On the Use of Rhetoric in English Advertisement论修辞在英语广告中的应用.doc

论修辞在英语广告中的应用On the Use of Rhetoric in English Advertisement AbstractAdvertisement is a popular cultural phenomenon in peoples daily life It not only provides the information about products and stimulates the purchasing power but also enriches peoples ideological lifeRhetoric is one kind of important expressive device in language It refers to interpreting abstract and complex ideas or processes through simple and concrete methods Since rhetoric is full of imagination it can promote the transmission and communication of emotions and ideasRhetoric exists in writings with various styles especially in advertisements Rhetoric plays a very important role in English advertisement acting as a key element for the success of an advertisement The thesis based on the respective studies of the definition of advertisement and rhetoric makes a careful analysis of the use of main rhetorical devices in English advertisement including simile metaphor pun personification parallelism and rhyme targeting at promoting the further development of advertisementKey WordsEnglish advertisements rhetoric function 摘要广告是人们日常生活中最常见的一种文化现象不仅提供产品信息刺激购买力而且丰富人们的精神生活修辞是一种重要的语言表达手段是用简单具体且充满想象的方法将抽象复杂的思想或进程阐释出来能够促进情感的传递和思想的表达修辞存在于各种文体之中尤其在英语广告中起着极为重要的作用 是影响英语广告成败的关键 论文从分析广告及修辞的定义和功能出发认真研究了主要修辞手段在英语广告中的作用包括明喻暗喻双关拟人平行和押韵等修辞手段旨在推进广告的进一步发展和提高关键词英语广告 修辞 功能 IntroductionNowadays concerning with advertisement different people have different opinions For most of the people the distinct feature of advertisement is that advertisement is a combination of content and style That is to say a good advertisement not only has attraction in content but also has charm in style Obviously the determinative factor of a good or a bad advertisement is whether the use of rhetoric is appropriate or not It can be found that the use of rhetoric plays a very important role in advertisement Without the use of rhetoric absolutely there is no good advertisement Therefore it is necessary to make an analysis and study on this subjectThe whole thesis is concerned about the use of rhetoric in English advertisement and the thesis is divided into three parts The first part talks about the definition and function of advertisement The second part illustrates the definition and function of rhetoric The third part makes a carefully study on the use of main rhetorical devices in English advertisement such as simile metaphor pun personification parallelism and rhyme I AdvertisementAs for advertisement and products some people believe the successful selling of products cannot be separated from advertisement Advertisement keeps people informative about the price and function of products whats more advertisement can help to improve products brand awareness and its reputationA The Definition of AdvertisementAdvertisement is the nonpersonal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products services or ideas by identified sponsors through the various media Liu Xiuyu P3 2002 Advertisement has taken many different kinds of forms from ancient times At the beginning advertisement evolved to take a variety of forms and to permeate nearly every aspect of the society Advertisement devices include many kinds such as banners at sporting events billboards and Internet Web sites logos on clothing magazines newspapers radio spots and television commercials The people are overwhelmed by a lot of advertisements It is said that the individuals can expect to be exposed to more than 1200 different advertisement messages each day Therefore advertisements are popular in peoples daily lifeB The Function of AdvertisementEnglish advertisements can encourage competition guide consumption promote sales and transmit information For instance advertisement tells a consumer the information about a specific product brand or service and helps him or her to understand and evaluate the information Moreover by making people aware of products services and ideas advertisement promotes sales and profits Advertisement is one of the major forces that can help improve the standard of livingThe people no matter in urban or rural areas are overwhelmed by a lot of advertisements Advertisement makes peoples environments more colorful and vigorous Meanwhile it can also enrich peoples cultural life and transmit information which contributes to social and cultural prosperityII RhetoricRhetoric can be found in any forms of writingpoetry prose drama fictional and non-fictional writing advertisement The understanding about the definition and function of rhetoric is helpful for the use of rhetorical devicesA The Definition of RhetoricAristotle was one of the most famous thinkers and orators in Greek In his famous book Rhetoric rhetoric was defined as the art of persuasion Tang Yin P1 2004 Whereas John Locke the noted English philosopher of the latter part of the 17th century said that rhetoric was the science of oratory the art of speaking with elegance and force Tang Yin P1 2004 In present day the meaning of rhetoric has been extended Rhetoric assumes the following characteristics that is the elaborated and exaggerated language the art of using language effectively and persuasively the skills of using language effectively the structure of verbal communication B The Function of RhetoricRhetorical devices are variations of literal or ordinary forms of expressions Their function is to make the thought more striking and effective A fresh and suitable rhetorical device appeals to the imagination creates mental pictures and makes the speech or writing vivid impressive and interestingRhetorical devices can make language more vivid by using the simple words to express complex meanings By the use of rhetoric even abstract ideas can become concrete Rhetoric can make the modified subjects more prominent distinctive and specific By the use of rhetoric the language can give people more space to imagine Whereas without the use of rhetoric the language is boring and there is no vigor in the languageFor exampleLight as a breeze soft as a cloudIn the sentence the writer used a kind of rhetorical devicessimile Simile is a figure of speech in which two essentially unlike subjects are compared Simile often signals itself by like or as By using simile it helps the writer to better communicate with his readers It is easy for the readers to understand and remember the sentenceIII An Analysis of Rhetoric in English AdvertisementSeveral kinds of rhetorical devices are frequently used in advertisement and it is necessary to study them one by one by giving definitions and making illustrations All of the examples studied below are constrained within English advertisementsA SimileSimile is a way of comparing one thing with another of explaining what one thing is like by showing how it is similar to another thing and it signals itself in a text with the words as or like Hu ZhuanglinP2862001 A simile is made up of four parts the tenor the vehicle the comparing word and the ground The tenor is the subject of simile The vehicle is the thing compared to or the part transported The comparing word is the simile marker such as like as than as if similar to The ground is the common properties owned by the tenor and the vehicleFor exampleBreakfast without orange juice is like a day without sunshine Sun Yijuan This is an advertisement for orange juice It can be found that in this advertisement orange juice is the tenor and sunshine is the vehicle The word like signals that the advertisement makes use of the rhetoric devicesimile Thus by using simile the advertisement makes the products characteristic more vivid and lively If the orange juice really has such an effect the customers are eager to drink this kind of juice at breakfast Precisely this advertisement is a good example in simile craftsmanship It can not be imagined what the world will be look like without sunshine The importance of orange juice is no less than sunshine Since the significance of this kind of orange juice is so great nobody would refuse to drink it Thus this advertisement touches the customers heart and greatly promotes the sale of this kind of orange juiceAnother example Featherwater light as a feather Sun Yijuan This is an advertisement for Featherwater eye-glasses Featherwater is just a brand In this advertisement the tenor is the Featherwater eye-glasses and the vehicle is featherThe word as is the simile marker in the advertisement However the association between the tenor and the vehicle is hidden which means that even wearing a pair of Featherwater eye-glasses for a long time will not make eyes and noses out of shape The weight of the Feather eye-glasses is equal to the weight of a feather This advertisement can easily win the customers hearts For most of customers they can not help buying this kind of glass for it gives them such a good opportunity to enjoy the beautiful world In this advertisement the use of simile makes the hidden association between the tenor and the vehicle become clear to customers This advertisement successfully stimulates customers to buy the product In the process of illustrating the advertisement the force and the beauty of the advertisement can be appreciatedB MetaphorMetaphor can also transfer qualities from one thing to another There is a formal difference between metaphor and simile however in metaphor the word like or as do not appear A metaphor like a simile also has a comparison between two unlike elements but unlike a simile this comparison is implied rather than stated Hu ZhuanglinP2872001 Metaphor is not explicitly signaled so they are more difficult to identify For metaphor plays a quiet important role in advertisement to some extent it helps advertisement composers communicate with the customers more effectivelyIn metaphor one thing is directly compared to another thing without the markerlike or as Thus the relationship between them is implied in other words is unstated Therefore the use of metaphor makes the language more vivid and also makes the product it advertising more attractive Metaphor is a kind of rhetoric devices which is favored by most advertisement composersThe following is a good exampleYoud better off under umbrella Sun Yijuan This is an advertisement for a travel insurance agency In this advertisement umbrella refers to the travel insurance agency In the advertisement the vehicle is not stated In fact the vehicle is the staff of the Umbrella agency No matter it is raining or shining if the customers carry an umbrella with them the umbrella will be very useful to them for it protects them from being influenced by the bad weather In most peoples minds the word umbrella is always linked with safety and protection While the customers are traveling there are some unpredictable factors existing during their journey Just imagine that no matter what happens there are always someone waiting for customers listening to customers and comforting customers They are not anyone else and they are the staff of Umbrella By using metaphor the companys image is more vivid The advertisement would leave a deep impression on the customersC PunPun is the humorous use of a word or of words which are formal or sound alike but have different meaning in such a way as to play as two or more of the possible application Tang Yin P120 2004 There are many words in the English language which look or sound alike In all it can be divided into three kinds Homonymy refers to the phenomenon that words have different meanings but the same forms that is words are identical in sound or spelling but different in meaning On this occasion it can be divided into three kinds which are homophone homograph and complete homographs When two words are identical in sound they are homophone When two words are identical in spelling they are homograph When two words are identical in both sound and spelling they are complete homographsPun just takes advantage of these characteristics of language However it is not easy to make a successful and impressive pun in an advertisement Except for its own meaning the word used as a pun is usually closely related to the characteristics of a certain product or the brand name of a product Such coincidence doesnt occur often Here are several classic examples of puns used in advertisementsFor exampleIm more satisfied Liu Xiuyu P512004 This is an advertisement for the cigarettes of More Some people hold that pun is only a kind of literature game However in fact it is a traditional rhetoric device in advertisement By using pun advertisements will easily be remembered by the readers In addition filled with wit and humor puns help advertising products win favor from readers In this advertisement More not only refers to this kind of cigarette but also implies that this kind of cigarette can bring customers pleasure and a feeling of happiness and satisfaction The advertisement composer grasped the characteristics of this kind of product and made use of the rhetoric devicepun This advertisement has a strong humorous sense and attracts customers attention strengthening the effect of advertisements More satisfied means that this kind of cigarette can give customers more pleasure and happiness than the other kinds of cigarette Thus this advertisement makes a sharp comparison between its products and the other products By this kind of comparison the customer will choose this kind of cigarette undoubtedly It goes without saying that this advertisement sets a good example of using pun in English advertisementThe next coming advertisement is also an excellent advertisement in the fields of using pun in English advertisementFor exampleFrom sharp minds come sharp products Chen Chini This is an advertisement for Sharp typewriter It means that owing to sharp minds sharp products come into being In the sentence the word sharp has two levels of meaning The superficial meaning refers to sharp typewriter the deep meaning refers to those persons who design this kind of typewriter and those who use this kind of typewriter By using pun this advertisement effectively shortens the distance between the advertisement composer and the customers Under such kind of occasion the customers can not help buying this kind of productthe Sharp typewriter They can not resist the charm of Sharp typewriter since it exaggerates its product appropriately The advertisement makes the customers attention shift from other objects to Sharp typewriter in a short time This advertisement motivates the customers to buy Sharp typewriter What a magic power pun hasAnother good example is as the followingSpoil yourself and not your figure Sun Xiaoli P75 1995 This is an advertisement for ice-cream In the advertisement the meaning of spoil yourself is enjoying yourself to your hearts content Spoil not your figure means that the customers need not worry about their figures Absolutely eating this ice-cream will not make the customers become fat By using pun this advertisement successfully attracts customers attention and motivates them to buy the ice-cream This advertisement impresses the customers greatly English advertisement has the function of guiding consumption This advertisement gives the functions charm full play D PersonificationBy definition personification is a figure of speech that gives human form or feelings to animal or life and personal attributes to inanimate objects or to ideas and abstractions Feng CuihuaP1771995 Personification is one of the most frequently used rhetoric devices in English advertisement for it can greatly shorten the distance between the advertisement composer and customers creating a kind of harmonious atmosphere between them Undoubtedly advertisement composers will employ the rhetoric device in the English advertisementFor exampleFlower by Interflora speaks from the heart Liu Xiuyu P51 2004 This is an advertisement for Interfloa flower In this advertisement Interfola flower was personified by the advertisement composer The advertisement composer endows this kind of flower with life In most peoples minds only close friends speak to each other from the heart By using personification this advertisement makes the customers feel cordial This advertisement touches the customers hearts English advertisement has the function of promoting sales This advertisement gives the functions charm full play Undoubtedly the advertisement sets a good example in using personificationAnd there is another good example of using personification in advertisementShe has her own spirit and it graces everyone she comes near Sun Yijuan This is a piece of advertisement for perfume It can be found that this kind of perfume is personified in the advertisement In the advertisement she not only refers to those who favor this kind of perfume but also refers to the perfume itself By giving life to the product it can effectively shorten the distance between the advertisement composer and the customers making the customers feel more cordial Absolutely the advertisement will make the customers willing to buy the perfume The use of personification endows the advertisement with such magic powerAnother good example isHi I am Rusty JonesI am the one new car option you can buy that will actually appreciate in value I will stay with you winter and summer day and night no vacations not even a coffee breaksaving your car from rust And a rustfree car is always worth more Sun Xiaoli P73 1995 This is an advertisement for rust inhibitor This kind of rust inhibitor is produced by American Matex Company In this advertisement the advertisement composer named this kind of rust inhibitor Rusty Jones This kind of rust inhibitor is endowed with life by the advertisement composer By using personification this advertisement touches the customers he