Language Characteristics of English
Advertisement
名字
【Abstract】As a way of transmitting and propagating, advertising’s role cannot be underestimated.It has become a must for social communications.In this paper, the author analyzed the characteristics of the English advertisement through a large number of English advertisement analysis.
【摘要】 广告作为一种传播和宣传信息的模式,其作用不容忽视,它已逐渐成为社会交流的必要手段之一.本文作者通过对大量英文广告实例进行分析,剖析了英文广告的语言特点。
Key words: Advertising, Advertising English, Language Feature
Outline:
I.Introduction
1.1 History of advertisement 1.2 Roles of advertisement
II.Lexical Features
2.1 Claifications of advertising2.2 Similarities at the lexical level
III.Syntactical Features
3.1 Function of simple sentences 3.2 Function of interrogative sentences
IV.Rhetorical Features
4.1 Function of personification 1
4.2 Function of repetition
V.Conclusion
I.Introduction
1.1 History of advertisement
Persuasive communication has been around since early times.Through inscriptions on tablets, wall, and papyrus from ancient Babylonia, Egypt and Greece have carried meages listing available products and upcoming events.Because of widespread illiteracy before the age of print, most meages were−actually delivered by criers who stood on street corners shouting the wares of the sponsors’.Stores and merchandise they carried were identified by signs.Information rather than persuasion was the objective of the early commercial meage.The mid-1800s marked the beginning of the development of the advertising industry in the United States.The emerging importance and growth of advertising during this period resulted from a number of social and technological developments aociated with the Industrial Revolution.By the late nineteenth century the advertising profeion was more fully developed.Agencies took the role of convincing manufacturers to advertise their products.Ads were aumed a more complete informational and educational role.Copywriting has become a reputable craft in the period.By the beginning of the twentieth century, the advertising industry had become a major force in marketing, and had achieved a significant level of respect and esteem.“Soft-sell” advertising ….
1.2 Roles of advertisement
Advertisement has been called “the voice of busine”，for it announces new products and describes new uses and improves features of familiar ones.It seeks to make people know the things they need and to make them want to buy these things.It tells what products or services are available and how they can be obtained.Advertisement plays a vital role in the spread-out and flow of goods.It sets up a bridge between factories or companies and shops, or stores and customers.Either side of them has no difficulty in finding cooperative partners.Advertisements can result of
improving products by stimulating competition.Through advertisements, companies selling the same or similar products try to catch and win the attention of the buyers....
II.Lexical Features
2.1Claifications of advertising Advertisement can be claified into different types in view of the target audience, geographic area, covered media, function or purpose.But all in all, advertisement can be divided into two types: commercial and non-commercial advertisement.Commercial advertisement, which promotes goods, services or ideas for a busine with the expectation of making a profit, falls into three types.The first type is commercial consumer advertisement, which is directed towards the maive audience to promote sales of a product or service.The second type is known as prestige or good will advertisement, in which the firms advertise not a commodity or a service but rather a name or an image.The third type is industrial or trade advertisement, in which a firm advertises its products or services to other firms.Industrial or trade advertisement is most likely to be found in specialized trade jumbles or in the busine pages of newspapers [3].Non-commercial advertisement can be divided into two types.….
2.2 Similarities at the lexical level
In order to make the information acceible to audience effectively, the choice of words in advertising is very cautious and skillful.The aim of the advertiser is quite specific....
III.Syntactical Features
3.1Function of simple sentences
Whatever product or service may be advertised, the advertiser usually sets a limit to the length of the advertisement for the sake of space and money.Normally, he or she makes much effort to convey as much information as poible in most concise and
compact manner.Therefore, simple sentences are frequently used in English advertisements.
E.g.(1) It comes with a conscience- Honda
Honda always made good cars.To do it with conscience, people will choose and trust them....
3.2Function of interrogative sentences
In some English advertisements, interrogative sentences are used at the very beginning of the body copy so as to hold the addreees’ attention and arouse their interest.They often require people to give answers.Interrogative sentences arouse consumers\' attentions at first, and then require them to reflect.For example:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)…
IV.Rhetorical Features
4.1 Function of personificationPersonification is a figure of speech that gives life and personal attributes to inanimate objects.Personification can give lives or personal attributes to commodities, and make the commodities advertised full of feelings so as to strengthen its affinity.Personification is also a kind of metaphor in which a thing especially something that are inanimate objects or abstractions are endowed with human qualities or are represented as people.The use of personification in advertising will endow the products with human emotions and characteristics and will make them amicable to consumers.
E.g.(1) It’s your lifetime.
…..
4.2 Function of repetition
Repetition is a rhetorical device of using some words or sentences naturally and repeatedly to stre an important meage or indicate a strong feeling.The figure has the characteristics of good layout of words and sweet winding sound.And the harmonious sound of the figure makes the advertising words easy to read and remember.The rhetorical operation of repetition combines multiple instances of some element of the expreion without changing the meaning of that element.In advertising we find repetition applied to sounds so as to create the figures of rhyme.In some ads, the copywriters often use repetition to emphasize the certain information.E.g.(1) The price you want.The quality you need.
This is an example of creating the figures of rhyming which make the whole sentence more memorable.
E.g.(2) A Modern car for a Modern Driver.
….
V.Conclusion
Advertising language as a special kind of language is really different from common language.And also the advertising English is quite different from both oral and literary English....
References
[1] Cook.Guy, The Discourse of Advertising, London, Routledge, 1992.
[2] \"Advertising\" Fan Yu of the Shanghai People\'s Publishing House, 1996.
[3] Chu Yu, Analysis of the characteristics of the English language ads [J]; Journal of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University (Philosophy and Social Science Edition), 2002.
[4] Ding Junjie, Cheng Ping, Yuan Fei, Contemporary Advertising (United States),Zhang Xi translation Huaxia Publishing House, 2001.
