Rhetorical Features of Advertising English.doc

rhetorical features of advertising englishabstract advertising is the art of language, which has distinctive linguistic characteristics. this paper analyzes the rhetorical characteristics of advertising english. it is a device to arouse consumers attention to a commodity and induce them to use it. in the increasingly keen competition of the market economy, advertising is an important means of scrambling for markets. the advertising english is a functional variant of modern english. as a special practical style, it has its own features in the creative design or in the use of words.in order to enhance the appeal of an advertisement, advertising writers pay much attention not only to such expressive devices as plates, color and the layout of a printed page, but also to the choice of words or phrases, to make an advertisement beautiful and attractive. in the practice of the advertising english, people pay more and more attention to the use of figures of speech to make every effort to make the advertising english succinct, accurate and vivid and to provide rich imagination and plentiful associations for readers so as to stimulate their desire.key words: advertisement; rhetorical devices;chapter1 introduction as a way of propagating and transmitting information ,the role of advertisements can not be underestimated because it is not only an artful technique in persuading people to buy, but also gradually has become a key tool for social communication which in turn influences on the development of society and economy. the purpose of this thesis is to study the linguistic features of advertising english, in the hope to help copywriters at home markets in their creating process. along with the rapid development of global economy, numerous colorful and fantastic english advertisements appear in current market. through careful analysis we can find that english advertisements have formed their own linguistic features. the designers usually employ the special rhetorical devices to make their advertisement becomes concise, lively and appealing. this thesis analyzes the linguistic features of english advertisement, from which it gets some inspirations for english advertising. with the development of social economic, advertising has penetrated everywhere of social life and become an essential part of daily life. the charming of advertisements largely comes from the language of advertising. as advertising english is characterized by unique rhetorical devices, this thesis presents an analytical study of the linguistic features in english advertisements at rhetorical levels. thus an analysis on the linguistic features of advertising english in the linguistic field is worthwhile.this thesis will be present in four chapters. the first chapter is an introduction to the whole thesis. the cores part of this thesis is chapter two and chapter three. in the second chapter ,the author will discuss the definition and classifications of the advertisement in this chapter. and in the third chapter, the author analyzes the linguistic features of advertising english at rhetorical levels. the last chapter is the conclusion part of this thesis. it is hoped that by studying the linguistic features of advertising english this thesis will be of some help in comprehending and translating english advertisements for those copywriters and advertising english learners. chapter 2 an introduction to advertisementwe will discuss the definition and classifications of the advertisement in this chapter.2.1 definitions of advertising from different perspectives or purposes, the definitions might also vary. in english, the word “advertise” has its origin in “advertere” in latin, meaning “to inform somebody of something”, “to bring into notice” or “to draw attention to something”, etc. in chinese, the equivalent term “广告” means “widely announce”. the father of modern advertising, albert lasker (1903) said that advertising was “salesmanship in print”. although the definition was given long before the advent of radio and television, and the nature and scope of advertising at that the ultimate objective of advertising is to sell. obviously it is not a working definition because we cannot use it to cover all advertisements. today, a widely quoted working definition of advertising was put forward by courtland l. bovee and william f. arens : advertising is the impersonal communication of information, usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature, about products (goods or services) or ideas by identified sponsors through various media. persuasive advertisements are thus the instruments used by advertisers who have defined their target audiences and determined the effect they hope to achieve through persuasive advertisements in the media. and a persuasive advertisements should try to persuade the potential customers to buy the new product. the persuasive function is not only limited to attracting the potential customer into buying a certain object, but also including the selling of services, ideas, norms and values. to summarize, we would get the idea that firstly advertising is a communication process. secondly, at least a medium is used. thirdly, this communication process has a definite purpose to convince the target audience. the above three characteristics suggest advertising is closely connected with the society, employing its media, interconnecting with its people and guiding their buying habit. also in achieving the advertising effect, the advertising language should be vivid and attractive, whose linguistic characteristics would be covered in the chapter 4. 2.2 classifications of advertisement online advertising is to update the rate of the fastest mode of advertising transmission. the spread of online advertising overcome time and space constraints. it is through the internet to advertise messages 24 hours a day and it is spread throughout the world. as long as the conditions have the internet, anyone anywhere can read. this is the traditional media can not be achieved. using online advertising, users can access the information they consider useful, manufacturers may also have ready access to valuable user feedback. the internet, better than any other medias ,give consumers more directly the ability to conduct interactive activities with the advertise tv advertising is the most extensive coverage mode of advertising transmission .tv sets are very popular around the world. survey shows that the ordinary american family daily tv time is more than seven hours . .and the following three types of families have longer tv time :there are families with children ,large families and families with cable tv .so tv advertising has a broad coverage ,it is close to life and it is an important part of consumption .tv advertising has high credibility .most of goods you look from tv advertising are true ,in most cases you will not be cheated .tv advertising is a emotional type media ,it has the strongest overall performance capabilities. newspaper advertising is the most traditional mode of advertising transmission ,and it is the most informative mode of transmission .newspaper ,as a comprehensive content of the media ,is based on text and pictures which transmit information .therefore, it is very descriptive ,and it can describe in detail. for some products with a higher degree of concern , using the newspaper description can inform consumers of the product characteristics. most newspapers have a long history, and organized by the party and government organs and departments so that newspapers has large influence and prestige in public .thus , advertisements in the newspaper tend to make consumers trust . radio advertising is really is really different from other advertisement. and maybe this advertisement is heard by the most people .not to mention other countries ,in china ,there are thousands of vehicles on the road everyday .so radio advertising is the most common form of entertainment for drivers and the passengers .for example ,a taxi driver should work on the car for more than six hours ,and he will almost stay in the car all time .when there is a passenger in the car, the person will listen to the radio too. so it was not excessive that radio advertising is heard by the most people . also there are many other vectors such as billboard advertising ,pone advertising ,wall advertising ,even somebody advertise by tattooing on the body .all the vectors, i think are derived from the four vectors mentioned in the text ,the difference is that they just work at their own fields .these vectors all have their own advantages ,we cannot compare them ,and we just can say that they use different ways to disseminate information .because of them ,update of world information has been faster ,what make the hole world become an union increasingly.chapter 3 rhetorical features of english advertisementthe frequent and wide use of figures of speech is an important characteristic of advertising english, which is an effective way to make the advertisement attractive. a figure of speech is an example of the figurative use of words, which produces a particularly rhetorical effect when people use the language creatively in a specified context. the use of figures of speech in advertisements aims at arousing and persuading consumers to buy what is advertised. and their proper use can make an advertisement sweet to the ear, and pleasing to both the eye and the mind. 3.1 hyperbole in the advertising englisha hyperbole is the deliberate use of overstatement or exaggeration to achieve emphasis. businessmen and manufacturers use the figure of speech to advertise their goods in as attractive a way as possible, so as to induce customers to buy their products, and thereby increase sales. when they describe their products in advertisements, it is not enough for them to say they are simply good, they must be perfect, spectacular, out-of-this-world, superb, fantastic, etc.example nobody cares for eyes more than pearl!here pearl is a glasses brand. it is obvious that the advertisement is exaggerated.3.2 personification in the advertising englishpersonification is a figure of speech that gives life and personal attributes to inanimate objects. in the advertising english, a personification gives life or personal attribute to commodity, and makes the commodity advertised full of feelings so as to strengthen its affinity.example: to the ends of the earth, and to the top of the world. only two of us have made it. . its the only thing thats been on all the trips with me and its never once let me down. the advertisement personifies the product advertised, a kind of watch. the use of the word us makes both the human and the watch become human beings, accompanying each other.3.3 pun in the advertising english a pun is a rhetorical way in which people use the polysemous, or homonymous relation of a language to cause a word, a sentence or a discourse to involve two things or two meanings. a pun makes words implicit, humorous, conspicuous, and it can arouse peoples association, which will make a deep impression on consumers.example shes the nimblest girl around. nimble is the way she goes. nimble is the bread she eats. light, delicious, nimble.in this advertisement, the word nimble as an adjective means clever, and as a proper noun, it is also the name of the product. so it has two meanings, forming a pun, which can arouse consumers buying desire.3.4 metaphor in the advertising english a metaphor is a figure which also makes a comparison between two unlike elements, but this comparison is implied rather than stated.2p166-167 so it differs from a simile in form and artistry. it is in a sense a condensed simile. the proper use of a metaphor in an advertisement can make the advertising words vivid. through the figurative comparison of the advertised product or service with the thing with similar feature, the characteristic of the product or service is vividly stressed, and it is easily understood and remembered by consumers.example: fresh food and fresh air. the perfect recipe for a healthy life. ive chosen. its candy.in the advertisement of the refrigerator, fresh food and fresh air is compared to the perfect recipe for a healthy life, which is lively and vivid.3.5 metonymy in the advertising english a metonymy is a figure of speech that has to do with the substitution of the name of one thing for that of another. this substituted name may be an attribute of that other thing or be closely associated with it. in other words, it involves a change of name, the substituted name suggesting the thing meant. it is a very useful and effective rhetorical device, for it compresses much into a single word or a short noun phrase. writers of advertisements use the figure of speech frequently, because a metonymy can express briefly and effectively what would otherwise require a whole clause or sentence. brevity, vividness and concreteness are its chief virtues.example laurent beaute invites you to discover his new collection of collor elicate corals, pinks and peaches for lips; matte, muted earthy neutrals for eyes .in this advertisement, all the nouns of colour are metonymies, and they are used to refer to cosmetics of different colours.3.6 alliteration in the advertising englishalliteration is a figure of speech in which the same sound or sounds appear at the beginning of two or more words that are next to or close to each other. alliteration can make advertising words rhythmic and pleasing to the ear. the figure of speech usually makes people love the advertisement at first sight. in the advertisement it is used to strengthen the effects of the adverting words and the appeal of the advertisement.example: sea, sun, sand, seclusion-and spain. you can have this when you visit the new hotel.reading the advertisement, people will promptly call to mind the beautiful scenery of sunshine, a sandy beach and rough sea. so they will be attracted easily by the advertisement. the words sea, sun, sand, seclusion describe a vast expanse of sea, the bright sun, a beautiful sandy beach and quiet villas, and whats more, the repetition of the initial letter of the words s - alliteration, makes people feel that sea breeze is stroking their faces, that the sea tide is singing and that lovers are murmuring; because the coherent sound makes a smooth and continuous reading.3.7 rhyme in the advertising englishrhyme is the use of words that end with the same sound as each other. the purpose of this rhetorical device is to obtain the effects pleasant to the ear. in has the same lasting and strong appeal as an alliteration, because it makes people easy to read. example spend a dime, save you time.this advertisement of an electrical appliance uses the dime and time rhyme to tell the reader cleverly that the appliance can help him save time and that time is money.3.8 antithesis in the advertising englishantithesis is a figure of speech, which uses the same or similar structure to express two opposite ideas so as to achieve the effects of emphasizing the meaning and the contrast. the figure has the characteristics of harmonious combination of sound and rhyme, balanced syllables, sharp rhythm and compendiousness. the combination of pleasant senses of vision and hearing often stimulates the good feelings of readers and arouses consumers buying desire.example warehouse clearance. their loss, your gain.one mans disaster is another mans delight. the sale is now on.the writers of these two advertisements use cleverly the figure of speech antithesis to catch readers attention and arouse their curiosity.3.9 parallelism in the advertising englishparallelism means the parallel presentation of two or more than two similar or relevant ideas in similar structural forms. the structure of the figure gives you a beautiful sense of balance, and its sound gives you a beautiful sense of rhythm. parallelism can help you express your strong feelings easily, emphasize the words and strengthen the beauty of the metre. these rhetorical characteristics are in agreement with the advertising prominence, persuasiveness and appreciativeness. so parallelism is often used in english advertisements.example earth is a person to be cared for.earth is a home to be managed.earth is a ball to be played with.earth is a pad for spaceships.earth is an eye watching us.this advertisement includes 4 parallel sentences of similar structure. the subject, link verb and indefinite article used in each sentence are the same, and the whole advertisement is well organized, with the rhythm sharp and the idea conveyed smoothly. 3.10 repetition in the advertising englishrepetition is a rhetorical device of using some words or sentences naturally and repeatedly to stress an important message 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.example monita, fine