Application of the KISS Rule in Advertising English.doc

Application of the KISS Rule in Advertising English AcknowledgementsFirst and foremost, my deepest gratitude and respect go to my supervisor, Professor Wu Xiaoyu. It is for his constant encouragement, great care and invaluable advice and suggestions that this paper appears in the present form.I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to Prof. Luo Guoliang, Prof. Lu Naisheng, Prof. Huang Yuanshen, Prof. Xu Yaqin, Prof. Xie Yi, Prof. Zhu Peifen and all other teachers who gave me lectures during the past two academic years. Finally, my appreciation goes to my beloved parents and to the rest of my family. Throughout the development of this paper, they have been there always giving me continuous support, encouragement and understanding. AbstractAdvertising is something that we are all exposed to everyday. It is also something that is likely to affect us in a number of different spheres of our lives. Advertising takes many forms, in most of which, however, language is of crucial importance. To sell commodities or increase sales is the ultimate goal of advertising, which decides that its language should be simple and sweet. Thus a comprehensive analysis on the linguistic features of advertising English is worthwhile.The whole paper is divided into six chapters. The first chapter is an introduction of the study background as well as the methods of research employed in this paper.The second chapter traces back the origin of advertising and covers the definitions, classifications, functions, objectives, elements and the KISS rule of advertising.The following three chapters respectively analyze the lexical, syntactic, and rhetoric features of advertising English. It is based on the employment of various devices under these features that the KISS rule is effectively applied to advertising.The third chapter is a description of the lexical features of advertising English, including the utilization of monosyllabic, laudatory and comparative adjectives, monosyllable and forceful verbs, refined nouns, pronouns, compounds and intentionally misspelled words. The appropriate wording is conducive to catching the publics attention, arousing their curiosity, and eventually building up in their mind a good image of the advertised product and producer alike. The fourth chapter describes the syntactic features of advertising English. A lot of imperative and interrogative sentences and minor clauses are used in advertising English, so that English advertisements are made simple, direct, persuasive and more readable. As a result, the advertising message can be conveyed to the audience more powerfully and vividly.In the fifth chapter, the writer explores the characteristics of the rhetorical devices in advertising at the phonetic, lexical and syntactical levels and tries to find out how the persuasive effect of advertisements is achieved. The last chapter, the conclusion, briefly describes how the KISS rule can be effectively applied to advertising English by means of lexical, syntactic and rhetorical approaches.It is hoped that by studying the linguistic features of advertising English this paper will be of some help in comprehending and translating English advertisements for those who are working in this field.Key words: Advertising Advertising English KISS rule Linguistic features内容提要广告在我们今天的社会几乎是无孔不入，它的传播介质多种多样，包括报纸、杂志、电视、广播、网络等等。虽然广告有多种表现形式，但语言是广告的精髓部分，是最能打动人心的部分。广告具有鲜明的目的性，即说服顾客进行购买，这种目的性决定了其语言的特色性风格：简洁甜美，因此广告很值得在语言学的范畴内研究。本文解释了广告语言应遵循的KISS规则，分析了如何利用词汇、句子和修辞方法将这一规则应用到广告英语中，指出了广告英语的语言特色。文中引用了大量的英语广告实例，验证了作者所提出的广告英语的语言特征。本文共分为六部分：第一部分为引言，介绍了研究背景以及研究方法。第二部分追溯了广告的起源，对广告的定义、分类、作用、目的、组成要素及广告创作中应遵循的KISS规则做了简单概要。接下来的三部分分别从词汇、句法和修辞角度分析了KISS规则如何在广告英语中得以应用。第三部分描述了广告英语的词汇特色。分析了形容词、动词、名词、代词、合成词以及特殊拼写的词在广告英语中的应用。第四部分描述了广告英语的句法特色。广告英语中使用了大量的祈使句、疑问句和简短句，加强了广告的可读性与可听性，引起读者的注意并留下较深的印象。第五部分分别从语音、词汇和句法角度介绍了广告英语中所使用的修辞手段，这些修辞手段的使用能吸引读者的注意力，使广告语言变得更受消费者的欢迎，从而使广告产品建立起受人欢迎的形象。最后一部分即结论部分简单总结了广告英语所使用的词汇、句法、修辞等方法，这些方法的使用使KISS规则在广告英语中得以贯彻。作者希望通过本文能够对理解，欣赏，创作和准确地翻译英文广告起到一定的帮助作用。关键词:广告 广告英语 KISS规则 语言特点ContentsAcknowledgementsAbstract内容提要1. Introduction11.1 Study Background11.2 Approaches of Research22. A Brief Survey of Advertising32.1 History of Advertising32.2 Definitions of Advertising42.3 Classifications of Advertising62.4 Functions of Advertising82.5 Objectives of Advertising102.6 Elements of Advertising112.7 The KISS Rule in Advertising113. Lexical Approach133.1 Use of Monosyllabic, Laudatory and Comparative Adjectives133.2 Use of Monosyllabic and Forceful Verbs163.3 Use of Refined Nouns173.4 Use of “You” and “Your”193.5 Use of Compounds203.6 Use of Intentional Misspellings224. Syntactic Approach254.1 Utilization of Imperative Sentences254.2 Utilization of Interrogative Sentences274.3 Utilization of Minor Clauses305. Rhetorical Approach325.1 Phonetic Rhetoric325.1.1 Onomatopoeia335.1.2 Alliteration345.1.3 Rhyme365.2 Lexical Rhetoric375.2.1 Metaphor385.2.2 Simile395.2.3 Metonymy405.2.4 Pun415.2.5 Personification455.2.6 Irony465.2.7 Parody475.2.8 Euphemism505.3 Syntactical Rhetoric525.3.1 Inversion525.3.2 Repetition535.3.3 Parallelism565.3.4 Contrast586. Conclusion60Bibliography621. Introduction1.1 Study Background English has become a language most widely used in the contemporary world. In almost all the international areas covering human activities, e.g. the United Nations conference, import and export trading, scientific and cultural exchanges, English plays an important role that cannot be substituted by any other languages. Just because English is widely used in the world, the population of English learners all over the world has been increasing in great numbers year by year. Meanwhile linguists of various countries have been attaching great importance to the study of the English language. Studying English from the perspective of stylistics has become a popular trend of contemporary English research. As we know, the use of any language is closely related to social activities people engage in. That is why the English language has been classified into English for law, English for science and technology, journalistic English, advertising English, etc. Different uses of the language have resulted in different lingual styles. Therefore, English used for any specific purpose has its uniquely distinctive stylistic features. Advertising English, which is established as an independent style, cannot be separated from the vigorous development of English advertising in western countries. In Great Britain and the United States of America, advertising industry has a history of several hundred years from its birth to its present prosperity. During the long course of development, the relevant theories and techniques employed in advertising industry have been continuously improving and, as a result, the number of various successful advertisements is now beyond counting indeed. With Chinas entry into the WTO, our domestic market must be opened up to foreign manufacturers. In order to help our domestic producers better compete with their foreign counterparts in both home and overseas markets, we must take positive publicity offensive for our domestic products. Under such circumstances, a comprehensive study on the linguistic features of advertising English is of great realistic importance.1.2 Approaches of ResearchThe author of this thesis tries to study advertising language in linguistic perspectives and employs the following two approaches: the analytic method, by which to examine advertising English and its linguistic features; and the paradigmatic method, by which to exemplify specific cases for the illustration of the described features.2. A Brief Survey of AdvertisingNowadays advertising has penetrated into every aspect of our life. They may smile to us from the television screen, shout to us from the radio loudspeakers, wave invitingly to us from every page of newspapers and magazines, pluck at our sleeves on the buses and escalators, signal to us from roadside billboards and flash to us on the Internet. We are exposed, so to speak, to the sea of advertising.However, have you ever been asked “what is advertising?” or “how much do you know about advertising?” The following parts will give you some ideas about advertising.2.1 History of AdvertisingAdvertisement emerged from the womb of commodity production and exchange. The condition for the existence of advertising is “at least a segment of the population must live above the subsistence level”. When this situation occurs, it also becomes necessary for “the producers of materially unnecessary goods to do something to make people want to acquire their commodities.”1 Torben Vestergaard and Kim Schroder, The Language of Advertising (New York: Basil Blackwell Inc., 1985), p. 4.1The embryonic form of advertising in the world is street cries, which exist even today. Advertising was not unknown in ancient Greece and Rome, but advertising as we recognize did not start until the seventeenth century in the West. It was at about this time that newspapers began to circulate. Before that, it is printing, which was invented in China and then introduced to the West, that played a vital role in the development of print advertising. “Classified” (small advertisements) types of advertising were dominant before the nineteenth century and the style and language used in advertisements at that time tended to be direct and informative. The Industrial Revolution, which began in England in the mid-1700s and spread later to the United States, fueled mass production of goods. Meanwhile advertising became more and more important in the industrial market. The great breakthrough for advertising came only in the late nineteenth century, when technology and mass-production techniques were sufficiently developed for more firms to be able to turn out products of roughly the same quality and at roughly the same price. This brought on a crisis of over-production and under-consumption, which meant that the market demand had to be stimulated artificially. It was at this time that advertisers found it necessary to shift the function of advertising from proclamation to persuasion. In the twentieth century, advertising developed rapidly alongside the advent of new mediaradio, television and Internet in succession.2.2 Definitions of AdvertisingAdvertising means different things to different people. But to almost everyone of the public, it is a source to get information about commodities or services they are to require. So advertising can be best defined from the standpoint of those who use it and pay for it.The following are several authoritative definitions of advertising:Advertising consists of media message paid for and signed by a business firm or institution that wishes to increase the probability that those reached by these messages will behave or believe as the advertiser wishes them to behave or believe.2 William M. Weilbacher, Advertising (New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1979), p. 1.2Advertising is any controlled form of nonpersonal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services by an identified sponsor that is used to inform and persuade the selected market.3 William H. Bolen, Advertising (New York: John Wiley&Sons, 1981), p. 1.3Advertising presents the most persuasive possible selling message to right prospects for the product or service at the lowest possible cost.4 Frank Jefkins, Advertising (Plymouth: Macdonald and Evans Ltd., 1985), p. 3.4Advertising is the nonpersonal communication of information, usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature, about products (goods and services) or ideas by identified sponsors through various media.5 Courtland L. Bove and William F. Arens, Contemporary Advertising 5th Ed (Boston: Irwin, 1994), p. 6.5 Advertising is a paid, mass-mediated attempt to persuade.6 Thomas C. OGuinn et al, Advertising (Cincinnati: South-Western College Publishing, 1998), P. 6.6Although the expressions in the above statements are quite different, there is something in common in them.i. Advertising reaches us through channels of communication referred to as media (such as radio, TV, newspaper, magazine, billboard or computer).ii. Advertising is nonpersonal; it is directed to groups of people rather than individuals. These groups might be teenagers who enjoy popcorn or grown-ups who care about the index of Nasdaq Stock Market.iii. Most advertising is paid for by sponsors. Sponsors, such as Pepsi, SIEMENS and General Motors, pay for the time and the space they use to get their message across. However, there are some exceptions, such as the advertisements of the International Red Cross, which are presented by the media at no charge. These non-profit and political advertisements are only intended to popularize an idea, an attitude, a viewpoint and a social cause.iv. Advertising is intended to be persuasive. The fundamental role of advertising is to enhance brand awareness and win converts to the products. The message has the explicit purpose of increasing sales through persuasion. The sponsor of advertising is identified. Actually, in most cases the prime purpose behind advertisements is to help identify the sponsor. In addition to promoting tangible products, advertising is also used extensively to help sell services and increasingly to sell a wide variety of ideas: economic, political, religious and social.2.3 Classifications of AdvertisingAdvertising can be classified according to the following criteria:i. By ultimate goal. Based on this criterion, advertising can be classified into commercial and non-commercial. As is stated above, non-commercial advertising is not for the purpose of making profit. The majority of advertising is commercial, which is intended, of course, to make profit.ii. By target audience. By this criterion, advertising is categorized into consumer advertising and business advertising. Consumer advertising is designed to reach anyone who does not remake or resell a product, or more specifically, the ultimate consumer. On the other hand, however, business advertising is directed to industrial users (steel advertised to automobile manufacturers), resellers and professionals.iii. By medium. In this case, advertising falls into two categories: print advertising which appears in newspapers, magazines, etc; broadcast advertising which appears over TV, radio, etc.iv. By appeal model. Appeal models in the language of advertising refer to the ways to persuade. There are two categories: rational appeal and emotive appeal, which are also called hard-sell advertisements and soft-sell advertisements respectively. By rational appeal, the advertisement persuades not by appealing to the emotions of the potential consumers but by listing hard factsdetailed or specific information, such as quality, convenience, workmanship, effects etc., whereas to soft-sell, the resorts mainly to appealing to emotional motives so the language of such advertisement concentrates not on facts but on creating a mood, evoking a desire or satisfying a wish. Nowadays, very few advertisements are strictly hard-sell. Most are a combination of the two.The major concern of this thesis is the commercial consumer advertising in newspapers and magazines, both of which are print advertisements, and have a broad reach (great number of readers). The sample advertisements collected from the popular magazines and newspapers are for the products and services needed in the life of the ordinary consumers. Some of the products or services are brought about by or related to modern technologies, such as personal computers (PC), vehicles, telecommunication services, etc. Some are consumer goods including watches, stationery, toothpaste, etc. Some others are used to satisfy human needs and desires directly, such as food, clothing, drink, cigarettes, cosmetics, etc.2.4 Functions of AdvertisingAdvertising is both applauded and criticized for its role in selling products and its influence on society. For years, critics have condemned advertising for a wide range of sins. Some are real, and some imagined. Anyhow, advertising does play a critical role in both reflecting and shaping our society. Although the first aim of the advertisement is to sell products, its function does not stop there. In practice, that is where it starts. Basically, advertising fulfills five functions as follows:The Marketing Function. Along with public relations and personal selling, advertising is one of the vehicles employed by a business to communicate with its customers. It serves as a marketing instrument by helping companies to sell their products or services. Although advertising is only one element in a companys overall promotional program, it is the most visible.7 William Wells et al, Advertising: Principles and Practice (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1989), P. 9.7 By means of advertising, a business conveys its sales intent and consumption concept to customers. Thus, consumers have a wide range of choices.The Economic Function. There are two major schools of thought concerning the effects of advertising on economy, i.e. the market power school and the market competition school. According to the market power school, advertising is a persuasive communication tool used by marketers to distract consumers attention from the price of the product. In contrast, the market competition school sees advertising as a source of information that increases consumers price sensitivity and stimulates market competition.Act