AN ANALYSIS OF LANGUAGE FEATURES IN ENGLISH A

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摘要本文旨在通过对书面英语广告的语言分析总结出广告英语在词汇﹑句法﹑篇章上的语言特点。为了使研究从数据出发得出科学结论，本文作者建立了一个拥有60篇各类广告的小型语料库。通过对此语料库中日用品广告﹑科技设备广告﹑服务业广告的深入细致的定量和定性分析，总结出广告英语在此三类广告中的相同点与不同点，并且根据语言的意义，风格及功能解释广告英语的共性以及广告英语在不同类型广告中的特殊性。

本文共分五个部分，第一部分和第五部分分别为介绍与总结，中间三个部分为本文核心，分别展开广告英语在词汇﹑句法﹑篇章三个层面的分析。本文的结论均来自于对语料库的分析。整个研究从数据出发，由数据驱动，由此进行语言学上的分析与概括。

本文作者衷心希望此论文的分析结果能给英语广告的写作者以及广告英语的学习者提供帮助。

关键词:广告英语，词汇，句法，篇章，相同点，不同点

ANANALYSISOFLANGUAGEFEATURESINENGLISHADVERTISEMENTS

Abstract

ThispaperpresentsananalyticalstudyofthelanguagefeaturesofEnglishadvertisementsatlexical,syntacticanddiscourselevels.Inordertoconductadata-drivenstudy,theauthorbuildsacorpusof60Englishadvertisements.Itishopedthatthroughthedetailedsurveyofthreetypesofadvertisements:namely,dailyconsumergoodsads,technicalequipmentads,serviceads,similaritiesanddifferencesinadvertisinglanguagefeaturescanbesummarizedandpossiblereasonswillbegiveninthelightofthemeaning,andfunctionoflanguage.

Thispaperwillbepresentedinfiveparts.Thefirstpartistheintroductionandthelastconclusion.Thefocusofthepaperislaidonthethreemiddlepartswhichrespectivelyanalyzelanguagefeaturesatlexical,syntacticanddiscourselevels.Theconclusionofthispaperisdrawnfromthedataanalysis.Intheanalysis,examplesfromthecorpuswillbegiven;figures,tablesandgraphswillalsobeofferedtomakethepaperunderstandableandpersuasive.

ItishopedthatthestudycanshedlightonthelanguagefeaturesofadvertisementsandalsoprovidehelptocopywritersandadvertisingEnglishlearners.

KEYWORDS:EnglishAdvertisements,Lexical,Syntactic,Discourse,

Similarities,Differences

Contents

1.Introduction………………………………………………………………1

1.1Rationaleofthestudy……………………………………………………...1

1.2Definitionofadvertising…………………………………………………...1

1.3Focusofthepresentstudy…………………………………………………1

1.4Sourcesofdata…………………………………………………………….2

2.Lexicalfeatures……………………………………………………………2

2.1Classificationofadvertisinganditsaudience……………………………..2

2.2Similaritiesatthelexicallevel…………………………………………….3

2.2.1Fewverbsareused………………………………………………………...3

2.2.2Useofemotivewords……………………………………………………..4

2.2.3Makepunandalliteration………………………………………………….4

2.2.4Useofweaselwords……………………………………………………….5

2.3Differencesatthelexicallevel…………………………………………….6

2.3.1Genderidentityinadvertisements………………………………………….6

2.3.2SelectionofAdjectives……………………………………………………7

2.3.3Compoundwords………………………………………………………….8

2.3.4Useofpronouns……………………………………………………………8

3.Syntacticalfeatures………………………………………………………9

3.1Similarities…………………………………………………………………9

3.2Differences…………………………………………………………………10

3.2.1Headlines…………………………………………………………………..10

3.2.2Comparisonofheadlinesofdifferenttypesofads………………………...11

4.Discoursefeatures...………………………………………………………..12

4.1Bodycopyofadvertisements……………………………………………...12

4.2Differencesinbodycopy…………………………………………….12

5.Conclusion…………………………………………………………………14

Acknowledgement

SincerethanksgotoDr.WeiNaixingforhisinsightfulguidanceandearnesthelpallthroughthesearching,analysisandpaper-writingstages.

TheauthoralsowantstoextendherthankstoMs.LindaFrostwhohasgivenmuchhelpindatacollecting.

[1]Bolinger,Dwight&Sears,DonaldA.AspectsofLanguagethirdedition

NewYork:HarcourtBraceJovanovich1981

[2]Bovee,CourtlandL.&Arens,WilliamF.ContemporaryAdvertisingforthedition

Homewood,IL:Irwin1992

[3]Gove,PhilipBabcockWebster’sThirdNewInternationalDictionary

Springfield,Mass.:G.&C.MerriamCo.1976

[4]Gregory,MichaelLanguageVarietiesandTheirSocialContexts

London:Routledge&KeganPaulLtd.1981

[5]Jefkins,FrankWilliamAdvertisingPhiladelphia,PA:MacdonaldandEvans1985

[6]O’Donnell,W.R.&Todd,LoretoVarietyinContemporaryEnglish

London:GeorgeAllen&Unwin(Publishers)Ltd.1985

[7]Roberts,WilliamH.&Turgeon,GregoireAboutLanguagesecondediton

Boston:HoughtonMifflinCo.1989

[8]Vestergaard,Torben&Schrder,KimThelanguageofAdvertising

Oxford[Oxfordshire];NewYork,NY,USA:B.Blackwell1985

[9]方薇《现代英语广告教程》南京大学出版社1997

[10]崔刚，韩宝成，李营，《广告英语》北京理工大学出版社1993

1.Introduction

1.1Rationaleofthestudy

Weliveinaworldofadvertising.Aspotentialconsumers,weareendlesslybombardedwithallkindsofproductorserviceinformationfromvariousmediaincludingnewspapers,magazines,television,radio,postersandInternet,etc.Advertisingprovidesavaluableservicetosocietyanditsmembers,becauseitdefinesforconsumersthemeaningandtheroleofproducts,services,andinstitutions.Itindicatesthedifferencethatexistsbetweenbrandsofproductsandalternativeservices,aswellasthedistinguishingcharacteristicsofcompaniesandinstitutions.Advertisingalsotellstheconsumerwhataspecificproduct,brandorserviceshoulddowhenitisusedandthushelpshimorhertounderstandandevaluateexperiencewiththeproductsandservicesthatheorsheuses.Ontheotherhand,bymakingpeopleawareofproducts,serviceandideas,advertisingpromotessalesandprofits.Finally,binedwithallthesecommunicational,marketingandsocialfunctions.Advertisingbecomesindispensableinthemodernworld.

Naturally,advertisementsinEnglishhavebecomeanimportantmeansofcommunicatingideas,demonstratingavarietyoflinguisticfeaturesofitsown.Thepresentstudyattemptstoexaminethesefeaturesatthelexical,syntacticanddiscourselevels,inthehopeofbringingthemtolightand,thereby,offeringhelptoadvertisementwritersandlanguagelearners.

1.2Definitionofadvertising

AccordingtotheDefinitionCommitteeofAmericanMarketingAssociation(方薇,1997:2)

,advertisingisdefinedasfollows:

Advertisingisthenonpersonalcommunicationofinformationusuallypaidforandusuallypersuasiveinnatureaboutproducts,servicesorideasbyidentifiedsponsorsthroughthevariousmedia.

1.3Focusofthepresentstudy

Usually,advertisingcommunicatesinformationinthreetypes:audio,visual,andlanguage.Itisamorecommoncasethatanadvertisementisamixtureofthethree.Inradioadvertisements,musicisalwaysaccompaniedbylanguage;onTVandmotionpictures,musicandlanguageillustrationaremixedwitheachother.Inmagazinesandnewspapers,advertisementsareacombinationofpicturesandlanguageofwritteninformation.Althoughmusicandpicturescanprovidesomehints,orcreateakindofatmosphere,theinformationabouttheproductislimited.Evenworse,itmayleadtomisunderstanding.Thus,wemaysaythatlanguageinawayprovidesmoreexact,detailedanddependableinformationwhereasmusicandpicturesonlyactasasupplementarymeansinadvertising.Advertisinglanguage,playingaroleofcommunicationandpersuasion,hasdevelopeditsownfeatures.

ThispaperwillfocusonthelanguagefeaturesofEnglishadvertisementsatlexical,syntacticanddiscourselevels.Itishoped,byacontrastivestudyofadvertisementsonthreetypesofproducts(dailyconsumergoods,technicalequipmentandservice),similaritiesanddifferencesofthethreetypesofadvertisementswillbesummarizedandpossiblereasonswillbegiveninthelightofthemeaning,andfunctionoflanguage.

1.4Sourcesofdata

AlltheadvertisementsstudiedinthispaperaretakenfromEnglishmagazines.TheyarechosenfromTime,PeopleandNewsweek(issuesfrom1999-2000),becausethesethreemagazineshaveahugecirculation,coveringallkindsofaudience.Almostallkindsofadvertisementscanbefoundinthesemagazines.Inordertogetvaluableinformationforthestudy,acorpusof60advertisementswasbuilt,whichconsistsof20dailyconsumergoodsads,20technicalequipmentads,and20serviceads.Conclusionswillbedrawnthroughquantitativeandqualitativestudiesofthedata.

2LexicalFeatures

2.1Classificationofadvertisinganditsaudience

Generallyspeaking,advertisementscanbedividedintotwotypes:publicrelationadsandcommercialads.Theformertriestoadvocatereputationforasocialgroup,mercialadsaremuchmorepresentedthroughmassmediaforthereasonthatmanufacturersandcompaniesarewillingtospendalargesumofmoneytomakeacertainproductknownortoboosttheimageofacertainbrand.Insomecases,competitors,likeCoca-colaandPerpsi,mercialadvertisingcanalsobedividedaccordingtothetargetaudienceintotwogroups:consumeradvertisingandbusinessadvertising.Mostoftheadsinthemassmediaareconsumeradvertisements.Theyaretypicallydirectedatconsumers.Bycontrast,businessadvertisingtendstobeconcentratedinspecializedbusinesspublications,professionaljournals,tradeshowstargetingatacertaingroupofpeopleinvolvedinsomebusiness.Sinceconsumeradvertisingismostaccessibletocommonpeople,thepresentstudyonwillfocusonconsumeradvertising.Theclassificationofadvertisingisclearlyshowninthefollowinggraph

Graph1Classificationofadvertisements

PublicadsDailyconsumergoodsads

AdvertisingConsumeradsTechnicalequipmentads

Commercialads

BusinessadsServiceads

Theboldpartsshowthescopeofadvertisementswestudy.Dailyconsumergoodsarenecessitiesofdailylife,suchasfood,detergent,hygiene,etc.Technicalequipmentistechnicaltoysandelectricequipmentsuchascamera,vehicle,hi-fi,etc.Servicecoversbank,insurance,fund,etc.

Actually,advertisingworkseffectivelysomeofthetimeanddoesn’tworkothertimes.Thesinglecrucialreasonthatadvertisingdoesnotworkisthatinspecificinstancestheinformationitconveysneverreachestheconsumeratall,orisjudgedbytheconsumertobeeitherredundant,meaningless,orirrelevant.Forexample,amotorbikeadvertisementwillprobablybeinvisibletohousewivesonthelookoutfornewcutlery.Socialstatusandindividualinterestdecidethatconsumergoodsadsaremainlytargetingatwomenwhiletechnicalequipmentadsarelargelyaimingatmen.Theamountofsharedknowledgebetweentheadvertiserandtheaudiencetogetherwiththethinkinghabitoftheaudiencedirectlyinfluencestheadvertisinglanguage.Sinceproductsandaudiencechangeineveryadvertisementinordertoachievehighadvertisingeffectiveness,languageuseddiffersindifferenttypesofadvertisements.Thus,inthispaperwediscussnotonlythesimilaritiesoflanguagesharedbyalltypesofadvertisementsbutalsodifferencesoflanguageusedindifferentkindsofadvertisements.

2.2Similaritiesatthelexicallevel

Inordertomaketheinformationaccessibletoaudienceeffectively,thechoiceofwordsinadvertisingisverycautiousandskillful.Theaimoftheadvertiserisquitespecific.Hewishestocapturetheattentionofthemembersofamassaudienceandbymeansofimpressivewordstopersuadethemtobuyaproductorbehaveinaparticularway,suchasgoingtoHawaiiforalltheirholidayneeds.Bothlinguisticandpsychologicalaspectsaretakenintoconsiderationinthechoiceofwords.Sharingthesamepurposeofadvertising－tofamiliarizeorremindconsumersofthebenefitsofparticularproductsinthehopeofincreasingsales,thetechniquesusedatthelexicallevelbyadvertisersdonotvarymarkedly.Thefollowingpointsaresomeprominentsimilarities.

2.2.1Fewverbsareused

G.N.Leech,Englishlinguist,lists20mostusedverbsinhisEnglishInAdvertising:LinguisticstudyofAdvertisingInGreatBritain(方薇,1997:20).Theyare:make,get,give,have,see,buy,come,go,know,keep,look,need,love,use,feel,like,choose,take,start,taste.

Alltheseverbslistedabovearealsopopularinthecorpuswebuilt.

Youwilloftenreadsuchsentencesinanadvertisement:

Buyx.Useit.Wemake…Xwillgiveyouwhatyouneed.You’lllovex.Getx.Foxexample:

We’llmakethisquick.(HertzCarReturn)

Getgreatcoveragethat’ssoweightlessandwater-fresh.(ALMAY)

Allyouneedisatasteforadventure.(MillstoneCoffee)

You’llloveitevenmorewiththe2.1megapixelC-2000ZOOM.(OlympusCamera)

Don’thavemuchofapersonality?Buyone.(HondaMotor)

…

AllthesefrequentlyusedverbsaremonosyllabicandmostofthemhaveAnglo-SaxonoriginthatisthecommoncoreofEnglishvocabulary.LinguisticstudyshowsEnglishnativespeakerstendtousewordsofAnglo-Saxonorigin,becausenativewordshavecomparablystablemeaning.Inadvertising,thesesimplewordscanwintheconsumersbytheirexact,effectiveexpressionandakindofcloseness.Etymologicalstudiesshowthatthe20verbslistedbefore,exceptuseandtastewhicharefromancientFrench,allareAnglo-Saxonorigin.Eventhetwowords,useandtastehavelongbecomeindispensablelexicalitemsinthestockofcommoncorevocabularyoftheEnglishpeople,developingtheirstablemeaningandusage.

2.2.2Useofemotivewords

Aclosescrutinyofrecentadvertisementssuggeststhatthesoft-selltechniqueisnowpopular.Bysoft-selltechniquewemeantheonethatfavorsamoreemotiveandlessdirectiveapproachtopromoteaproduct,mainlyfocusingonthebuildingofbrandimage.Asaresult,emotivewords,mostofwhicharepleasantadjectives,aregreatlyencouragedtouse.

Datafromthecorpusshowsthatthemostfrequentlyusedadjectivesareasfollows:

new,good/better/best,fresh,free,delicious,sure,full,clean,wonderful,special,crisp,real,fine,great,safe,andrich.

Theseadjectiveshelptobuildapleasantpictureinreaders’mindsandmanagetocreateabeliefinthepotentialconsumer:IfIbuythisproductorifIchoosethisservice,Iwillleadabetterlife.Inaddition,comparativesandsuperlativesoccurtohighlighttheadvantageofacertainproductorservice.Forexample:

Nothingcomesclosertohome.(VegetableandChickenPastaBake)

ThinkLysolisthebestdisinfectingspray.(DisinfectingSpray)

Theworld’scoolestCDsaren’tmadeinNewYork,LondonorL.A.Theyaremadeinmyapartment.(PhilipsCDRecorder)

TheCompaqArmadafamilyislighter,withnewroundededgesforeasierpacking.(Compaq)

…

2.2.3Makepunandalliteration

PunisanamusinguseofawordorphrasethathastwomeaningswhichiscalledPolysemyorofwordswiththesamesoundbutdifferentmeaningswhichiscalledHomonymy.Pun,thegameofwords,willleaveadeepimpressiononreadersbyitsreadability,wit,andhumor.However,tomakeasuccessfulandimpressivepunisnoteasy.Exceptforitsownmeaning,thewordusedasapunisusuallycloselyrelatedtothecharacteristicsofacertainproductorthebrandnameoftheproduct.Suchcoincidencedoesn’toccuroften.Herewepresentseveralclassicpun-usedadvertisements.Forexample:

Giveyourhairatouchofspring.

Askformore.(Moreisafamousbrandofcigarette)

Giveyourbusinessthesharpedge.(SharpCorporation)

…

Byusingpun,advertisementswillbeeasilyrememberedbythereaders.Inaddition,filledwithwitandhumor,punshelptheadvertisedproductwinfavorfromreaders.

Alliterationistheuseofwordsthatbeginwiththesamesoundinordertomakeaspecialcommunicativeeffect.Usuallytheyarepleasingtoearsbecauseofthecleverchoiceofthewordbytheadvertiser.Inaddition,therepetitionofthebeginningsoundemphasizesthemeaningtheadvertisementwantstoexpress.Thefollowingareexamplespickedfromthecorpus.

…,everythingyouneedforthatbigbargainbasementspecial.

…,andvitaminEtoleaveskinsoftandsmooth.

Treatyourwearyghostsandgoblinstoawarmbowlofchilland…

…

2.2.4Useofweaselwords

Aweaselwordisdefinedas“awordusedinordertoevadeorretreatfromadirectorforthrightstatementorposition”accordingtoWebsterDictionary(PhilipBabcockGove,1976).Theuseofweaselwordshasbecomeadeviceinadvertising.Weaselwordsmakepeoplehearthingsthataren’tbeingsaid,acceptastruththathaveonlybeenimplied,andbelievethingsthathaveonlybeenimpliedandsuggested.Let’stakealookunderastronglightatseveralfrequentlyusedwords.

Help

OceanSprayCranberryJuiceCocktailhelpsmaintainurinarytracthealth.

Ithelpscontrolthebacteriainthissystem.

Abreakthroughwaytohelpstopwear-out

Helpfinancethevideoequipment.

…

Alltheexamplesshownarefromourcorpus.23%advertisementsofallsamplesusethewordhelp.Thesehelpscanbeomittedbecausetheyhavelosttheiroriginalmeaning:aid,assist.Yet,helpinadvertisingEnglishisneverredundant.Ithasmagicpowerinadvertisers’eyes.

Helpisthegreatqualifier;oncetheadvertisersaysit,hecansayanythingafterit.Helpqualifieseverything.Theaudiencehasneverheardanyonesay,“Thisproductwillkeepyouyoung,”or“Thistoothpastewillpositivelypreventcavitiesforalltime.”Obviously,advertiserscan’tsayanythinglikethat,becausetherearenotanyproductslikethatmade.Butbyaddingthatonelittlewordhelp,infront,theycanusethestrongestlanguagepossibleafterwards.Andthemostfascinatingpartofitisthatthereadersareimmunetotheword.Thereadersliterallydon’thearthewordhelp.Theyonlyknewwhatcomesafterit.Thatisstronglanguage,andlikelytobemuchmoreimportanttothereadersthanthelittlewordatthefront.

It’slikegettingonbarfree.

Cleanslikeawhitetornado.

It’sliketakingatriptoPortugal.

…

Likeisalsoaqualifier,andisusedinmuchthesamewayashelp.Butlikeisalsoacomparativeelement,withaveryspecificpurpose;advertisersuseliketogettheaudiencetostopthinkingaboutsomethingthatisbiggerthanorbetterordifferentfromtheproductwhicharebeingsold.Inotherwords,theycanmaketheaudiencebelievethattheproductismorethanitisbylikeningittosomethingelse.Likehelp,likedoesn’tcatchmuchattention.Howeverbyusingit,almostanythingcanbesaidandpromisedafterwards.

2.3Differencesatthelexicallevel

2.3.1Genderidentityinadvertisements

Whilewefoundquitealotofsimilaritiesinthechoiceofwords,wehavealsofoundsomedelicatedifferencesinthechoiceofwordsinthethreetypesofadvertisementsasclassifiedbefore:dailyconsumergoodsads,technicalequipmentads,andserviceads.

Language,asacommunicativetool,isnotonlytoimpartinformation,tocommunicateideasaboutaproduct,etc.,butalsotoconveyinformationabouttherelationshipbetweentheaddresser(advertisement)andtheaddressee(theaudience).Anintimaterelationshipbetweentheadvertisementandtheaudienceisalwayshopedtoachieve.Soaccordingtodifferentaudience,languageappliedisdifferent.

Whatconstitutesafemaleandamaleidentity,accordingtoadvertising?Table1,basedonthelanguageofadvertising(TorbenVestergaard&KimSchrder,1981:74),givesthecommodityprofileoftwogender-identifiedmagazines:WomenandPlayboyandalsoprovidesthedistributionofthedifferenttypesofadvertisements.

Table1Distributionofthreetypesofadvertisements

Percentageofads

Women(%)Playboy(%)

Daily

Consumer

Goods

Hygiene103

Beauty181

Clothes1214

Food,Detergents31-

Tobacco815

Beer,Spirits-25

Leisure-3

Technical

Equipment

Vehicle-27

Radio,hi-fi-4

Computer-7

ServiceInsurance,banking2-

Others191

Itcanbeseenfromtable1thatthehygiene,beauty,foodanddetergentsadsaredominantinthewomen’smagazineswhiletechnicalequipmentadsprevailinmen’smagazines.Thereasonisthatwomenarepotentialpurchasersofdailyconsumergoodswhilemenarepotentialpurchasersoftechnicalequipment.Soadvertisinglanguagetriestowinitsaudiencesbynoticingaudiences’genderidentity.

Inaddition,sincethesubjectsinvolvedinadvertisementsvaryfromsimpletocomplex,sharedknowledgebytheaddresser(ads)andaddressee(theaudience)varies.Forexample,knowledgeoftechnicalequipment,sometimesdemandshigheducationalbackgroundorspecialinterestsinacertainfield.Toconveydifferentknowledgeclearly,advertisementsdon’talwaysspeakinthesameway.Inthefollowingsection,wewillmakeacomparativestudyofthreepointsinordertofinddifferencesinthechoiceofwordsinthreetypesofadvertisements:theselectionofadjectives,theuseofcompoundwordsandtheuseofpronouns.

2.3.2Selectionofadjectives

Adjectives,asemotiveandexcitingwords,areusedtoenhancethefactsofacertainproductorservice.Inthestudyoftheselectionofadjectives,wehavefirstdividedadjectivesintotwogroups:descriptiveadjectivesandevaluativeadjectives.Theformerisusedinobjectivedescriptionandthelattergivetheadvertiser’ssubjectivecomments.Thenwehavelistedthosefrequentlyuseddescriptiveadjectivesandevaluativeadjectivesindailyconsumergoodsadsandtechnicalequipmentads,andwesurprisinglyhavediscovereddescriptiveadjectivesdifferfromeachotherintwokindsofadvertisements.

Table2Comparisonoffrequently-usedadjectives

indailyconsumergoodsadsandtechnicalequipmentads

DescriptiveadjectivesEvaluativeadjectives

Daily

Consumer

Goods

Ads

radiant,shiny,dazzling,gold

soft,smooth

fresh

creamy,crispy

clean

easy,convenient

rich,effective,crucial

healthy,fast

valuable,flew

essential

good/better/best

magic

Technical

Equipment

Ads

audible,visible

high-volume,full-colour,

high-speed

magnetic,sharp

invisible,multiple

flexible,versatile

Table2showsthatdescriptiveadjectivesindailyconsumergoodsadssuchasfresh,crispy,andsoft,tendtoconveythesenseofsight,touch,andtaste.Thetemptationarousedbythisvividdescriptionofaproductishardtoresistespeciallyforwomenwhotendtobemovedbypleasantsenses;comparedwithmen,womenareinclinedtothinkintermsofimagesandperceivethroughsenses.However,men,thetargetaudienceoftechnicalequipment,aregoodatrationalthinking.Menarenotcontrolledbysenses.Onthecontrary,theproduct’sinteriorqualityandfunctioniswhattheypayattentionto.Sothedescriptiveadjectivesusedintechnicalequipmentadsaretheonesconveyinginformationoftheproduct,suchas

audible,visible,high-volume,high-speed,etc.

2.3.3Compoundwords

poundadjectivesareoftenseeninadvertisements.Inthepresentstudy,wefoundcompoundwordsturnupwithvaryingproportionsinthreetypesofadvertisements.

Compound-

usedAds

Total

Ads

Percentage

DailyConsumerGoods52025%

TechnicalEquipment132065%

Service72035%

Obviously,compoundwordsturnupin65%technicalequipmentads,40percentagepointshigherthanthatofdailyconsumergoodsads;30percentagepointshigherthanserviceads.

Compoundwordsintechnicalequipmentads,areusuallycombinedtogiveanexactdescriptionofacertainfeatureoracertainfunctionsuchashigh-volume,full-color,multi-functional,non-stop,water-cooled.Oftennumbersareemployedinfrontofthehyphen,whichisseldomseeninotheradvertisements,suchas64-bit,24-valve,4-wheel,255-horsepower.

Thisdifferencecanbeaccountedforintermsofthedifferentcomplexitiesofthegoods.Incomparisonwithdailyconsumergoodsandservices,technicalequipmentismuchmorecomplicatedinfunctionandstructure.Itisjusttheadvantageousfunctionornewlydesignedstructurethattheadvertiserwantstohighlightintechnicalequipmentads.Thus,theadvertiseremploys,evencoins,somanycompoundwordsthattheycanmaketheintroductionofcomplicatedtechnicalequipmentbriefandprecise.Grammatically,compoundwordshelptoavoidusingclause,whichenhancethereadabilityofadvertisements.

2.3.4Useofpronouns

Pronounsofthefirstandsecondperson:we,Iandyououtnumbertheotherpronounsinadvertisements.Itisbecausethatyou,weandIhelpcreateafriend-likeintimateatmospheretomoveandpersuadetheaudience.Advertisementswithlotsofpronounsofthefirstandsecondpersonarecalledgossipadvertisements.Here,gossiphasnottheleastderogativemeaning.ItoriginatesfromoldEnglishgodsib,meaningfriendlychatsbetweenwomen.Advertisementsthatgoliketalkingwithfriendscloselylinktheadvertisementandtheaudience.Theaudiencewilleasilyacceptaproduct,aserviceoranideaasifagoodfriendrecommendedthem.

Thoughpronounsofthefirstandsecondpersonarepopularinadvertisements,therearesomedifferencesintheuseofthesepronounsinthethreekindsofadvertisements.Thefirstpersonwealmostneveroccursindailyconsumergoodsadsandtechnicalequipmentads,whereasweisusedinalmost80%theserviceadsinthecorpus.Thefollowingaresomeexamples.

Whatcanwedoforyou?

SocomeonandjoinusaswecelebrateMillenniaManiaSingapore.

…,wehelpourneighborsfindthebestwaystogivetotheirfavoritecharities

We’restrongerthanever.

…

Therearetwofactorstoexplainthephenomenon.First,indailyconsumergoodsadsandtechnicalequipmentads,aproductisthefocusofinformation.Whentheproductneedstobementioned,“it”isused,andinmostcases,thebrandnameisused,evenrepeatedtoimpressthereaders.However,inserviceads,serviceisactuallytheproduct.Sinceserviceisintangible

wecanberegardedasthereplacementoftheservice.Second,itismorenecessaryforserviceadstocreateafriend-likeatmosphere,becausewinningtrustisthefirstthingserviceadswanttodo.

3.Syntacticalfeatures

3.1Similarities

Thepurposeofalladvertisingistofamiliarizeconsumerswithorremindthemofthebenefitsofparticularproductsinthehopeofincreasingsales,andthetechniquesusedbyadvertisersdonotvarymarkedly.Anadvertisementisoftenmerelyglimpsedinpassingandso,tobeeffective,itsmessagemustbecolorful,legible,understandableandmemorable.Therulesgoverningthelanguageofadvertisingaresimilar.WehavesummarizedthelexicalfeaturesofEnglishadvertisements.Ifwordsareleavesofatree,andsentencesbranches;thebranchesmustalsopossesstheirsimilarities.

First,lengthofasentenceinadvertisingisusuallyshort.Asentenceindailyconsumergoodsadshas10.3wordsonaverage;intechnicalequipmentads,11.8words;inserviceads,12.3words.

Second,astosentencestructure,paredwithcomplexsentences,simplesentencesaremoreunderstandableandforceful.Ellipticalsentencesareactuallyincompleteinstructurebutcompleteinmeaning.Theadoptionofellipticalsentencescansparemoreprintspace,andtakelesstimeforreaderstofinishreading.Inaddition,agroupofsentencefragmentsmaygainspecialadvertisingeffectiveness.Letuscomparethefollowingtwoadvertisements.

a.Baked.Drenched.Testedtotheextreme.AMotorolacellularphone…

b.TheMotorolacellularphonearebakedanddrenchedtoextreme.

Obviously,byusingellipticalstructure,sentenceaisfarmorebrief,eye-catchingandforcefulthansentenceb.What’smore,itconveysattitudesthatsentenceblacks.Sentenceaimpliesakindofappreciationforthephone,bysplittingthesentenceintoseveralfragmentsandrearrangingitswordorder.Thereforeskillfularrangementofellipticalsentencesmayaddcolortoasentence.

Third,astosentencepatterns,interrogativesentencesandimperativesentencesareheavilyusedinEnglishadvertisements.Imperativesentencesareshort,encouragingandforceful.Theyareusedtoarouseaudiences’wantsorencouragethemtobuysomething.Forinstance:

Entersomethingmagical.(Oldsmobile)

Feelthecleanallday.(ALMAY)

Byeone.(Hondamotor)

…

Intheexplanationofthehighfrequencyoftheuseofinterrogativesentences,LinguistG.N.Leech(方薇,1997:77)discussestwomainfunctionsofinterrogativesentences.Viewingfromtheangleofpsychology,interrogativesentencesdividedtheprocessofinformationreceivingintotwophasesbyfirstraisingaquestionandthenansweringit.Thusitturnsthepassivereceivingintoactiveunderstanding.Fromthelinguisticangle,interrogativesentencesdecreasethegrammaticaldifficulty,becausetheyareusuallyshortinadvertisements.Takethefollowinginterrogativesentenceasanexample:ifitisaskedtocondensetoonesentence,thecondensedonewillbecomplexanddull.

What’sinWoman’sRealmthisweek?Awonderfulbeautyoffersforyou.

→There’sawonderfulbeautyofferforyouinWomen’sRealmthisweek.

Fourth,thepassivevoiceisusuallyavoidedbecausethepassivevoicegivestheaudienceanindirectandunnaturalfeeling.Indailycommunication,passivevoiceisseldomused;soisinadvertisements.Presenttenseprevailsinmostadvertisementsbecausepresenttenseimpliesauniversaltimelessness.Ontherareoccasionswherethepasttenseandthepresentperfecttenseisused,itstressesthelongtraditionsassociatedwithaproduct,suchas“We’vetakenourwhiskyinmanyways,butalwaysseriously”;oremphasizesitsreliability,suchas“We’vesolvedalong-standingproblem,”;ormakesanappealtoauthority,suchas“Eightoutoftenownerssaidtheircatspreferredit.”

3.2Differences

3.2.1Headline

ThetermHeadlinereferstothesentencesintheleadingpositionoftheadvertisement—thewordsthatwillbereadfirstorthatarepositionedtodrawthemostattention.Therefore,headlinesareusuallysetinlargertypethanotherportionsoftheadvertisement.Research(CoutlandL.Bovee&WilliamF.Arens,1992:294)hasshownthat,onaverage,threetofivetimesasmanypeoplereadtheheadlineasreadthebodycopy.Therefore,iftheadvertiserhasn’tdonesomesellingintheheadline,hehaswastedthegreatestpercentofhismoney.Soitmightbesuggestedthatadvertisersshouldnotbeafraidoflongheadlines.

Aheadlinehasnumerousfunctions.Firstofall,theheadlinemustattractattentiontotheadvertisementfast.Itshouldtakeonlyafewsecondstocapturethereader’sattention.Otherwise,theentiremessagemaybelost.Aheadlinealsoselectsthereader,thatis,ittellswhethertheadvertisement’ssubjectmatterintereststhereader.Theideaistoengageandinvolvethereader,suggestingareasontoreadtherestoftheadvertisement.Therefore,theheadlineisthemostimportantinanadvertisement.

Generally,wecanclassifyeffectiveadvertisingheadlinesintofivebasiccategories:benefitheadline,provocativeheadline,news/informationheadline,questionheadline,andcommandheadline.

Benefitheadlinesmakeadirectpromisetothereader.News/informationheadlinesincludemanyofthehow-toheadlinesandheadlinesthatseektogainidentificationfortheirsponsorsbyannouncingsomenewsorprovidingsomepromiseofinformation.Provocativeheadlinesareusedtoprovokethereader’scuriosity.Tolearnmore,thereadermustreadthebodycopy.Aquestionheadlinewillpiquethereader’scuriosityandimaginationbyaskingaquestionthatthereaderisinterestedin.Acommandheadlineordersthereadertodosomething.Itmotivatesthereaderthroughfearoremotionorbecausethereaderunderstandstheinherentcorrectnessofthecommand

3.2.2Comparisonofheadlinesofdifferenttypesofadvertisements

Table4tellswhichtypeofheadlineismostusedinacertaintypeofadvertisements.

Table4Comparisonofheadlinesinthreetypesofadvertisements

Benefit

Headline

News/Infor

headline

Provocative

Headline

Question

Headline

Command

Headline

Daily

Consumer

Goods

15%

25%

15%

40%

Technical

Equipment

10%

30%

25%

Service

35%

10%

40%

10%

Whyquestionheadlinesaremorefrequentlyusedindailyconsumergoodsads?AmericansociolinguistDanielN.Maltz(方薇,1997:144)concludedthroughstudythatwomentendtoaskquestions.Theyhaveubiquitouscuriosity.Sothewomen-targetingads,dailyconsumergoodsads,cleverlyemployquestionheadlinestocatertowomen’scuriosity.Thequestioncanbewhatwomencare,suchas“Whichofthesecontinentalquiltpatternswillsuityourbedroombest?”;orwhatwomenseldomthinkof,suchas“Heartheoneaboutthecomedianwhoneverdrankmilk?”.Nomatterwhatkindofquestion,itwillarousewomen’sinteresteffectively.

Accordingtothecomparison,informationheadlinesaremostpopularintechnicalequipmentadvertisements.Forexample:

Here’sthefilmlessversion.

It’saboutexchanginginformationeasilywithpeopleyoutrust.

ThemuscularV6givestheGrandVitaraundeniableappeal.

…

Technicalequipmentistheresultofscienceandhightechnology.Unknowninformationinanadvertisementaccountsforalargeproportion.Unlikedailyconsumergoodsads,nointroductionofaproductisnecessaryinheadline,becausewearesofamiliarwiththesedailyusedproductsthatalmostallinformationbecomesgiveninformation.Therefore,headlinesoftechnicalequipmentadsmeantoattractreadersbydisplayingtheunknowninformationofaproduct.

However,serviceadstendtogivepromiseinheadlinetoattractreaders.Forexample:

Whereveryouare,wheneveryouneedus,theAllianzGroupisalwaysthereforyou.

Therightbankcanmakeallthedifference.

Cancerpatientsflyfreeonthewingsofangles.

…

Banks,insurancecompanies,publicutilitiesandairlinespreferusingbenefitheadlinestoemphasizewhattheycandotocustomers.Consumergoodsandtechnicalequipmentcanpresentthemselvesinbeautifulpictures.However,serviceadsarenotabletopresenttheir“product”inprintexceptlanguage.So,theyhavetohighlighttheir“product”intheheadline.

4.Discoursefeatures

4.1BodyCopyofanAdvertisement

Ingeneral,awrittenadvertisementconsistsoffiveparts:headline,bodycopy,slogan,illustrationandtrademarkamongwhichheadline,bodycopyandsloganarethemainparts.Headlineplaysaroleincatchingattentionfromreaders;slogancanbeusedasadevicetocreateacorporateimageandacommonpracticetoconcludeadvertisement.

Inthissectionwewilldiscussthebodycopyasadiscoursecomponent.Theadvertisertellsthecompletesalesstoryinthebodycopy.Setinsmallertypethanheadlinesorsubheads,thebodycopyisalogicalcontinuationoftheheadlineandsubheads.Itisalsowherethesaleisclosed.Thebodycopyshouldrelatetothecampaignappealandtothereader’sself-interest,anditmustexplainhowtheproductorservicebeingadvertisedsatisfiesthecustomer’sneed.Thebodycopymayconcentrateononeorseveralbenefitsastheyrelatespecificallytothetargetaudience.Insomecases,especiallyindailygoodsads,bodycopyisomittedjustbecausereadersknowwhattheyare.

4.2DifferencesinBodyCopys

Copysfallintomanycategories.Somecommontypesofcopysincludestraight-sellcopy,institutionalcopy,narrativecopy,dialogue/monologuecopy.

Inastraight-sellcopy,thetextimmediatelyexplainsordevelopstheheadlineinastraightforwardattempttoselltheproduct.Sincetheproduct’ssalespointsaretickedoffinorderoftheirimportance,straight-sellcopyisparticularlyadvantageousfortechnicalproductsthatmaybedifficulttouseindirect-mailadvertisingandindustrialsituations.Manycameraads,forexample,usethisstraight,factualcopytogetthemessageacross.Thestraight-sellapproachemphasizesthereasonwhytheconsumershouldbuysomething.Forexample:

PickuprightwhereyouleftoffwiththenewC-2000ZOOMfilmlessdigitalcamera.

Youlovedtakingpicturesthen.You’llloveitevenmorenowwiththe2.1megapixelC-2000ZOOM.It’llremindyouofyourfavoritefilmcameraofyesterday,butwithalltheadvantagesOlympusfilmlessphotographyofferstoday.OnlytheC-2000ZOOM,forexample,incorporatesanall-glass,aspherical3xzoomlenssystemfeaturingalargeaperturef2.0lensthat’sexceptionallyfastandbright.Alongwithautomaticormanualfeatureslikeapertureandshutterpriority,spotmetering,exposurecompensation,whitebalanceandISOsettings.Andjustlikeyourfilmcamera,theC-2000ZOOMgrowswithyouwhenyouaddexternalflash,lightingequipment,lensesorfilter.SobringbackoldmemorieswhilecreatingnewoneswiththeC-2000ZOOMfromOlympus--THEWORLDLEADERINFILMANDFILMLESSPHOTOGRAPHY.

Sometimestheadvertiserusestheinstitutionalcopytosellanideaorthemeritsoftheorganizationorserviceratherthansalesfeaturesofaparticularproduct.Ofteninstitutionalcopyisalsonarrativeinbecauseitlendswarmthtotheorganization.Serviceads,suchasadsofbanks,insurancecompanies,publicutilities,andlargemanufacturingconcernsarethemostcommonusersoftheinstitutionalcopy.

Advertisersusethenarrativecopytotellastory.Itoftensetsupaproblemandthencreatesasolutionusingtheparticularsalesfeaturesoftheproductorservice.Itmaythensuggestthattheaudiencesusethesamesolutioniftheyhavethatproblem.Serviceadvertisementsareoftenwritteninthis.Forinstance:

LIFEINSURANCEISN’TFORTHEPEOPLEWHODIE.

IT’SFORTHEPEOPLEWHOLIVE.

“ItbrokemyhearttohearmydaughterDorseysayshewishedherdaddywasstillhere.Butthankstohisforesight,we’llstillhavethethingsheworkedfor”

DorseyHoskins’fatherBryanfeltatinglinginhisarm.Thediagnosis—aninoperablebraintumor.Hediedsixmonthslater,at33,leavinghiswifeDeanalonetoraiseDorseyandhersisterHattie.Fortunately,Bryanboughtlifeinsurancewhenhegotmarried,andagainwhenhisdaughterswereborn.Deaninvestedtheproceedsinherownclothingstore,whichgiveshertheflexibilitytospendmoretimewithherchildren.

Areyouprepared?Withoutinsurance,yourfinancialplanmaybejustasavingsandinvestmentprogramthatdieswhenyoudo.Aninsuranceagentorotherfinancialprofessionalcanhelpyoucreateaplanthatwillcontinuetoprovidefortheonesyoulove.

Byusingadialogue/monologuecopy,theadvertisercanaddthebelievabilitythatthenarrativecopysometimeslacks.Thecharactersportrayedinaprintadvertisementdothesellingintheirownwords,throughatestimonialorquasi-testimonialtechnique,orthroughacomic-strippanel.Allkindsofadscanusethisbodycopy,ifnecessary.Forexample:

WhenIwantaCDdoneright,Idoitmyself.Yeah,thismachinerocks.Itburnsfull-sizeCDsthatsoundtotallyliketheoriginal.ItplaysCDs.RecordsCDtoCDatdoublespeed.Andrecordsoffofjustaboutanysource.LPs.Cassettes.Theradio.It’sevengotatextdisplay.Anyway,nowI’vegotmyowngreatesthitscollection.ThestuffIwanttolistento.I’vegottoadmitit’sgettingbetter.

5.Conclusion

Uptonow,wehaveanalyzedlanguagefeaturesofadsatthreelevels.Linguisticsimilaritiesanalyzedinthispaperandsharedbyallkindsofadsareshownasfollows:

Ⅰ.Lexicalfeatures

a.One-syllableandsimpleverbssuchasgetandmakeareused.

b.Emotiveadjectivesareadoptedtoarousereader’sinterest.

c.Wordsarecarefullychosentomakepunandalliteration.

d.Weaselwords,suchashelpandlike,maketheuseofstrongestlanguagepossibleinadvertisements.

Ⅱ.Syntacticalfeatures

a.Sentencesinadvertisementsareshort.Onaverage,asentenceconsistsof11.8words.

b.Ellipticalsentencesareusedtospareadvertisingcostandatthesametimeimproveadvertisingeffectiveness.

c.Interrogativesentencesandimperativesentencesarecommoninadvertisements

d.Presenttenseprevailsinadstosuggesttimelessness.Andactivevoiceisusedtocatertoaudience’shabitindailytalk.

Ⅲ.Discoursefeatures

Acompleteadvertisementconsistsoffiveparts:Headline,BodyCopy,Slogan,Illustration

andTradeMark.Bodycopyisthekeypart,conveyingproductorserviceinformation.

Whilesummarizingsimilaritiesoflanguagefeaturesofthreekindsofadvertisements,wehavediscussedthedifferencesbetweentheseadsonthefollowingdimensions:

First,inordertoachievethehighestadvertisingeffectiveness,theadvertiserpreciselytargetstheaudiencebytheirsocialstatus,roles,income,educationalbackgroundandgender.Thereforeadvertisinglanguageadjustsitselftogetclosetotargetaudience.

Second,dailyconsumergoods,technicalequipmentandservicearetotallydifferentadvertisingsubjects.Forexample,somewordsintechnicalequipmentadsarecomprehensibleonlytothoseacquaintedwiththatfield.TakeiMACPCasanexample.AllthefeaturesofiMAC,plus:400MHZ,G3processor,slot-loadingDVDdrive,10GBdiskstorage,dual400MbpsFireWireports,andiMovievideoeditingsoftware.Laymenofcomputersmustfeelconfusedbythesedazzlingfiguresandunits.However,inordertomaketheinformationofatechnicalproductclear,somejargonsarenecessary.Thereforedifferentkindofadsspeakdifferentlanguage.

Thestudyhasshownthatthreekindsofadvertisementsinthecorpusrespectivelydemonstratetheirownuniquelanguagefeatures.

Indailyconsumergoodsads,descriptiveadjectivestendtoconveysensesofsight,taste,andtouchinthehopeofsatisfyingwomen''''sappealforbeautyandcomfort.Nojargonisused.Headlinesofdailyconsumergoodsadstendtoaskquestiontoarousetheinterestofaudience,especiallywomen''''s.Thebodycopyseemsnotsoimportantandessentialasthatoftheadvertisementforproductsrequiringhightechnologicalinformation,thusinsomecasesbodycopyisomittedindailyconsumergoodsads.

Intechnicalequipmentads,poundwords,particularlycompoundjargons,arefrequentlyusedtoexactlyintroduceacomplicatedproduct.Headlinesoftechnicalequipmentmeantoattractreadersbytransferringtheunknowninformationofaproduct,sotheyareofteninformation/newsheadlines.

Inserviceads,theuseofpronouns,weandyou,isstatisticallysignificant.Youandwealmostappearineveryadvertisement.“we”,asreplacementofacertainservice,isusedinalmost80%theserviceadvertisements.Institutionalcopyisoftenusedtosellanideaorthemeritsoftheorganizationorserviceratherthansalesfeaturesofaparticularproduct.Ofteninstitutionalcopyisalsonarrativeinbecauseitlendswarmthtotheorganization.Banks,insurancecompanies,publicutilities,andlargemanufacturingconcernsarethemostcommonusersoftheinstitutionalcopy.

Insummary,nomatterwhatkindofstructure,orcontent,orwordsareusedinanadvertisement,allofthemservethepurposeofattractingadsreaders,conveyinginformationtothem,andurgingthemtopurchasetheproductsortousetheservice.Thatiswhatanadfor,andthatisalsothefunctionadvertisinglanguageperforms.