the language of advertising with the concentration on the linguistic

105 Pages·2007·3.67 MB·English

THE LANGUAGE OF ADVERTISING WITH THE CONCENTRATION ON
THE LINGUISTIC MEANS AND THE ANALYSIS OF ADVERTISING
SLOGANS

DIPLOMOVÁ PRÁCA

JANA LAP(cid:7)ANSKÁ

UNIVERZITA KOMENSKÉHO V BRATISLAVE
PEDAGOGICKÁ FAKULTA
KATEDRA ANGLICKÉHO JAZYKA A LITERATÚRY

(cid:7)tudijn(cid:9) odbor: U(cid:10)ite(cid:11)stvo v(cid:8)eobecno-vzdelávacích predmetov
(cid:7)pecializácia: Anglick(cid:9) jazyk a literatúra – (cid:8)panielsky jazyk a literatúra

Vedúci diplomovej práce: PhDr. Radoslav Pavlík

Dátum obhajoby: október 2006

BRATISLAVA 2006
Many thanks to my diploma supervisor PhDr. Radoslav Pavlík for his valuable advice
and professional help during elaboration the work. I also want to thank my friend
Marek Mrázik for his comments and his interest in the fascinating world of
advertising which influenced me to choose this theme.

Jana Lap(cid:3)anská
ABSTRAKT

Lap(cid:7)anská, Jana: The Language of Advertising with the Concentration on the
Linguistic Means and the Analysis of Advertising Slogans. Diplomová práca,
Univerzita Komenského. Pedagogická fakulta, Katedra anglického jazyka a literatúry.
Vedúci diplomovej práce: PhDr. Radoslav Pavlík. Bratislava: Pedagogická fakulta
UK, 2006. 82 s.

Práca poskytuje anal(cid:9)zu jazyka reklamy z lingvistického h(cid:11)adiska a (cid:7)pecifikuje
jazykové prostriedky pou(cid:8)ité v reklamn(cid:9)ch textoch. Práca priná(cid:7)a poznatky o pou(cid:8)ití
jazykov(cid:9)ch prostriedkov v reklame v tla(cid:10)i. Analytickou metódou autor zistil mieru
pou(cid:8)itia jednotliv(cid:9)ch jazykov(cid:9)ch prostriedkov v reklamn(cid:9)ch sloganoch, aj vo vz(cid:12)ahu
k produktovému zameraniu.

k(cid:11)ú(cid:10)ové slová: reklama, reklamn(cid:9) slogan, jazyk reklamy, komunikácia, jazykové
prostriedky.

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ABSTRACT

Lap(cid:3)anská, Jana: The Language of Advertising with the Concentration on the
Linguistic Means and the Analysis of Advertising Slogans. Diploma thesis. Comenius
University. Faculty of Education, Department of English Language and Literature.
Diploma thesis supervisor: PhDr. Radoslav Pavlík. Bratislava: Pedagogická fakulta
UK, 2006. 82 p.

The work provides the analysis of language of advertising from linguistic point of
view and specifies linguistic means used in advertising texts. The work brings
knowledge about the use of linguistic devices in print advertising. By analytical
method, author found out the use rate of individual linguistic means used in
advertising slogans, even in relation to product specialization.

Key words: advertising, advertising slogan, language of advertising, communication,
linguistic means.

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PREFACE

In this diploma thesis, I will be concerned with the language of advertising. I
will scope my attention to the linguistic means used in advertising. The main reason to
choose this topic was my interest in English language and advertising, for the most
part from linguistic point of view. I find advertising language fascinating; therefore, I
want to discover its principles, strategies and anatomy of creative writing and
grammatical structures.
The objective of the work is to provide the analysis of language of advertising
from linguistic point of view and specify linguistic means used in advertising texts.
The practical research analyses the advertising slogans and determines the most
widely used linguistic means, even in relation to product specialization. The results of
the study and analysis are useful for familiarizing and understanding the main issues
connected with technique of writing advertising texts; the concrete statements and
data can provide information for those, who write advertising texts in English.
The diploma thesis is addressed to the students of English language for
Specific Purposes, teachers of English language for Specific Purposes, people
working in advertising sphere, copywriters and all people interested in language of
advertising.
I acquired the literature resources and magazines from the library of University
of Granada, the University Library in Bratislava and from British Council in
Bratislava.

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CONTENTS

ABSTRAKT.............................................................................................................3
ABSTRACT..............................................................................................................4
PREFACE.................................................................................................................5
CONTENTS..............................................................................................................6
LIST OF PICTURES AND GRAPHS.......................................................................8
LIST OF SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS.......................................................9
0 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................11
1 DEFINING THE CONCEPT OF ADVERTISING...........................................13
1.1 Definitions of advertising and advertising slogan......................................13
1.2 History of advertising................................................................................14
1.3 Types of advertising..................................................................................15
2 ADVERTISING AS KIND OF COMMUNICATION......................................17
2.1 The process of communication..................................................................17
2.2 Verbal and non-verbal communication in advertising................................19
2.3 Public versus word-of-mouth communication of advertising.....................20
3 TEXT OF ADVERTISING AND ITS STRUCTURE.......................................21
3.1 Cohesion of advertising text......................................................................21
3.2 Informational structure within the text – theme and rheme........................23
4 LINGUISTIC MEANS USED IN ADVERTISING LANGUAGE....................26
4.1 Phonological aspect...................................................................................27
4.1.1 Rhyme...............................................................................................27
4.1.2 Rhythm.............................................................................................27
4.1.3 Alliteration........................................................................................28
4.1.4 Assonance.........................................................................................28
4.1.5 Graphic aspect of the text..................................................................28
4.1.6 Transliteration...................................................................................29
4.1.7 Homophones.....................................................................................29
4.2 Lexical and morphological aspect.............................................................30
4.2.1 Verb phrase.......................................................................................30
4.2.2 Noun phrase......................................................................................30
4.2.3 Adjectives.........................................................................................31
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4.2.4 Numerals...........................................................................................32
4.2.5 Foreign words...................................................................................32
4.2.6 Intertextuality....................................................................................32
4.2.7 Formation of new words and phrases.................................................34
4.2.8 Idiomatic constructions.....................................................................36
4.2.9 Collocations......................................................................................37
4.3 Syntactic aspect.........................................................................................37
4.3.1 Sentence types...................................................................................37
4.3.2 Sentence structure.............................................................................40
4.3.2.1 Schematic pattering.......................................................................40
4.3.2.2 Ellipsis..........................................................................................41
4.3.2.3 Incomplete sentences.....................................................................43
4.4 Semantic aspect.........................................................................................43
4.4.1 Personification..................................................................................44
4.4.2 Simile................................................................................................45
4.4.3 Hyperbole.........................................................................................45
4.4.4 Metaphor...........................................................................................45
4.4.5 Metonymy.........................................................................................47
4.4.6 Antithesis..........................................................................................47
4.4.7 Polysemy and homonymy..................................................................48
5 RESEARCH PART..........................................................................................49
5.1 The aims of research.................................................................................49
5.2 Hypotheses and questions of the research..................................................49
5.3 Research sample .......................................................................................50
5.4 Research methods and process of research................................................50
5.5 Results of the research..............................................................................72
6 CONCLUSION................................................................................................77
BIBLIOGRAPHY....................................................................................................79
SUPPLEMENT A Review of print advertisements
SUPPLEMENT B Table of attributes
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL - CD

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LIST OF PICTURES AND GRAPHS

Picture 1: the representation of communication process
Graph 1: sentence type
Graph 2: auxiliary verbs
Graph 3: finiteness of verbs
Graph 4: tense/aspect of verbs
Graph 5: narrator
Graph 6: gradability of adjectives
Graph 7: form of adjectives
Graph 8: comparative adjectives – distribution
Graph 9: superlative adjectives – distribution
Graph 10: occurrence of linguistic means in individual branches
Graph 11: popularity and use of linguistic means by individual branches

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LIST OF SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS

(cid:1)1 - See the supplement A of the diploma thesis.
N – noun
V – verb
Adj – adjective
Adv – adverb
Nph – noun phrase
Num – numeral
PhrV – phrasal verb
AuxV – auxiliary verb
finV – finite verb
non-finV – non-finite verb
grad Adj – gradable adjective
non-grad Adj – non-gradable adjective
Dec. – declarative
Imp. – imperative
Int. - interrogative
1st Sg narr. – 1st singular narrator
1st Pl narr. – 1st plural narrator
sth – something
sb – somebody
polys/homon – polysemy/homonymy
sent. type – sentence type
T –technique product specialization
Cl - clothes product specialization
S - services product specialization
F – food and drink product specialization
H – household equipment product specialization
A - automobile product specialization
P - press product specialization
O – online shops specialization
Ph - pharamceutical product specialization
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C - cosmetic product specialization
J – jewelry and watch product specialization
To - tobacco product specialization

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