广告英语语言特色

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摘要

广告，顾名思义就是广而告之。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。本文通过对大量英语广告实例进行分析，并参照国外著名广告人GuyCook等的理论，详细剖析了广告英语的语言特点。

广告在我们今天的社会几乎是无孔不入，它的传播介质多种多样，包括报纸、杂志、电视、广播、网络等。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。本文选定英语这一全球普遍使用的语言，就其应用于广告领域而产生的一些语言学特点和广告本身的社会性特点进行深入分析，希望能对相关领域的研究有一定的借鉴作用和参考价值。

本文共分为五章，第一章追溯了广告的起源，对广告的分类、作用及定义做了简单概要；第二章介绍了广告和文体学的基本定义，广告中，文字和图像的完美结合取决于创意和所用媒体，但它们共同组成了广告语言；第三章从句法学、修辞学、词汇学等理论切入，用大量例子分析了广告英语的语言特点，并从语篇分析的角度对其语言特点进行了剖析；在语篇分析的章节中，引用了GuyCook的语篇分析模型，并引入了广告问题研究领域新近提出的“文章关联性”等概念；第四章结合了第三章的观点，通过具体英语广告实例对标题中的用词、句子结构、称谓模式、修辞格进行了阐述，分析了广告语言对广告效果的影响；最后一章指出了广告英语发展的口语化和简单化趋势及其目前存在的模糊性语言特点，揭开了广告华丽词藻下所掩盖的非真实的广告氛围，批判了其模糊性误导消费者的消极一面。

关键词：广告；广告英语；语言特点

Abstract

Asawayofpropagatingandtransmittinginformation,advertising’sroleconnotbeunderestimatedbecauseitisnotonlyanartfultechniqueinpersuadingpeopletobuy,butalsograduallyhasbecomeamustforsocialcommunicationwhichinturninfluencesthedevelopmentofsocietyandeconomy.ThepurposeofthispaperistostudythelinguisticfeaturesandsociologicalfeaturesofadvertisingEnglish,inthehopetohelpcopywritersathomemarketsintheircreatingprocess.

Nowadaysadvertisinghaspenetratedintoeverycornerofourlifeasitstransmittingmediainmanyforms:newspaper,magazine,TV,radioaswellasnetwork.Thegoalofadvertisingdecidesitslanguagetobesimpleanddirect,distinctfromthecharacteristicsofotherdiscourses.ThusananalysisonthelinguisticfeaturesofadvertisingEnglishinthelinguisticfieldisworthwhile.Undersuchcircumstances,astudyonthelinguisticfeaturesofadvertisingEnglishwillhavepracticaleffectsonthecomposingandtranslatingworkofthecopywriters.

Thewholepaperisdividedintofivechapters.Thefirstchaptertracesbacktheoriginofadvertisingandabriefintroductionontheclassifications,rolesanddefinitionsofadvertisingispresentedforthelaterdiscussion.

Thesecondchapterintroducesthetheoryofadvertisementsandstylistics,theprecisebalanceofwords(eitherspokenorwritten)andpicturesisdeterminedbythecreativeconceptandthemediumused,butthecombinationofimagesandwordsmakesupthelanguageofadvertising.

Thethirdchapterstartsfromthetheoriesinsyntax,lexicology,rhetoricandendswiththelinguisticfeaturesanalyzedinthefieldofdiscourseanalysis.

ThefourthchaptercombinestheviewpointsfromthepreviouschapterthirdandexplorestheeffectoftheadvertisingEnglishasawholeadvertisingprocess.Thelastchapter,alsotheconclusionpart,showsthatthoughadvertisinglanguageappearstobefloweryandrefined,itscontentisnobetterthancommonestlanguagecouldconvey.Byexposingthevarioustechniquesadvertisershaveemployedintheirwriting,thisparthopestoremindconsumersthatadvertisingEnglishisgraduallyattainingthenegativeandambiguousroleinguidingpeopletobuy.

Keywords:Advertising,AdvertisingEnglish,LinguisticFeatures

Chapter1Introduction

NootherstatementcouldhavesummedupthecharmofadvertisementthanwhatAldousHuxleyhascommented.Ashehassaidadvertisementasaliteraryformisthemostexciting,themostarduousliteraryformofall,andthemostpregnantincuriouspossibilities.Inhiscommentheassertedadvertisementisaliteraryformandthecopywritingprocessisthedelightfulandsalubriousexerciseforthemind.Butallinall,whatisadvertising,andwhatmakesitunique?

1.1HistoryofAdvertisement

Advertisementemergedfromthewombofcommodityproductionandexchange.Theconditionfortheexistenceofadvertisingis“atleastasegmentofthepopulationmustliveabovethesubsistencelevel”.Whenthissituationoccursitalsobecomesnecessaryfor“theproducersofmaterially‘unnecessary’goodstodosomethingtomakepeoplewanttoacquiretheircommodities.”(VestergaardandSchroder4)

Theembryonicformofadvertisingintheworldisstreetcries,whichexisteventoday.AdvertisingwasnotunknowninancientGreeceandRome,butadvertisingaswerecognizeitdidnotstartuntiltheseventeenthcenturyintheWest.Itwasataboutthistimethatnewspaperbegantocirculate.Beforethat,itisprintingwhichwasfirstinventedinChinaandthenintroducedtotheWestthatplayedavitalroleintheproductionofprintadvertising.“Classified”(smallads)typesofadvertisingweredominantbeforethenineteenthcenturyandstyleandlanguageusedinadsatthattimetendedtobedirectandinformative.TheindustrialRevolution,whichbeganinEnglandinthemid-1700sandreachedtheUnitedStatesbytheearly1800s,facilitatedmass-productionofgoods.Meanwhileadvertisingbecamemoreandmoreimportantintheindustrialmarket.Thegreatbreakthroughforadvertisingcameonlyinthelatenineteenthcentury.Technologyandmass-productiontechniqueswerethensufficientlydevelopedformorefirmstobeabletoturnoutproductsofroughlythesamequalityandatroughlythesameprice.Thisbroughtonacrisisofover-productionandunderconsumptionwhichmeantthatthemarketneededtobestimulatedbyadvertising.Atthistimeadvertisingchangeditsfunctionfromproclamationtopersuasion.Inthetwentiethcentury,advertisingdevelopedrapidlyalongsidetheadventofnewmedia-radioandtelevisioninsuccession.

AccordingtoRichardPollay’scontentanalysisoftwothousandprintadsfromtenleadingmagazinesintheUSA,adshaveprogressivelyturnedtowardstheemotionalratherthantheinformativeapproachandthereisashiftseeinghumannatureasrationaltoseemingitasemotional.

TodayinChina,whileoureconomicstructureisshiftingfromtheentirelyplannedeconomytothesocialistmarketeconomysystem,advertisingisbecomingmoreandmoreactiveandsophisticated.In1992,China’sadvertisingexpenditurereached$862million,amongthefastestgrowingcountriesinAsia.ThisyearwiththeentryofChinaintoWTO,thisexpenditurefigurewillundoubtedlyriseup,whichwillsupporttheviewthatadvertisingisanindispensablemeansforprovidingtheinformationthatallmarket-orientedindustrializedsocietiesneedfortheireconomiestofunctionefficiently.

1.2ClassificationsofAdvertising

Advertisingmaybeclassifiedbymedium(newspaper,magazine,radio,television).Bytargetaudience(consumer,industrial,business),bygeography(international,national,regional,local),orbyitsfunctionorpurpose(productornon-product,commercialornoncommercial,primarydemandorselectivedemand,directactionorindirectaction).

BecauseitisdifficulttogainaccesstoenoughdateforEnglishcommercialsandadsonradioorTV,thus,thesubjectofthisresearchpaperwillmainlyconcentrateontheprintadvertising.

1.3RolesofAdvertising

Anadvertiser’smainpurposeistopresentandexhibitproductorservice,andtospreadtheinfluenceandcoverageofwhichtotheextentthatthepotentialpurchasingpopulationbecomesrealandactual.Simplyput,advertiserstrybythevariousmeansattheirdisposaltogetpeopletobuytheproductorserviceadvertised.Moreover,advertiserswantpotentialpurchaserstoconsiderwhatisadvertisedtotheexclusionofallothersimilarproductsorservices.Theythereforeattempttoconstructanadvertisementthatwillfullyinvolvetheattentionofthepotentialpurchaserandwhichwillhaveapersuasiveeffect.Advertisersthuscreateasemioticworldinordertopersuadetheiraudienceofessential“rightness”ofpurchasingtheproductorserviceadvertised.

1.4DefinitionsofAdvertising

Afterabriefintroductionoftheclassificationsandrolesofadvertising,wenowcometothedefinitionsofadvertising.Fromdifferentperspectivesorpurposes,thedefinitionsmightalsovary.InEnglish,theword“advertise”hasitsoriginin“advertere”inLatin,meaning“toinformsomebodyofsomething”,“tobringintonotice”or“todrawattentiontosomething”,etc.InChinese,theequivalentterm“guanggao”means“widelyannounce”.

Thefatherofmodernadvertising,AlbertLaskersaidthatadvertisingwas“salesmanshipinprint”.Althoughthedefinitionwasgivenlongbeforetheadventofradioandtelevision,andthenatureandscopeofadvertisingatthattimewereconsiderablydifferentthantheyaretoday,thisoften-repeatedsayingindicatesthattheultimateobjectiveofadvertisingistosell.Obviouslyitisnotaworkingdefinitionbecausewecannotuseittocoveralladvertisements.Today,awidelyquotedworkingdefinitionofadvertisingwasputforwardbyCourtlandL.BoveeandWilliamF.Arens:”Advertisingisthenonpersonalcommunicationofinformation,usuallypaidforandusuallypersuasiveinnature,aboutproducts(goodsorservices)orideasbyidentifiedsponsorsthroughvariousmedia.”（Cook，Guy.TheDiscourseofAdvertising.London:Routledge,1992）

AnotherlinguistBolendefinesadvertisingasa“Paid,non-personalcommunicationthroughvariousmassmediabybusinessfirms,nonprofitorganizations,andindividualswhoareinsomewayidentifiedinthemessageandwhohopetoinformorpersuademembersofaparticularaudience.”(Carter,RonaldandGoddard,Angela,ReahDanutaetal.WorkingwithTexts.London:Routledge,1997)

Ifthedefinitionsofadvertisingweretoovagueandabstracttocomprehend,afewwordsofitsfunctionwouldhelptoclarifythiscrucialterm.Broadlyspeaking,advertisementshaveatleastoneoftwofunctions:informingorpersuading,althoughoverlapmayoftentakeplaceinonesinglepiece.Thetrickhereisthataninformativeadvertisementinforms“thecustomeraboutgoods,services,orideasandthentellshowtogetthemmeansofanidentifiedsponsor”(Bolen6).Examplesofinformativeadvertisementsarenotafew,rangingfromflyerstoinsertionsinmagazineandnewspapers,allofthataimtoadvertisenewproducts/servicesorspecialpricesoncertainproducts/services.Thistypeofadvertisementgivesbasic,factualinformationandsometimesshowsaphotosoranillustrationoftheproduct/servicetogivethetargetaudienceabetterviewabouttheadvertisedproduct.

Persuasiveadvertisementsarethustheinstrumentsusedbyadvertisers“whohavedefinedtheirtargetaudiencesanddeterminedtheeffecttheyhopetoachievethroughpersuasiveadvertisementsinthemedia”(Bolen9).Andapersuasiveadvertisementshouldtrytopersuadethepotentialcustomerstobuythenewproduct.(Bolen6)Thepersuasivefunctionisnotonlylimitedtoattractingthepotentialcustomerintobuyingacertainobject,butalsoincludingthesellingofservices,ideas,normsandvalues.

Tosummarize,wewouldgettheideathatfirstlyadvertisingisacommunicationprocess.Secondly,atleastamediumisused.Thirdly,thiscommunicationprocesshasadefinitepurposetoconvincethetargetaudience.Theabovethreecharacteristicssuggestadvertisingiscloselyconnectedwiththesociety,employingitsmedia,interconnectingwithitspeopleandguidingtheirbuyinghabit.Alsoinachievingtheadvertisingeffect,theadvertisinglanguageshouldbevividandattractive,whoselinguisticcharacteristicswouldbecoveredintheChapter3.

Chapter2TheoreticalBackground

.1Advertisement

2.1.1DefinitionandGoal

Advertisingisthepaid,impersonalcommunicationofinformationaboutproductsorideasbyanidentifiedsponsorthroughmassmediainanefforttopersuadeorinfluencebehavior.Notalladvertisingisalike.Advertisementsdifferdependingonwhothemessageisintendedfor,wheretheadvertisementisshown,whichmediaareused,andwhattheadvertiserwantstoaccomplish.(seeTable2.1)

Table2.1

Advertisingcanbeclassifiedinfourways:bytarget,geographicarea,mediaused,andpurpose.

ByTarget

ByGeographicArea

ByMediaUsed

ByPurpose

Audience

Consumer

Business:

Industrial

TradeProfessional

Agriculture

International

National

Regional

Local

Print:

Newspaper

Magazine

Electronic:

Radio

Television

Internet

Out-of-home:

Outdoor

Transit

Directmail

Directories

Othermedia

Productiveornonproductive

Commercialornoncommercial

Primarydemandorselectivedemand

Directactionorindirectaction

Thepurposeofcopywritingistopersuadeorremindpeopletotakesomeactiontosatisfyaneedorwant.Butfirstpeopleneedtobemadeawareoftheproblemor,iftheproblemisobvious,ofasolution.Tocreateawareness,thecopywritermustfirstgetpeople’sattention—forexample,byusinglargetypeandprovocativevisuals.Next,thecopywritermuststimulatetheprospect’sinterestintheproductandbuildcredibilityfortheproductclaims.Thenthecopywriterfocusesongeneratingdesireandfinallyonstimulatingaction.Thesefiveaspectsshouldbepresentineveryadvertisementorcommercial.

Hereistheadvertisingpyramid.

2.1.2ElementsofanAdvertisement

Asonewillsee,anyadvertisementismadeupofseveralelements.Mostadvertisementsusedallofthem.Theyincludetheheadlineordisplayline;theillustration;thebodycopyortext;thethemelineorslogan,tradecharacter,seal,andothermarks;andthelogotypeorsignature.Eachwillbeconsideredinsomedetailbelow.

(1)Headlines

Theheadlineordisplaylineappearsinmostadvertisementsforseveralreasons.First,itisanattention-gettingdevice;secondly,italsoselectsanaudiencebyappealingtoaspecificgroup,asthislinedose:Arthriticsreducepainfulinflammationandgetstomachupsetprotection.(Anadformedicine)Finally,itisthekeyfactoringettingpeopletoreadthebodycopy.

(2)Illustration

Inadditiontoheadlines,mostadvertisementscontainillustrations.Theillustrationliketheheadline,attractsattention,selectstheaudience,andstimulatesinterestinbodycopy.Whatismore,theillustrationcanbeinvaluableinshowingtheproductorproductuseandexplaininggraphicallycertainideasorsituationsthatarecumbersometoputintowords.Theoldsayingthatonepictureisworthathousandwordshasmuchmeritinit.

(3)BodyCopy

Tobeginwith,someexplanationofthewordcopyisnecessary.Thejobofbodycopyistostimulateinterestintheproductorserviceorideabeingadvertised,createsdesireforit,andurgeaction.Thisisabigtaskandcallsforrightwords.Althoughheadlinesandillustrationscleartheway,itisbodycopythatmustcarrytheburdenofthesellingjob.

(4)Themelines,slogan,tradecharacters,sealandothermarks

Anumberofdifferentmarksanddevicesmayappearinanadvertisement,includingthemelines,tradecharacters,andseals;Forexample,GeneralFoodsusesthecorporateidentitysymbolinallitsadvertisements.Theautomaticuseoftheseelementsintheadvertisement,however,doesnotdiminishtheirimportance.

2.2Stylistics

2.2.1TheNeedforStylistics

WhentalkingabouttheEnglishlanguage,oneshouldnotbemisledintothinkingthatthelabelshouldinsomewayrefertoareadilyidentifiableobjectinreality,whichhecanisolateandexamineinaclassroomasatest-tubemixture,apieceofrockorapoem.ThelabeloftheEnglishlanguageisinfactacomplexofmanydifferent‘varieties’oflanguageinuseinallkindsofsituationsinmanypartsoftheworld.Naturally,allthesevarietieshavemuchmoreincommonthandifferentiatesthem－theyareallclearlyvarietiesofonelanguage,English.Butatthesametime,eachvarietyisdefinablydistinctfromalltheothers.

AsaneducatedspeakerofEnglish,astudentofEnglishis,inasense,multilingual:forinthecourseofdevelopinghiscommandoflanguage,hehasencounteredalargenumberofvarieties,andtocertainextent,haslearnednowtousethem.Aparticularsocialsituationmakeshimrespondwithanappropriatevarietyoflanguage,thelanguageofconversation,thelanguageofnewspaperreporting,thelanguageofadvertisingandsoon.Butwhatisstylistics?

2.2.2Definition

Inthepast,menhavebeenintriguedwithstyleandmanystudentsofhumancommunicationhaveofferedtheirideasaboutit.Someareconcernedwithclarity－orlucidity,asAristotlecalledit.ForthisancientGreekcritic,itwasimportantthatthespeakerorwriternotonlyhasideasbutthathesaysthem‘intherightway’,awayanaudiencecanunderstandclearly.Healsosaidthatstyleshouldbeneitherabovenorbelowthedignityofthesubjectbutmustbe‘appropriate’.Anotherstudentoflanguageandhumanuseofit,theScottishwriterGeorgeCampbell,alsobelievedwords(theauthor’sdictionorwordchoice)werethefoundationofstyle.Hebelievedthebeststylecomesfromdictionthatthelistenernoticessolittlethatheisbarely‘consciousthatitisthroughthismediumdictionheseesintothespeaker’sthoughts’(ThesenseofstylebyGeoffreyN.Leech).Butunfortunately,theydonotclarifymattersgreatly,atleastfourcommonlyoccurringsensesofthetermstyleneedtobedistinguished.

Stylemayrefertosomeorallofthelanguagehabitsofoneperson-aswhenpeopletalkofShakespeare’sstyle(orstyles),orthestyleofJamesJoyce.Moreoften,itreferstoaselectionoflanguagehabits,sharedbyagroupofpeopleatonetime,oroveraperiodoftime,aswhenwetalkaboutthestyleoftheAugustanpoets,thestyleofOldEnglish‘heroic’poetry,thestyleinwhichcivilservicesformsarewritten,orstylesofpublic-speaking.

Styleisgivenamorerestrictedmeaningwhenitisusedinanevaluativesense,referringtotheeffectivenessofamodeofexpression.Thisisimpliedbysuchpopulardefinitionsofstyleas‘sayingtherightthinginthemosteffectiveway’oras‘goodmanners’.(InvestingEnglishstylebyDavidCrystal&DerekDavy)

Partlyoverlappingwiththethreesensesjustoutlinedisthewidespreaduseofthewordstyletorefersolelytoliterarylanguage.Stylehaslongbeenassociatedprimarilyorexclusivelywithliterature,asacharacterized‘good’,‘effective’,or‘beautiful’writing.

Oftheabovefoursenses,thefirstandsecondcomenearesttowhatismeantbystyle.Asastarting-point,theaimofstylisticsistoanalyzelanguagehabitswiththemainpurposeofidentifyingfromthegeneralmassoflinguisticfeaturescommontoEnglishasusedoneveryconceivableoccasion.Thosefeatureswhicharerestrictedtocertainkindsofsocialcontextaretoexplain,wherepossible,whysuchfeatureshavebeenused,asopposedtootheralternatives,andtoclassifythesefeaturesintocategoriesbaseduponaviewoftheirfunctioninthesocialcontext.