits-25
Leisure-3
Technical
Equipment
Vehicle-27
Radio,hi-fi-4
Computer-7
ServiceInsurance,banking2-
Others191
Itcanbeseenfromtable1thatthehygiene,beauty,foodanddetergentsadsaredominantinthewomen’smagazineswhiletechnicalequipmentadsprevailinmen’smagazines.Thereasonisthatwomenarepotentialpurchasersofdailyconsumergoodswhilemenarepotentialpurchasersoftechnicalequipment.Soadvertisinglanguagetriestowinitsaudiencesbynoticingaudiences’genderidentity.
Inaddition,sincethesubjectsinvolvedinadvertisementsvaryfromsimpletocomplex,sharedknowledgebytheaddresser(ads)andaddressee(theaudience)varies.Forexample,knowledgeoftechnicalequipment,sometimesdemandshigheducationalbackgroundorspecialinterestsinacertainfield.Toconveydifferentknowledgeclearly,advertisementsdon’talwaysspeakinthesameway.Inthefollowingsection,wewillmakeacomparativestudyofthreepointsinordertofinddifferencesinthechoiceofwordsinthreetypesofadvertisements:theselectionofadjectives,theuseofcompoundwordsandtheuseofpronouns.
2.3.2Selectionofadjectives
Adjectives,asemotiveandexcitingwords,areusedtoenhancethefactsofacertainproductorservice.Inthestudyoftheselectionofadjectives,wehavefirstdividedadjectivesintotwogroups:descriptiveadjectivesandevaluativeadjectives.Theformerisusedinobjectivedescriptionandthelattergivetheadvertiser’ssubjectivecomments.Thenwehavelistedthosefrequentlyuseddescriptiveadjectivesandevaluativeadjectivesindailyconsumergoodsadsandtechnicalequipmentads,andwesurprisinglyhavediscovereddescriptiveadjectivesdifferfromeachotherintwokindsofadvertisements.
Table2Comparisonoffrequently-usedadjectives
indailyconsumergoodsadsandtechnicalequipmentads
DescriptiveadjectivesEvaluativeadjectives
Daily
Consumer
Goods
Ads
radiant,shiny,dazzling,gold
soft,smooth
fresh
creamy,crispy
clean
easy,convenient
rich,effective,crucial
healthy,fast
valuable,flew
essential
good/better/best
magic
Technical
Equipment
Ads
audible,visible
high-volume,full-colour,
high-speed
magnetic,sharp
invisible,multiple
flexible,versatile
Table2showsthatdescriptiveadjectivesindailyconsumergoodsadssuchasfresh,crispy,andsoft,tendtoconveythesenseofsight,touch,andtaste.Thetemptationarousedbythisvividdescriptionofaproductishardtoresistespeciallyforwomenwhotendtobemovedbypleasantsenses;comparedwithmen,womenareinclinedtothinkintermsofimagesandperceivethroughsenses.However,men,thetargetaudienceoftechnicalequipment,aregoodatrationalthinking.Menarenotcontrolledbysenses.Onthecontrary,theproduct’sinteriorqualityandfunctioniswhattheypayattentionto.Sothedescriptiveadjectivesusedintechnicalequipmentadsaretheonesconveyinginformationoftheproduct,suchas
audible,visible,high-volume,high-speed,etc.
2.3.3Compoundwords
poundadjectivesareoftenseeninadvertisements.Inthepresentstudy,wefoundcompoundwordsturnupwithvaryingproportionsinthreetypesofadvertisements.
Compound-
usedAds
Total
Ads
Percentage
DailyConsumerGoods52025%
TechnicalEquipment132065%
Service72035%
Obviously,compoundwordsturnupin65%technicalequipmentads,40percentagepointshigherthanthatofdailyconsumergoodsads;30percentagepointshigherthanserviceads.
Compoundwordsintechnicalequipmentads,areusuallycombinedtogiveanexactdescriptionofacertainfeatureoracertainfunctionsuchashigh-volume,full-color,multi-functional,non-stop,water-cooled.Oftennumbersareemployedinfrontofthehyphen,whichisseldomseeninotheradvertisements,suchas64-bit,24-valve,4-wheel,255-horsepower.
Thisdifferencecanbeaccountedforintermsofthedifferentcomplexitiesofthegoods.Incomparisonwithdailyconsumergoodsandservices,technicalequipmentismuchmorecomplicatedinfunctionandstructure.Itisjusttheadvantageousfunctionornewlydesignedstructurethattheadvertiserwantstohighlightintechnicalequipmentads.Thus,theadvertiseremploys,evencoins,somanycompoundwordsthattheycanmaketheintroductionofcomplicatedtechnicalequipmentbriefandprecise.Grammatically,compoundwordshelptoavoidusingclause,whichenhancethereadabilityofadvertisements.
2.3.4Useofpronouns
Pronounsofthefirstandsecondperson:we,Iandyououtnumbertheotherpronounsinadvertisements.Itisbecausethatyou,weandIhelpcreateafriend-likeintimateatmospheretomoveandpersuadetheaudience.Advertisementswithlotsofpronounsofthefirstandsecondpersonarecalledgossipadvertisements.Here,gossiphasnottheleastderogativemeaning.ItoriginatesfromoldEnglishgodsib,meaningfriendlychatsbetweenwomen.Advertisementsthatgoliketalkingwithfriendscloselylinktheadvertisementandtheaudience.Theaudiencewilleasilyacceptaproduct,aserviceoranideaasifagoodfriendrecommendedthem.
Thoughpronounsofthefirstandsecondpersonarepopularinadvertisements,therearesomedifferencesintheuseofthesepronounsinthethreekindsofadvertisements.Thefirstpersonwealmostneveroccursindailyconsumergoodsadsandtechnicalequipmentads,whereasweisusedinalmost80%theserviceadsinthecorpus.Thefollowingaresomeexamples.
Whatcanwedoforyou?
SocomeonandjoinusaswecelebrateMillenniaManiaSingapore.
…,wehelpourneighborsfindthebestwaystogivetotheirfavoritecharities
We’restrongerthanever.
…
Therearetwofactorstoexplainthephenomenon.First,indailyconsumergoodsadsandtechnicalequipmentads,aproductisthefocusofinformation.Whentheproductneedstobementioned,“it”isused,andinmostcases,thebrandnameisused,evenrepeatedtoimpressthereaders.However,inserviceads,serviceisactuallytheproduct.Sinceserviceisintangible
wecanberegardedasthereplacementoftheservice.Second,itismorenecessaryforserviceadstocreateafriend-likeatmosphere,becausewinningtrustisthefirstthingserviceadswanttodo.
3.Syntacticalfeatures
3.1Similarities
Thepurposeofalladvertisingistofamiliarizeconsumerswithorremindthemofthebenefitsofparticularproductsinthehopeofincreasingsales,andthetechniquesusedbyadvertisersdonotvarymarkedly.Anadvertisementisoftenmerelyglimpsedinpassingandso,tobeeffective,itsmessagemustbecolorful,legible,understandableandmemorable.Therulesgoverningthelanguageofadvertisingaresimilar.WehavesummarizedthelexicalfeaturesofEnglishadvertisements.Ifwordsareleavesofatree,andsentencesbranches;thebranchesmustalsopossesstheirsimilarities.
First,lengthofasentenceinadvertisingisusuallyshort.Asentenceindailyconsumergoodsadshas10.3wordsonaverage;intechnicalequipmentads,11.8words;inserviceads,12.3words.
Second,astosentencestructure,paredwithcomplexsentences,simplesentencesaremoreunderstandableandforceful.Ellipticalsentencesareactuallyincompleteinstructurebutcompleteinmeaning.Theadoptionofellipticalsentencescansparemoreprintspace,andtakelesstimeforreaderstofinishreading.Inaddition,agroupofsentencefragmentsmaygainspecialadvertisingeffectiveness.Letuscomparethefollowingtwoadvertisements.
a.Baked.Drenched.Testedtotheextreme.AMotorolacellularphone…
b.TheMotorolacellularphonearebakedanddrenchedtoextreme.
Obviously,byusingellipticalstructure,sentenceaisfarmorebrief,eye-catchingandforcefulthansentenceb.What’smore,itconveysattitudesthatsentenceblacks.Sentenceaimpliesakindofappreciationforthephone,bysplittingthesentenceintoseveralfragmentsandrearrangingitswordorder.Thereforeskillfularrangementofellipticalsentencesmayaddcolortoasentence.
Third,astosentencepatterns,interrogativesentencesandimperativesentencesareheavilyusedinEnglishadvertisements.Imperativesentencesareshort,encouragingandforceful.Theyareusedtoarouseaudiences’wantsorencouragethemtobuysomething.Forinstance:
Entersomethingmagical.(Oldsmobile)
Feelthecleanallday.(ALMAY)
Byeone.(Hondamotor)
…
Intheexplanationofthehighfrequencyoftheuseofinterrogativesentences,LinguistG.N.Leech(方薇,1997:77)discussestwomainfunctionsofinterrogativesentences.Viewingfromtheangleofpsychology,interrogativesentencesdividedtheprocessofinformationreceivingintotwophasesbyfirstraisingaquestionandthenansweringit.Thusitturnsthepassivereceivingintoactiveunderstanding.Fromthelinguisticangle,interrogativesentencesdecreasethegrammaticaldifficulty,becausetheyareusuallyshortinadvertisements.Takethefollowinginterrogativesentenceasanexample:ifitisaskedtocondensetoonesentence,thecondensedonewillbecomplexanddull.
What’sinWoman’sRealmthisweek?Awonderfulbeautyoffersforyou.
→There’sawonderfulbeautyofferforyouinWomen’sRealmthisweek.
Fourth,thepassivevoiceisusuallyavoidedbecausethepassivevoicegivestheaudienceanindirectandunnaturalfeeling.Indailycommunication,passivevoiceisseldomused;soisinadvertisements.Presenttenseprevailsinmostadvertisementsbecausepresenttenseimpliesauniversaltimelessness.Ontherareoccasionswherethepasttenseandthepresentperfecttenseisused,itstressesthelongtraditionsassociatedwithaproduct,suchas“We’vetakenourwhiskyinmanyways,butalwaysseriously”;oremphasizesitsreliability,suchas“We’vesolvedalong-standingproblem,”;ormakesanappealtoauthority,suchas“Eightoutoftenownerssaidtheircatspreferredit.”
3.2Differences
3.2.1Headline
ThetermHeadlinereferstothesentencesintheleadingpositionoftheadvertisement—thewordsthatwillbereadfirstorthatarepositionedtodrawthemostattention.Therefore,headlinesareusuallysetinlargertypethanotherportionsoftheadvertisement.Research(CoutlandL.Bovee&WilliamF.Arens,1992:294)hasshownthat,onaverage,threetofivetimesasmanypeoplereadtheheadlineasreadthebodycopy.Therefore,iftheadvertiserhasn’tdonesomesellingintheheadline,hehaswastedthegreatestpercentofhismoney.Soitmightbesuggestedthatadvertisersshouldnotbeafraidoflongheadlines.
Aheadlinehasnumerousfunctions.Firstofall,theheadlinemustattractattentiontotheadvertisementfast.Itshouldtakeonlyafewsecondstocapturethereader’sattention.Otherwise,theentiremessagemaybelost.Aheadlinealsoselectsthereader,thatis,ittellswhethertheadvertisement’ssubjectmatterintereststhereader.Theideaistoengageandinvolvethereader,suggestingareasontoreadtherestoftheadvertisement.Therefore,theheadlineisthemostimportantinanadvertisement.
Generally,wecanclassifyeffectiveadvertisingheadlinesintofivebasiccategories:benefitheadline,provocativeheadline,news/informationheadline,questionheadline,andcommandheadline.
Benefitheadlinesmakeadirectpromisetothereader.News/informationheadlinesincludemanyofthehow-toheadlinesandheadlinesthatseektogainidentificationfortheirsponsorsbyannouncingsomenewsorprovidingsomepromiseofinformation.Provocativeheadlinesareusedtoprovokethereader’scuriosity.Tolearnmore,thereadermustreadthebodycopy.Aquestionheadlinewillpiquethereader’scuriosityandimaginationbyaskingaquestionthatthereaderisinterestedin.Acommandheadlineordersthereadertodosomething.Itmotivatesthereaderthroughfearoremotionorbecausethereaderunderstandstheinherentcorrectnessofthecommand
3.2.2Comparisonofheadlinesofdifferenttypesofadvertisements
Table4tellswhichtypeofheadlineismostusedinacertaintypeofadvertisements.
Table4Comparisonofheadlinesinthreetypesofadvertisements
Benefit
Headline
News/Infor
headline
Provocative
Headline
Question
Headline
Command
Headline
Daily
Consumer
Goods
15%
25%
15%
40%
5%
Technical
Equipment
10%
30%
30%
25%
5%
Service
35%
10%
40%
10%
5%
Whyquestionheadlinesaremorefrequentlyusedindailyconsumergoodsads?AmericansociolinguistDanielN.Maltz(方薇,1997:144)concludedthroughstudythatwomentendtoaskquestions.Theyhaveubiquitouscuriosity.Sothewomen-targetingads,dailyconsumergoodsads,cleverlyemployquestionheadlinestocatertowomen’scuriosity.Thequestioncanbewhatwomencare,suchas“Whichofthesecontinentalquiltpatternswillsuityourbedroombest?”;orwhatwomenseldomthinkof,suchas“Heartheoneaboutthecomedianwhoneverdrankmilk?”.Nomatterwhatkindofquestion,itwillarousewomen’sinteresteffectively.
Accordingtothecomparison,informationheadlinesaremostpopularintechnicalequipmentadvertisements.Forexample:
Here’sthefilmlessversion.
It’saboutexchanginginformationeasilywithpeopleyoutrust.
ThemuscularV6givestheGrandVitaraundeniableappeal.
…
Technicalequipmentistheresultofscienceandhightechnology.Unknowninformationinanadvertisementaccountsforalargeproportion.Unlikedailyconsumergoodsads,nointroductionofaproductisnecessaryinheadline,becausewearesofamiliarwiththesedailyusedproductsthatalmostallinformationbecomesgiveninformation.Therefore,headlinesoftechnicalequipmentadsmeantoattractreadersbydisplayingtheunknowninformationofaproduct.
However,serviceadstendtogivepromiseinheadlinetoattractreaders.Forexample:
Whereveryouare,wheneveryouneedus,theAllianzGroupisalwaysthereforyou.
Therightbankcanmakeallthedifference.
Cancerpatientsflyfreeonthewingsofangles.
…
Banks,insurancecompanies,publicutilitiesandairlinespreferusingbenefitheadlinestoemphasizewhattheycandotocustomers.Consumergoodsandtechnicalequipmentcanpresentthemselvesinbeautifulpictures.However,serviceadsarenotabletopresenttheir“product”inprintexceptlanguage.So,theyhavetohighlighttheir“product”intheheadline.
4.Discoursefeatures
4.1BodyCopyofanAdvertisement
Ingeneral,awrittenadvertisementconsistsoffiveparts:headline,bodycopy,slogan,illustrationandtrademarkamongwhichheadline,bodycopyandsloganarethemainparts.Headlineplaysaroleincatchingattentionfromreaders;slogancanbeusedasadevicetocreateacorporateimageandacommonpracticetoconcludeadvertisement.
Inthissectionwewilldiscussthebodycopyasadiscoursecomponent.Theadvertisertellsthecompletesalesstoryinthebodycopy.Setinsmallertypethanheadlinesorsubheads,thebodycopyisalogicalcontinuationoftheheadlineandsubheads.Itisalsowherethesaleisclosed.Thebodycopyshouldrelatetothecampaignappealandtothereader’sself-interest,anditmustexplainhowtheproductorservicebeingadvertisedsatisfiesthecustomer’sneed.Thebodycopymayconcentrateononeorseveralbenefitsastheyrelatespecificallytothetargetaudience.Insomecases,especiallyindailygoodsads,bodycopyisomittedjustbecausereadersknowwhattheyare.
4.2DifferencesinBodyCopys
Copysfallintomanycategories.Somecommontypesofcopysincludestraight-sellcopy,institutionalcopy,narrativecopy,dialogue/monologuecopy.
Inastraight-sellcopy,thetextimmediatelyexplainsordevelopstheheadlineinastraightforwardattempttoselltheproduct.Sincetheproduct’ssalespointsaretickedoffinorderoftheirimportance,straight-sellcopyisparticularlyadvantageousfortechnicalproductsthatmaybedifficulttouseindirect-mailadvertisingandindustrialsituations.Manycameraads,forexample,usethisstraight,factualcopytogetthemessageacross.Thestraight-sellapproachemphasizesthereasonwhytheconsumershouldbuysomething.Forexample:
PickuprightwhereyouleftoffwiththenewC-2000ZOOMfilmlessdigitalcamera.
Youlovedtakingpicturesthen.You’llloveitevenmorenowwiththe2.1megapixelC-2000ZOOM.It’llremindyouofyourfavoritefilmcameraofyesterday,butwithalltheadvantagesOlympusfilmlessphotographyofferstoday.OnlytheC-2000ZOOM,forexample,incorporatesanall-glass,aspherical3xzoomlenssystemfeaturingalargeaperturef2.0lensthat’sexceptionallyfastandbright.Alongwithautomaticormanualfeatureslikeapertureandshutterpriority,spotmetering,exposurecompensation,whitebalanceandISOsettings.Andjustlikeyourfilmcamera,theC-2000ZOOMgrowswithyouwhenyouaddexternalflash,lightingequipment,lensesorfilter.SobringbackoldmemorieswhilecreatingnewoneswiththeC-2000ZOOMfromOlympus--THEWORLDLEADERINFILMANDFILMLESSPHOTOGRAPHY.
Sometimestheadvertiserusestheinstitutionalcopytosellanideaorthemeritsoftheorganizationorserviceratherthansalesfeaturesofaparticularproduct.Ofteninstitutionalcopyisalsonarrativeinbecauseitlendswarmthtotheorganization.Serviceads,suchasadsofbanks,insurancecompanies,publicutilities,andlargemanufacturingconcernsarethemostcommonusersoftheinstitutionalcopy.
Advertisersusethenarrativecopytotellastory.Itoftensetsupaproblemandthencreatesasolutionusingtheparticularsalesfeaturesoftheproductorservice.Itmaythensuggestthattheaudiencesusethesamesolutioniftheyhavethatproblem.Serviceadvertisementsareoftenwritteninthis.Forinstance:
LIFEINSURANCEISN’TFORTHEPEOPLEWHODIE.
IT’SFORTHEPEOPLEWHOLIVE.
“ItbrokemyhearttohearmydaughterDorseysayshewishedherdaddywasstillhere.Butthankstohisforesight,we’llstillhavethethingsheworkedfor”
DorseyHoskins’fatherBryanfeltatinglinginhisarm.Thediagnosis—aninoperablebraintumor.Hediedsixmonthslater,at33,leavinghiswifeDeanalonetoraiseDorseyandhersisterHattie.Fortunately,Bryanboughtlifeinsurancewhenhegotmarried,andagainwhenhisdaughterswereborn.Deaninvestedtheproceedsinherownclothingstore,whichgiveshertheflexibilitytospendmoretimewithherchildren.
Areyouprepared?Withoutinsurance,yourfinancialplanmaybejustasavingsandinvestmentprogramthatdieswhenyoudo.Aninsuranceagentorotherfinancialprofessionalcanhelpyoucreateaplanthatwillcontinuetoprovidefortheonesyoulove.
Byusingadialogue/monologuecopy,theadvertisercanaddthebelievabilitythatthenarrativecopysometimeslacks.Thecharactersportrayedinaprintadvertisementdothesellingintheirownwords,throughatestimonialorquasi-testimonialtechnique,orthroughacomic-strippanel.Allkindsofadscanusethisbodycopy,ifnecessary.Forexample:
WhenIwantaCDdoneright,Idoitmyself.Yeah,thismachinerocks.Itburnsfull-sizeCDsthatsoundtotallyliketheoriginal.ItplaysCDs.RecordsCDtoCDatdoublespeed.Andrecordsoffofjustaboutanysource.LPs.Cassettes.Theradio.It’sevengotatextdisplay.Anyway,nowI’vegotmyowngreatesthitscollection.ThestuffIwanttolistento.I’vegottoadmitit’sgettingbetter.
5.Conclusion
Uptonow,wehaveanalyzedlanguagefeaturesofadsatthreelevels.Linguisticsimilaritiesanalyzedinthispaperandsharedbyallkindsofadsareshownasfollows:
Ⅰ.Lexicalfeatures
a.One-syllableandsimpleverbssuchasgetandmakeareused.
b.Emotiveadjectivesareadoptedtoarousereader’sinterest.
c.Wordsarecarefullychosentomakepunandalliteration.
d.Weaselwords,suchashelpandlike,maketheuseofstrongestlanguagepossibleinadvertisements.
Ⅱ.Syntacticalfeatures
a.Sentencesinadvertisementsareshort.Onaverage,asentenceconsistsof11.8words.
b.Ellipticalsentencesareusedtospareadvertisingcostandatthesametimeimproveadvertisingeffectiveness.
c.Interrogativesentencesandimperativesentencesarecommoninadvertisements
d.Presenttenseprevailsinadstosuggesttimelessness.Andactivevoiceisusedtocatertoaudience’shabitindailytalk.
Ⅲ.Discoursefeatures
Acompleteadvertisementconsistsoffiveparts:Headline,BodyCopy,Slogan,Illustration
andTradeMark.Bodycopyisthekeypart,conveyingproductorserviceinformation.
Whilesummarizingsimilaritiesoflanguagefeaturesofthreekindsofadvertisements,wehavediscussedthedifferencesbetweentheseadsonthefollowingdimensions:
First,inordertoachievethehighestadvertisingeffectiveness,theadvertiserpreciselytargetstheaudiencebytheirsocialstatus,roles,income,educationalbackgroundandgender.Thereforeadvertisinglanguageadjustsitselftogetclosetotargetaudience.
Second,dailyconsumergoods,technicalequipmentandservicearetotallydifferentadvertisingsubjects.Forexample,somewordsintechnicalequipmentadsarecomprehensibleonlytothoseacquaintedwiththatfield.TakeiMACPCasanexample.AllthefeaturesofiMAC,plus:400MHZ,G3processor,slot-loadingDVDdrive,10GBdiskstorage,dual400MbpsFireWireports,andiMovievideoeditingsoftware.Laymenofcomputersmustfeelconfusedbythesedazzlingfiguresandunits.However,inordertomaketheinformationofatechnicalproductclear,somejargonsarenecessary.Thereforedifferentkindofadsspeakdifferentlanguage.
Thestudyhasshownthatthreekindsofadvertisementsinthecorpusrespectivelydemonstratetheirownuniquelanguagefeatures.
Indailyconsumergoodsads,descriptiveadjectivestendtoconveysensesofsight,taste,andtouchinthehopeofsatisfyingwomen''''sappealforbeautyandcomfort.Nojargonisused.Headlinesofdailyconsumergoodsadstendtoaskquestiontoarousetheinterestofaudience,especiallywomen''''s.Thebodycopyseemsnotsoimportantandessentialasthatoftheadvertisementforproductsrequiringhightechnologicalinformation,thusinsomecasesbodycopyisomittedindailyconsumergoodsads.
Intechnicalequipmentads,poundwords,particularlycompoundjargons,arefrequentlyusedtoexactlyintroduceacomplicatedproduct.Headlinesoftechnicalequipmentmeantoattractreadersbytransferringtheunknowninformationofaproduct,sotheyareofteninformation/newsheadlines.
Inserviceads,theuseofpronouns,weandyou,isstatisticallysignificant.Youandwealmostappearineveryadvertisement.“we”,asreplacementofacertainservice,isusedinalmost80%theserviceadvertisements.Institutionalcopyisoftenusedtosellanideaorthemeritsoftheorganizationorserviceratherthansalesfeaturesofaparticularproduct.Ofteninstitutionalcopyisalsonarrativeinbecauseitlendswarmthtotheorganization.Banks,insurancecompanies,publicutilities,andlargemanufacturingconcernsarethemostcommonusersoftheinstitutionalcopy.
Insummary,nomatterwhatkindofstructure,orcontent,orwordsareusedinanadvertisement,allofthemservethepurposeofattractingadsreaders,conveyinginformationtothem,andurgingthemtopurchasetheproductsortousetheservice.Thatiswhatanadfor,andthatisalsothefunctionadvertisinglanguageperforms.
