The Features of Advertising Language and Analysis of Advertising English Through Classification.doc

英语广告语言的特点及其类别分析The Features of Advertising Language and Analysis of Advertising English Through ClassificationContentsAbstract1.Introduction to Advertising 1. Definition . 2 2. Advertising Functions 2 .Features of Advertising 1. English Morphology in Advertising .3 (1). Simple and informal 3 (2). Misspelling and Coinage . .3(3). Loanwords 4(4). Contraction .4(5). Use of verbs 4(6). Use of Adjectives . 5(7). Use of Compound words .52. English Syntax in Advertising 5 (1). More simple sentences, less complex sentences .5(2). More interrogative sentences and imperative sentences . 5 (3). Disjunctive Clause .6(4). Minor Clause .6. Rhetorical Devices in English Advertising 1. Repetition .62. Reversal 73. Substitution .74. Destabilization .8 .Classification of Advertisements 1. Consumer Advertising 102. Business Advertising .103. Service Advertising 114. Public Interest Advertising .11.Conclusion .12References: 13The Features of Advertising Language and Analysis of Advertising English Through Classification摘 要: 目前，随着技术的发展和大众传媒的多样化，广告已经不容置疑的影响了我们的日常生活。英语广告语言具有即时影响力和即时说服力的特色。广告语言的广泛运用创造了一种特殊的英语语言风格广告英语。其独有的特点，即语言凝练和非凡的吸引力使得广告语言区别于其它类型的语言。随着英语广告的发展，其语言也在一些方面形成了它独有的特点。广告语言的要点就是利用其代理的商品或服务的优点来说服你，目的就是要让你掏腰包。英语广告语言有其特殊性，大大不同与普通的日常语言。在词法、句法和修辞上广告语言都有自己的特点。简练和吸引人是英语广告语言的两个最基本的特色。我们分析不同类型广告的特点，从而恰当的给我们自己的广告定位，选择最适合的方法。关键词：英语 广告用语 特点 修辞 分类Abstract：Today, with the development of the technology and the diversity of the mass media, advertising has influenced us pervasively in our daily life. Advertising English is a style of immediate impact and rapid persuasion. The wide use of advertising has created a special style of Englishadvertising English. Its unique features, simple language and immense attraction separate it from other kind of language. In the development of advertising English, this kind of language has formed its own features in several aspects. The point of an advertisement is to persuade you of the merits of a particular product or service, in order that you will take out some of your money. Advertising English as a special kind of language is very different from common language. It has its own features in morphology, syntax, and rhetorical devices. Simple and attractive are two general features of advertising English. We analyze the features of different kinds of advertisements, in order to find a proper position for our own advertisement, and choose methods fit it best. Key Words：English Advertising Language Features Rhetoric Classification.Introduction to Advertising Definition:American Marketing Association (AMA) defines advertising as “the non-personal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors through the various media.” Today, with the development of the technology and the diversity of the mass media, advertising has influenced us pervasively in our daily life. However, whatever the strategies advertising takes, language is the main carrier of message all along, as The Language of Advertising, by Vestergaard & Schrader, says, “Advertising takes many forms, but in most of them language is of crucial importance.” Advertising language is a style of immediate impact and rapid persuasion. The point of an advertisement is to persuade you of the merits of a particular product or service, in order that you will take out some of your money. Advertising Functions:What kind of advertisement is successful? And what features a successful advertisement should possess? American Marketing Managers Handbook points out that an advertisement should have four functions: AIDA, which represent four wordsAttention, Interest, Desire, and Action. (1). Attentiona good advertisement should attract the consumer to direct their attention to the product of it.(2). Interestthe introduction and publicity of an advertisement should arouse consumers great interest.(3). Desirethe publicity of advertising should stimulate consumers desire to buy the product, and make them realize that this product is just what they want.(4). Actionthe advertising makes consumer to response to the advertising information and evoke them to take the action of purchasing.Features of AdvertisingThe wide use of advertising has created a special style of Englishadvertising English. Its unique features, simple language and immense attraction separate it from other kind of language. In the development of advertising English, this kind of language has formed its own features in several aspects.1. English Morphology in AdvertisingAs a means to disseminate information, advertising English must be compact, vivid, visual, emotional and attractive. Therefore, morphology in advertising is quite different from common English.(1). Simple and informalThe function of advertising is to provide information, attract consumer, exploit market, and promise the quality. Therefore, advertisement must pay attention to its impelling language, and the first step is to use popular and oral language to make it easy to understand and memorize. For example:“I couldnt believe it, until I tried it!”“Im impressed! Im really impressed!”“Youve gotta try it!”“I love it!” This is an advertisement of a microwave oven. The words in it are very simple and oral. It uses the slang “gotta”, which means “got to” in American English, to give an impression that this advertisement comes from the real life. (2). Misspelling and CoinageIn some of advertisements, the advertising copywriter misspells some words on purpose, or adds some suffix or prefix to the common words. Although the new words still keep the original meanings, they are quite different from the original words in spelling, which will make the advertisement more vivid, interesting and attractive. For example: We know eggsactly How to sell eggs.In this advertisement, “eggsactly” is the variation of “exactly”, and echo the word “eggs” at the end of the sentence. The Orangemostest Drink in the world.In this drink advertisement, the word “orangemostest” actually is “orange+most+est”. It uses this word to express the high quality and purity of the drink. The coinage and misspelling are also representing in some phrases, such as:First of all, because now Yoplait is thicker.Second of all, because its creamier.Third of all, because its still 100% natural and really very good for you.Fourth of all, because to me Yoplait tastes better than all the other Yoyurts.And fifth of all, becausewell, just because.In this advertisement, the copywriter imitates the phrase “first of all” to create “second of all, third of all, fourth of all” which will inspire consumers imagination. In addition, some prefixes or suffixes like “super-”, “ex-”, “-er”, “-est” etc, are often used to stress the high quality of the product. (3). LoanwordsThe most frequently used loanwords are French and Spanish.For example:Order it in bottles or in cans.Perrierwith added je ne sais quoi. The meaning of “je ne sais quoi” is “I dont know what”. The purpose to use this simple French is to show the French flavor of this drink. The loanwords in some advertisement are good methods to express the exoticism of the products.(4). ContractionBecause the advertisement fees are so high that its essential to use some contraction to cut short the length, and reduce the cost.To Let or For SaleFurnished Edinburgh Court, 426 Argyly st, 2nd floor, 1,630 sq, ft4, bedrooms with dining and living room, privet garage. Sale at 130,000. Rent 1,400. Tel, 38954 office time or 823748.This is an advertisement to rent or sell a house. There are many contractions, such as: st=street, sq=square, ft=foot, Tel=telephone.(5). Use of verbsAlthough the ultimate purpose of advertising is to persuade consumers to buy its products, advertisements seldom use the word “buy” in it. Statistics show only two out of ten advertisements use the verb “buy” directly. On one hand, the advertisers try their best to promote their product; on the other hand, they dont want to give the consumers a feeling of spending their money. Therefore, the choice of verbs is very careful in advertising. The most frequently used 20 verbs and phrasal verbs are:Try, ask, get, take, let, send for, use, call, make, come on, hurry, see, give, come, remember, discover, serve, introduce, choose, and look for.Examples:Getting places in the business world is easier if your banker is there to meet you.-Security Pacific Asian Bank. We can give you a better view of investment opportunities from both sides of the Pacific.-City Bank. (6). Use of AdjectivesThe most frequently used adjectives are:1.new 2. crisp 3. good/better/best 4. fine 5. free 6. big 7. fresh 8. great 9. delicious 10. real 11. full, sure 12. easy, bright 13. clean 14. extra, safe 15.special 16. rich.(7). Use of Compound wordsThere are lots of compound words in advertisement mainly because the element of compound words could be any part of speech, and has few limits in grammar and word order.The following are the main ways of word forming:Adj+noun: short-term goal, high-fashion knitwearNoun+adj: the farmhouse-fresh faste, brand-newV-ing+adj: shining-cleanNoun+v-ed: honey-coated sugar puffs, home-madeAdj/adv+v-ed: warm-hearted, perfectly-testured cakesNoun+v-ing: a relief-giving liquid, record-breakingAdj+v-ing: innocent-looking, fresh-tasting milkAdv+v-ing: hard-working, the best-selling soft toilet tissueNoun+noun: economy-size shredded wheat, a state-of-the-art cell sorcerAdv+noun: up-to-the-minute sculling2. English Syntax in Advertising(1). More simple sentences, less complex sentencesIt will get better effect to use simple sentences than compound sentences, because the readers will get bored on reading complex sentences. Another reason is to reduce the cost of advertising, and effectively stimulate the consumers. (2). More interrogative sentences and imperative sentencesAccording to statistics, in every 30 sentences there is one interrogative sentence. Because interrogative sentences are quick and effective to arouse readers response. The following is an advertisement of Lurpark Danish butter:Whats so special about Lurpark Danish butter? Well, can you remember what butter used to taste like real fresh farmhouse butter? Do you remember how you used to enjoy it when you were young? Today the taste of Lurpark bring it all back to you thats why its so special. The imperative sentences have a meaning of claiming, calling and commanding, similarly the goal of advertising is to persuade and urge consumers to accept its product or service. Therefore, there are lots of imperative sentences in advertising, such as:Get ready to encounter the new trend in timepieces.The Citizen Espreme Collection.Watches that are indicators of tastes and moods. that express you.-Citizen Watch (3). Disjunctive ClauseDisjunctive clause is unique for advertising English, which separates a long, complex sentence into several simple sentences by using full stop, dash, semi-colon, hyphen, etc. Those sentences are independent in form, but are related in the content. The use of disjunctive clause could add more information and save more space and money. The separated parts are usually the features of the product, so that they could emphasize the good points of the product. There is an example of Amtrak, which has successfully used the disjunctive clauses:Amtrak has created a new nationwide passenger rail system. Literally from the ground up. A system that represented a viable alternative for people who fly. For business or pleasure. (4). Minor ClauseMinor clause has simple elements, which could lay stress on the key words. It could not only reduce the length and cost, but also disseminate information more effectively.More than a timepiece, An acquisition.-Piagit So come into McDonalds and enjoy a Big Mac Sandwich.-McDonald. Rhetorical Devices in English AdvertisingRhetorical devices are variations of literal or ordinary form of expressions. Their use is to make the thought more striking and effective, for they have the power to vivify and illustrate. A fresh, apt rhetorical device appeals to the imagination, creates mental pictures and makes the speech or writing vivid, impressive and interesting. For this reason, advertisers often use various rhetorical devices to increase the readability and appeal of an advertisement and to arouse consumers interest of buying the product. This level of the framework distinguishes simple from complex schemes and tropes to yield four rhetorical operations-repetition, reversal, substitution, and destabilization. 1. Repetition The rhetorical operation of repetition combines multiple instances of some element of the expression without changing the meaning of that element. In advertising we find repetition applied to sounds so as to create the figures of rhyme, chime, and alliteration or assonance. Repetition applied to words creates the figures known as anaphora (beginning words), epistrophe (ending words), epanalepsis (beginning and ending) and anadiplosis (ending and beginning). Repetition applied to phrase structure yields the figure of passion, as in K Mart's tagline: "The price you want. The quality you need." A limiting condition is that repeated words not shift their meaning with each repetition. 2. Reversal The idea of excess regularity that is intrinsic to any scheme can be manifest in relatively simple or complex ways. Thinking in more general terms of parallelism rather than iteration alone indicates the possibility for a second kind of schematic figure, which would be produced via an operation that we have named reversal. The rhetorical operation of reversal combines within an expression elements that are mirror images of one another. A characteristic of a mirror image, of course, is that it repeats the original but in reverse. Consider this tagline for Bounce Fabric Softener: "Stops static before static stops you." In the first part, the noun "static" is the object of the verb "sto