Advertisement English and Its Translation 英语论文.doc

advertisement english and its translationi. introductionas one of the important components of advertising language, that is the advertisement english, which is a newly-born kid in the english family, is a kind of effective means which use english as a transmission way, and use many english rhetorical techniques to sell products, develop labor service or arouse unexpected response and so on. its unique features, simple language and immense attraction separate it from other kind of language. in the development of advertisement english, this kind of language has formed its own features in several aspects: simple and attractive are two general features. the linguistic features of advertisement english include: using the new form of the spelling of a word to attract consumers, attention; using of some verbs, adjectives frequently to express the information and enhance the effect of language expression; using the compounds in flexibility and so on.in any culture background, the ultimate goal of advertisement is to attract consumers and sell products to them. so is advertisement english. the quality of translation is closely related to the sales. advertisement english is a practical style; its translation is provided with unique ways. language features and culture determining the translation is far from being easy. here we confine translation to the chinese version. chinese and english are two different languages, which have distinctive differences, especially in culture. for example, we all know “雪碧” in chinese, which remind ourselves of cool and relaxed. however, its original meaning of “sprite” is “精灵，妖精”，if use literal translation in chinese market, it mustnt get this effect. so we must pay much more attention to culture and language features in the process of translation.ii. language features of advertisement englishadvertisement language must be brief, vivid, imaginative, affective and evocative. as a result of long-term development and evolution, “advertisement english has become a special variable of the english language, with its own characteristics in lexicon, syntax, discourse and rhetoric.a lexical featuresthe lexical features of advertisement english include: using some verbs, adjectives frequently to express the information and enhance the effect of language expression; using new form of the spelling of a word to attract the consumers attention; using the nouns for purpose of concise; using weasel words to retreat from a direct statement1. verbs are used in order to make the advertising language concise and vivid, the english advertisement often uses some monosyllabic verbs, and the most frequently used verbs are: bring, make, get, give, help, keep, buy, choose, feel, come, go, try, use, know, love (like), etc. we can see that these words are very simple and understandable. although the basic meaning of some verbs is different, however, they all can be used to express the relationship between the products and the consumers. for example: “have”, “get”, “give”, “buy”, “keep”, etc. are used to show that the consumers can obtain or possess some products. “take”, “use”, “have”, etc. mean the action and the process that the consumers use some products. “like”, “love” and “need”, etc. mean the degree of consumers, loving for certain products. for instance:a you may try our carpets in your house.b lux, bring out the star in you. (lux)example (a)did not introduce the function and characteristic of product directly, but use verb” try” to suggest the consumer themselves to evaluate the product. it shows that the consumers can possess the carpets. we all know the brand of lux, which includes: perfumed soap and shampoo. in this sentence” bring out” is cater for consumers, mind that it will change my appearance and bring out a new image of myself like stars after using it. in advertising, these simple words can impress the consumers by their exact, effective expression and a kind of closeness.2. use of adjectivesthe use of advertising language is required to be vivid. thus, adjectives, which are pleasant adjectives, are greatly encouraged to use. evidence shows that the most frequently used adjectives are as follows: rich, special, safe, extra, new, good/better/best, fine, free, fresh, great, delicious, real, full, easy, bright, etc. there are almost pleasant adjectives among these words. advertisers often use these pleasant words to build a pleasant picture in consumers, mind and encourage them to buy the product. for instance: washable, safe, easy to use, clear. (glue)it uses four oral adjectives, which describes the function and characteristic of product completely. the language is simple, helping to build a pleasant picture in consumers, minds: this kind of glue is easy to use, easy to wash and the quality is ensured. four simple words describe the high quality of the glue. additionally, comparatives and superlatives occur to highlight the advantage of a certain product or service, the other example: the world, s coolest cds arent made in new york, london or l.a. they are made in my apartment. (philips cd recorder)the word”coolest” here puts emphasis on the tone; it is easy to remind the consumer that if i buy this kind of cd recorder, i will enjoy the best service.3. use of nounsit uses amount of compound nouns and noun phrases in advertising language, which does not only spare the print space but also make the information more concise. compound nouns and noun phrases are rich in its content and expression. example:communication unlimited. (motorola mobile phone)it is an advertisement of motorola mobile phone, which uses a noun phrase, expressed more information in the limited space. propagating the product effectively.4. misspelling and coinagein some cases, 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 does not only embody “new”, “strange”, “special” of the product, but also satisfy the consumers for pursuing fashion. please enjoy the following examples:the orangemostest drink in the world.this is an advertisement of drink. the word “orangemostest” here is actually equivalent to “orange+most+est”. “most” and “est.” are all stand for superlative. it builds the high quality and purity of the drink in consumers, mind. in addition, some prefixes or suffixes like “super-“, “-er”, “ex-“, “-est.”, etc, are often used to stress the high quality of the product.5. use of weasel wordsa weasel word is defined as a word used in order to evade or retreat from a direct statement or position. it makes people hear things that are not being said, accept as truth that have only been implied, and believe things that have only been implied and suggested. let, s have a look at several words frequently used:a. helpit helps control the bacteria in this system.“help” is the great qualifier. the advertiser says it once before, he can say anything after it. it qualifies everything. the consumer has never heard anyone say: “this product will keep you young.” it is obvious that the advertisers can not say anything like that, because there are not any products like that made. but by adding “help” in front, they can use the strongest language possible afterwards.b. likeit is like taking a trip to portugal.“like” is also a qualifier, and is used in much the same way as help. but ” like” is also a comparative element, with a very specific purpose, advertisers use “like” to get the consumer to stop thinking about something that is bigger than or better or different from the product which are being sold. unlike help”, “like” does not catch much attention. however by using it, almost anything can be said and promised afterwards.the use of “like” in this advertisement is a comparative. it makes a comparison that the trip does not to portugal, but it is like going to there, and you can enjoy the same service and have a good time in this trip.b syntactical featuresthe purpose of all advertising is to remind consumers of the benefits of particular products in the hope of increasing sales. an advertisement is often merely glimpsed in passing and so, to be effective, its message must be concise, legible, understandable and memorable. the following points are the typical syntactical features of all english advertisements: a. length of sentence of advertising is usually short. the audience of advertisement is the public, thus, the sentence is required to be concise, and interest the consumer immediately when seeing it. for instance:we are serious about your safety.this is a car advertisement. safety first is the general principle for all consumers when purchase a car. a simple sentence does not only describe the sincere attitude of producer, but also describe the high quality of the car.b. simple sentences and elliptical sentences are often used in advertisements. simple sentences are more understandable and forceful than the complex sentences; it will get better effect to use simple sentences than complex 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. elliptical sentences are incomplete in structure but complete in meaning. the use of elliptical sentences can spare more print space, and take less time for consumers to finish reading. let, s compare the following two advertisements:(1) impossible is nothing.（adidas）(2) intelligence everywhere. (motorola)it is obvious that by using elliptical structure, sentence (2) is far more brief, eye-catching and forceful than sentence (1). from the point of syntactical structure, sentence (2) elided the most important grammar constituent the predicate verb “is”. there are only three words in sentence (1), but complete in structure. it is attractive and memorable easily by consumer and the characteristic of product was embodied completely.c) interrogative sentences and imperative sentences are often used.” statistics shows that in every 30 sentences, there is one interrogative sentence.”1 because interrogative sentences are quick and effective to arouse readers, response. 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:(1) arthritis pains? all you need is bayer aspirin.(2) let s make things better. (philips)example (1) is an interrogative sentence, when consumer look at “arthritis pains?” they are eager to find the answer and to read the following part. example (2) is an imperative sentence. it conveys a meaning that with the cooperation between producer and consumer, the product they made will become better and better.d) disjunctive clause: it separates a long, complex sentence into several simple sentences by using full stop, dash, semi-colon, hyphen, etc. sentences are independent in form, but related in the content. disjunctive clause could add more information and save more space and cost. the separated parts are often the features of the product, so that they could emphasize the good points of the product, such as:good teeth, good health. (colgate toothpaste)the two parts have no relation with each other in form at the first sight, but when we think deeply, we are easily to associate good teeth with good health, and one who have good teeth would have a good appetite and good health.e) minor clause: minor 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, such as:start a ahead. (rejoice)it is an advertisement of shampoo. there are only two words in this example. the sound of “ahead” and “head” is very similar. it conveys the meaning that you could have a clear mind to face the future lives after using it.c. discourse featuresin this section the body copy as a discourse component will be discussed. the advertiser tells the complete sales story in the body copy. it is a logical continuation of the headline and subheads. it is also where the sale is closed. it should relate to the consumers self-interest, and it must explain how the product or service being advertised satisfies the consumers need. the body copy may concentrate on one or several benefits as they relate to the target audience.some common types of copy include straight-sell copy, institutional copy, narrative copy, and dialogue/monologue copy.a) in a straight-sell copy, the text immediately explains the headline in a straightforward attempting to sell the product. it is particular advantageous for technical products that may be difficult to use in direct-mail advertising and industrial situations. the straight-sell approach puts much emphasis on the reason why the consumer should buy something. many camera advertisements, for instance, use this straight, factual copy to get the message across.b) the advertiser usually uses the institutional copy to sell an idea or the merits of the organization or service rather than sales features of a particular product. the institutional copy is also narrative because it lends warmth to the organization. service advertisement, such as advertisement of banks, insurance companies, public utilities, and large manufacturing concerns are the most common users of the institutional copy.c) advertiser uses the narrative copy to tell a story. it usually sets up a problem and then creates a solution using the particular sales features of the product or service. it may suggest that the consumer can use the same solution if they have that problem. service advertisements are often written in this.d) as to a dialogue/monologue copy, the advertiser can add the believability that the narrative copy sometimes lacks. the character that portrayed in an advertisement does the selling in their own words, through a testimonial or quasi-testimonial technique, or through a comic-strip panel. all kinds of advertisement can use this body copy, if necessary.d. rhetorical skills in english advertisement, rhetorical skills are occupying the extremely important places and with these skills, the advertisement becomes richer than ever in its expression and much more persuasive. several frequently-used rhetorical skills are discussed in this section.1. simile and metaphorwith the use of simile and metaphor, two irrelevant matters can be linked, and organic combination can be observed later. the difference between simile and metaphor is that the latter does not need symbolical words” like, as, similar to,” which are necessary for simile. here are some examples:(1) featherwater. light as a feather. (the glasses with featherwater brand)(2) sophisticated, sweet- to-drink pink lady. (pepsi-cola)the first advertisement uses the simile, and the rest uses metaphor. “pink lady” indicates the good looking pepsi-cola. by means of simile and metaphor, the readers can get very wonderful imagination when reading these works. simile and metaphor have been the shortcut to arrest the readers, attention and to get warm reaction from the public.2. punthere are a lot of words that bear several meanings and some words share a common pronunciation while the meanings are entirely different from each other, which are called homonymy. the advertiser using these words on purpose in advertisement will get the effect of pun. those advertisement slogans with pun are influential and far-reaching. now come to the following advertisements with pun:(1) from sharp minds come sharp products. (sharp machine)(2) time is ready to make time for you.“sharp” means both the brand itself and quick-minded. “make time” means “find enough time to do something” and “move or travel quickly” as well, “time” here also means time magazine.3. personificationthe goal of using personification is linking the relation between the consumers and the articles more closely. the personified articles become much lovely and intimate, and the consumers would be tempted to buy them for the sake of loveliness. thats the initial motivation why the advertisers adopt this rhetorical skill. example:unlike me, my rolex never needs a rest. (rolex)it was personified the watch like a person who always works and never needs a rest to show the accuracy of the watch.4. repetitionrepetition is one of the important skills of rhetoric. the effect of emphasis can be realized through using repetition. e.g.: mosquito bye bye bye. (radar)the use of three words “bye” put much emphasis on tone in form and high quality of the radar in content.iii. translation of advertisement english a good translation of advertisement english will not only convey the original information, but also reflect the characteristics of the product, and attract consumers and lead them to produce desire of purchase as well. however, different features of language and consumers, acceptance determining the translation are far from being easy. the single purpose of advertisement english is to lead consumers to produce desire of purchase and take action to buy product immediately. thus, advertisement english does not only have the informative function, but also have persuasive function. it requires realizing its functional equivalence during translation process. a lexical features and translation1. the english advertisements often use some monosyllabic verbs, the most frequently used verbs are: bring, make, get, give, help, keep, buy, choose, feel, come, go, try, use, know, love (like), etc. we can see that these words are ver