英文广告中的修辞手法---毕业论文.docx

【标题】英文广告中的修辞手法 【作者】马 一 超 【关键词】修辞方法；语义；英文广告 【指导老师】郑丽君 丁健 【专业】英语 【正文】i. introductionamerican marketing association defines advertising as follows:“advertising is 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.”1 we are living in an era of information explosion, in which advertising seems to be an indispensable building block of the media including newspapers, magazines, tv, radio, posters and internet, etc. now, undoubtedly advertising has become one of integral parts of our social activities around the world. everyday we face so many advertisements and we are also influenced by advertisements in modern life. advertising has become the spokesman for business, means of mass communication closely linked with the world of commerce and marketing. advertising is a powerful tool of information from the seller to the buyer, and provides a valuable service to society and its members because it defines for consumers the meaning and the role of products, service and institutions. since advertising aims at creating awareness of products and motivate decision of consumers, appealing to the emotion, reason and cultural differences, more and more attention has been paying on it. among these appeals, the most important is the strong persuasive power of advertisement language, which is different in the styles and functions from other languages. in other words, as a way of propagating and transmitting information, the role of advertisement can not be underestimated because it is not only an artful technique in persuading people to buy, but also gradually has become a way for social communication. english is a language used by most of people in the world. advertising style has always been processed by linguistics, marketing, and consumer psychology as well as some other subjects in the long-term language development.“it has gradually got out of the ordinary english, forming its own unique style, which is also called advertisement english.” in advertisement writing, various rhetorical devices are widely used to make the text more attractive and persuasive, rhetorical devices create charming images and fascinating scenes. a rhetorical figure can be defined as an artful deviation in the form taken by a statement.rhetorical 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. rhetoric is a subject with a long history，the english rhetorical theories derive from ancient greece. it varies according to the environment a language is surrounded with. in advertising english, rhetorical skills are occupying the extremely important sphere. with these skills,advertisement becomes richer than ever in its expression and much more persuasive. rhetorical devices in phonologythe pronunciation of language can cause different aural effect, and inspire different reaction in psychics: softness or ringing. the rhyme and rhythm and homophonic pun usually are used in advertisement language. thus, it sounds beautiful.rhyme and rhythm is a crucial rhetorical device in phonetic. the beauty of the rhyme and rhythm refers to the advertisement languages clear pronunciation, harmony and smooth fluency like music or poem. in riming words, the sounds of the accented vowels and all sounds coming after them had to be identical, the sounds of the consonants preceding the accented vowels had to be different. rhyme serves a two-fold purpose: first, as a combining agency; and second as a musical device giving pleasure in itself. pleasant advertisement does not only attract audiences attention but also arouse their curiosity and desire to buy the products unconsciously. so rhyme, which is important and widely used in advertisement languages, is achieved by means of several rhetorical devices. but english advertisements often strengthen their rhyme and rhythm by means of alliteration, consonance, and homophonic pun.a. alliterationalliteration refers to the appearance of the same initial consonant in two or more words. it is the repetition of the same sound, vowel or consonant, at the beginning of a series of words, or at the beginning of stressed syllables within words. it is often used in advertisements to give emphasis on words that are related in meaning, so advertisements can draw the consumers attention. there are some examples:(1)wonder where the yellow went.(tooth pastes advertisement)(2)export fair set for foreignfunded firms.(fairs advertisement)(3)wing your way with wings waiting for you.(airlines advertisement)2these three english advertisements adopt the rhetorical devices of alliteration, at the first sight of these advertisements, the consumers can enjoy the rhyme and rhythm. these three advertisements are interesting and attractive, give the audience a deeper impression. the rhetorical device of alliteration makes the language with a musical beauty, makes people soak in dulcet mood and also arouses peoples boundless association. in a word, alliteration used in the speech draws attention of the audience and is easier for them to remember the orators ideas. it also produces musical effect. utilizing the similar pronunciation of different words with different meanings, advertisers not only show great concern for their consumers and ignite their positive association, but also publicize the advantages of their products. b. consonance“consonance refers to recurrence or repetition of consonant sounds especially at the end of stressed syllables without the similar correspondence of vowels.”3 it is also often used in advertisements to give emphasis on words that are related in meaning.there are some examples:(1)be specificgo union pacific.(union pacifics advertisement)(2)emergency medical insurance and assistance.(insurances advertisement)(3)hash. dash. classic splash.(glendive brand whisky) these three advertisements have harmonious rhyme, and the word specific is consonance with the word pacific, so is insurance with assistance, dash with splash. in a word, consonance used in these speech draws attention of the audience and is easier for them to remember the orators ideas. it also produces musical effect. every repeated consonant in the consonance is a note and with up and down pitch, a song is composed.c. homophonic puns in the dictionary, homophone is defined as:“a word that sounds the same as anther or others, but is different in meaning, spelling or origin. the difference of meaning is often reflected in distinctive spelling.”4 for example:“sun” and“son”,“to”,“too” and“two”. homophonic puns are produced by this kind of words. there are some examples:(1) seven days without water makes one weak. in this advertisement,“weak” sounds the same as“week”, but they are different in spelling and meanings. the pun has two meanings:“seven days is one week” and“seven days without water makes a human being week.” here it is a homophonic pun.(2)trust us. over 5000 ears of experience. this is an advertisement for some hearing aid. literally, it refers to the wide recognition of the product by the users. rhetorically,“ears” and“years” are homophones, meaning the product is of a long history and high quality. in this way, the advertisement adds more power in persuading consumers to buy this product.(3)everybody kneads(needs) it.5 this is an advertisement for pillsbury flour company. here,“kneads” and“needs” form the homophonic pun. they have the same pronunciation, but different meaning. the“kneads” used here enhances the confidence of this flour. and the interest is aroused easily. to sum up, the above rhetorical features at the phonetic and phonological level help a lot in forging the classic example among all the advertising speeches. it is very important that advertisements to be endowed with pleasing and moving rhymes. it could exaggerate atmosphere and express affections, thus to give us the first pleasant feeling and impression, and help us understand the meaning of the advertisement. the harmonious rhymes make advertisements charming. rhetorical devices in semanticsadvertising english language is a part of culture, and also is the cultural carrier. it reflects national characters. it is not only contains the background of history and culture, but also holds some opinions about life, life-way, and thinking-way. advertising english words and its meaning are also reflected by culture. as the semanticists properly remind us, the words in themselves have no value.,they are only symbols for things. only by skillful techniques can they be made into a substitute for the real thing, into a currency that can be easily transferred from person to person and has a standard of value known to all. in advertisement, the strategy of rhetoric can also be carried out through the deliberate use of rhetorical devices to take the place of straightforward style. they could arouse peoples boundless associations and aesthetic appeal, make people soak in dulcet mood, then gradually entice the consumers to make purchase. the following study mainly focuses on some forms of rhetorical devices in semantic.a. simile and metaphor a simile is a figure of speech“in which a similarity between two objects is directly expressed.” 6 similes are a way to describe something. advertisers use them to make their writing more interesting or entertaining.similes always using the words“as” or“like” to make the connection between the two things that are being compared. then make the advertising words more vividly.there are some examples in advertising english using the rhetorical device of simile, such as:(1)featherwater: light as a feather this advertisement describes most incisively the lightness of the“featherwater” spectacles by the use of a simile. almost everyone who is short-sighted once suffered a great deal from the heavy spectacle lens, so all can imagine the happiness brought about by spectacles light as a feather.(2)mom depends on kool-aid like kids depend on moms. this is an advertisement of tropicanaa kind of beverage of fruit juice. it aims to arouse the young mothers the desire to purchase. as known to everyone, how kids depend on moms. the advertiser successfully publicizes this product by use of simile.(3)its sound is as unique as its shape. its brakes are as unique as its engine. this is an advertisement of porsche, it emphasis that both porsches voice and appearance are unique. using the rhetorical devices of simile, there is no doubt that most consumers could remember its words and if they choosing a car, porsche may become their first choice. a metaphor is also a figure of speech in which a word or phrase that denotes a certain object or idea is applied to another word or phrase to imply some similarity between them. advertising english use metaphors normally for several reasons:first, metaphors can help listeners to better understand something about the object or idea to which the metaphor is being applied. and on the other hand, metaphors can make speaking and writing more lively and interesting. thirdly, metaphors can communicate a great deal of meaning with just a word or a phrase. at last, metaphors, because they imply rather than directly state relationships, can get listeners and readers to think about what they are hearing or reading. so, a metaphor is an imaginative way of describing something, by referring to something else, which has the quality that you are trying to express. there are some examples in advertising english using the rhetorical device of metaphor, such as:(1)ebel the architects of time in this advertisement, ebel is a brand watch from switzerland. as we all know, a famous saying goes like this“time is money”. and ebel is described as“the architects of time”. the value and the quality of the watch are fully implied in just the few words of a metaphor. no other words are needed.(2)pity the pickpockets! in this advertisement, we can get that different from simile, metaphor will give a imaginary space to readers or listeners. seeing this advertisement, people may ask why we should pity the pickpockets, through careful thinking, we can get that the design of the safety pocket makes thieves couldnt get money. this will help listeners to better understand about the object or idea.(3)kodak is olympic color. in this advertisement, the characteristics of kodak is displayed by the slogan of olympic games-swifter, higher, stronger, emphasizing the kodak superior performance, then make the advertising wordss more vividly. in advertising, metaphor is used to associate a product with a semantic domain which has positive connotations. advertisements containing visual metaphors deliver persuasive claims in visual modality and metaphorical style of rhetoric, both of which may increase the persuasiveness of messages. so, metaphors in advertisements are a powerful and compelling tool- they are not only enrich an advertisement, but also extend the meaning of a textual or visual message, creating multi-levelled layers of interpretation.b. personificationpersonification is a figure of speech in which inanimate objects or abstractions are endowed with human qualities or are represented as possessing human form. the use of personification in advertising will endow the product with human emotion, and make them amicable to consumers. for example:(1)oscar de la renta knows what makes women beautiful oscar de la renta is one kind of cosmetics for women. obviously, instead of introducing the advantage of the product directly, it uses the personification to attract all the women. by use of personification, the distance between women and this product seems much closer.(2)with 52 issues, theyll be thinking of you week after week. this is an advertisement for newsweek, with issues of the magazine being personified. the newsweek magazine is described vividly to“think of” the readers“week after week”, which contains such questions:“what about the readers?”“do they think of the magazine?”(3)flowers by interflora speak from the heart. in example(3), the advertiser use flowers to represent their heart. in fact, flower is a kind of plant, which cant have humans feeling. but here it can speak, just like us, making the advertisements more attractive, lively and touching, so that the special effect has achieved.personification in advertising turns the ice-cold products to be cordial and friendly and leaves people a vivid and real impression, thus easily stimulating people into action.c. punpunning is a rhetorical device which purposefully triggers two or more interpretations through the artful exploitation of homophony or homonymy. in other words,“to pun is to play on words, or rather to play with the form and meaning of words, for a witty or humorous effect.” advertisers deliberately employ puns since the first and perhaps the most important requirement of an advertisement is that it should attract and hold an audiences attention. because a pun takes longer to process, it sustains the attention of audiences over a period of time, and once comprehended, it is often remembered. solving a pun also can give rise to a pleasant feeling, springing from a kind of intellectual satisfaction. whats more, the wit, humor and aesthetic effect embodied in puns readily appeal to the audience and evoke their rich association. for example:(1) give your hair a touch of spring. the first example is an advertisement for shampoo. since the word“spring” has two basic meanings:“resilience” and“a beautiful season”, the advertisement gives us a fuzzy impression. but it draws a beautiful picture in our mind: when holding plies of fair with high resilience, you feel energetic and sunshine.(2) trust us. over 5000 ears of experience. this is an advertisement for some hearing aid. literally, it refers to the wide recognition of the product by the users. rhetorically,“ears” and“years” are homophones, meaning the product is of a long history and high quality. in this way, the advertisement adds more power in persuading consumers to buy this product.(3)the unique sprit of canada; we bottled it. example 3, the word“sprit” not only refers to“wine”, but also“energy”,“bottled” calls for boundless association: what is filled with is“wine” as well as canadian“great kindness”.as a kind of figure of speech, puns are widely used in many situations. by using puns, the language will full of humour and irony, and puns use concise and implicit language to express rich meanings, leaving people to think.d. contrastcontrast is comparison between unlike objects, which is used to show the difference. it can achieve the effect of clarifying the ideas of the speaker and stressing the good or bad properties of one to another. common things can be projected through contrast to achieve stronger effect. there are some examples in advertising english using the rhetorical device of contrast, such as:(1)outdoors the earth frozen to a 3-foot depth; indoors warm and cozy like spring. through the comparison of the two different situations, this electrical heater advertising enable people to bring warm heater in the cold feel