作者 王莉娜

　　【Abstract】:This paper presents an analytical study of the language features of English advertisements at morphology, syntax, and rhetorical devices. I hope that similarities and differences in advertising language features can be summarized and possible reasons will be given in the light of the meaning, and function of language.

　　【Keywords】: Features; Advertising English; similarities and differences

　　【中图分类号】H313 【文献标识码】A 【文章编号】1001-4128(2010)09-0026-04

　　Ⅰ. Introduction

　　Today, with the development of the technology and the diversity of the mass media, advertising has influenced us pervasively in our daily life. However, whatever the promotive strategies advertising takes, language is the main carrier of message all along, as The Language of Advertising, by Vestergaard & Schroder, says, "Advertising takes many forms, but in most of them language is of crucial importance." It is a kind of communicative action and it has special features and techniques that be different from other languages. Advertising language is a style of immediate impact and rapid persuasion. The goal of an advertisement is to persuade you of the merits of a particular product or service, in order that you will take out some of your money.

　　Ⅱ. Features of Advertising

　　The wide use of advertising has created a special style of English-advertising English. Its unique features, simple language and immense attraction separate it from other kind of language. In the development of advertising English, this kind of language has formed its own features in several aspects.

　　A. English Morphology in Advertising

　　As a means to disseminate information, advertising English must be compact, vivid, visual, emotional and attractive. Therefore, morphology in advertising is quite different from common English.

　　1. Verbs--Monosyllable Verbs

　　The most basic feature of advertising is concise and comprehensive, and verbs and adjectives can convey ones thoughts easily. Moreover, monosyllable verbs are most effective among verbs.

　　Although the ultimate purpose of advertising is to persuade consumers to buy its products, advertisements seldom use the word "buy" in it. Statistics show only two out of ten advertisements use the verb "buy" directly. On one hand, the advertisers try their best to promote their product; on the other hand, they don't want to give the consumers a feeling of spending their money. Therefore, the choice of verbs is very careful in advertising.

　　The most frequently used monosyllable verbs are: try, ask, get, give, go, take, taste, let, like, look, love, enjoy, use, come, choose, call, make, bring, hurry, see, serve, have, keep, know, need, save, remember, discover, introduce, and feel.

　　Examples:

　　We can give you a better view of i

nvestment opportunities from both sides of the Pacific.

　　--City Bank.

　　No matter how far you stay from home, you can still enjoy fine food and wine in front of your own television set.

　　--Airline Company (石,陈,8)

　　Use it wherever you think best.

　　--IBM Computer (石,陈,8)

Once you've tasted just how tender a steak can be, no one else will cut it.

　　--Restaurant (石,陈,8)

　　Save up to $18.00 at Universal Studios Holleywood!

　　--Holleywood (石,陈,8)

　　Some verbs emphasize on the function of goods or service themselves, such as bring, give, last and make. They can indicate that the quality of the goods or service is good and the goods can be used for long. Besides, they can bring comfort to consumers, make you happy and meet you need. Therefore, such verbs can build a bridge between goods and consumers and contact them.

　　Examples:

　　We bring out the best in seafood.

　　--Restaurant (石,陈,8)

　　Getting places in the business world is easier if your banker is there to meet you.

　　--Security Pacific Asian Bank.(石,陈,8)

　　Our global electronic financial services system, gives you total control of your global trading position from your own office.

　　-- Electronic Financial Services System (石,陈,8)

　　Mars make life a little sweeter.

　　--Mars Snacks (石,陈,8)

　　Is 2 months' salary too much to spend for something that lasts forever?

　　--Diamond (石,陈,8)

　　2. Adjectives --Commendatory Objective

　　The most frequently used adjectives are:

　　New, crisp, good /better/best , fine , free ,big , fresh , great ,

　　delicious , real , full, sure , easy, bright , clean , extra, safe , special, rich.

　　From above, we can see that these adjectives are commendatory objective.

　　3. Compounds

　　There are lots of compound words in advertisement mainly because the element of compound words could be any part of speech, and has few limits in grammar and word order. Moreover, compounds often concentrate one sentence into two or three words, so they can convey information quickly.

　　The following are the main ways of word forming: ( n.-noun, a.-adjective, ad.-adverb, inf.-infinitive )

　　a. + n.: short-term goal, high-fashion knitwear, open-shelves bookstore, round-clock service,long-term cooperation, first -rate, top-notch, rich-nutrition

　　n. + a.: the farmhouse-fresh faste, brand-new, colour-fast, snow-white, wrinkle-free, drip-dry

　　n. + v-ing: a relief-giving liquid, record-breaking, heat-resisting cup, thirst-quenching juice

　　v-ing + adj:shining-clean

　　n. + v-ed:honey-coated sugar puffs, home-made, milk-flavored delicious, band-embroidered shirt

　　a. / adv + v-ed: warm-hearted, perfectly-textured cakes, well-qualified, well-chosen

　　a. + v-ing: innocent

-looking, fresh-tasting milk, dry-cleaning, durable-modelling, good-looking, long-lasting

　　adv + v-ing: hard-working, the best-selling soft toilet tissue, quick-informing, smooth-handling

　　n. + n.: economy-size shredded wheat, a state-of-the-art cell sorcer, world-class, shrink-proof, health-care

　　adv. + n.: up-to-the-minute sculling, up-to-date technology, out-of-the-ordinary class, out-of-state

　　a. + inf. +v.:easy-to-go, convenient-to-get, soft-to-touch

　　Some of these compounds are frequently used in daily life, and some are frequently used in advertising English.

　　 Examples:

　　Newsome cloth is rain-and-stain-resisting.

　If you were designing a state-of-the-art cell sorter, which feature would you need?

　　 The minivan airbag. The rear shoulder belts. The anti-lock brakes, all-wheel drive and built-in child seats we now offer.

　　 Do it right, first-rate, top-notch, without a hitch and absolutely flawless. (石,陈,650)

　　4. Simple and informal

　　The function of advertising is to provide information, attract consumer, exploit market, and promise the quality. Therefore, advertisement must pay attention to its impelling language, and the first step is to use popular and oral language to make it easy to understand and memorize.

　　For example:

　　"I couldn't believe it, until I tried it!"

　　"I'm impressed! I'm really impressed!"

　　"You've gotta try it!"

　　"I love it!"

　　This is an advertisement of a microwave oven. The words in it are very simple and oral. It uses the slang "gotta

ge consumers to accept its product or service. Therefore, there are lots of imperative sentences in advertising, such as:

　　Get ready to encounter the new trend in timepieces.

　　The Citizen Espreme Collection.

　　Watches that are indicators of tastes and moods. that express you.

　　--Citizen Watch

　　Come to Union Station and explore the world of the East Hall.

　　--Train Station

　　Discover what Explorers Hall is all about

　　--Exhibition

　　4. More interrogative sentences

　　According to statistics, in every 30 sentences there is one interrogative sentence. Because interrogative sentences are quick and effective to arouse readers' response. The following is an advertisement of Lurpark Danish butter:

　　What's so special about Lurpark Danish butter? Well, can you remember what butter used to taste like - real fresh farm house butter? Do you remember how you used to enjoy it when you were young? Today - the taste of Lurpark bring it all back to you - that's why it's so special.

　" Are you going grey too early?" (Wang,79)

　　5. Disjunctive Clause

　　Disjunctive clause is unique for advertising English, which separates a long, complex sentence into several simple sentences by using full stop, dash, semi-colon, hyphen, etc. Those sentences are independent in form, but are related in the content. The use of disjunctive clause could add more information and save more space and money. The separated parts are usually the features of the product, so that they could emphasize the good points of the product.

　　There is an example of Amtrak, which has successfully used the disjunctive clauses:

　　Amtrak has created a new. nationwide passenger rail system. Literally from the ground up. A system that represented a viable alternative for people who fly. For business or pleasure.

　　6. Minor Clause

　　Minor clause has simple elements, which could lay stress on the key words. It could not only reduce the length and cost, but also disseminate information more effectively.

　　More than a timepiece, An acquisition.

　　--Piagit

　　So come into McDonald's and enjoy a Big Mac Sandwich.

　　--McDonald

　　7. Direct Quotation

　　Please read an advertisement of Jeep/Eagle that belongs to American Chrysler Car Company.

　　Introducing the new Eagle Vision Tsi.

　　"It's not just a world-class car . . . it's a world beater" --- AutoWeek

　　"… in refinement and smoothness … it may surpass everything else in the midsize class." ---Car and Drive

　　"Those touches of genius essential for long-term success are present and accounted for."---Motor Trend

　　"… anticipates rather than reacts to the competition."--- AutoWeek

　　" The new 24-valve VG starts with a velvety snarl."

　　--- Automobile Magazine

　　This advertisement quotes five descriptions from four

news media. It shows that Eagle Vision Tsi can participate in competition actively and defeat others. It's certain that these quotations can increase persuasiveness of the goods.

　　C. Rhetorical Devices in English Advertising

　　Rhetorical devices are variations of literal or ordinary form of expressions. Their use is to make the thought more striking and effective, for they have the power to vivify and illustrate. A fresh, apt rhetorical device appeals to the imagination, creates mental pictures and makes the speech or writing vivid, impressive and interesting. For this reason, advertisers often use various rhetorical devices to increase the readability and appeal of an advertisement and to arouse consumers' interest of buying the product.

　　1. Personification

　　Personification is a figure of speech in which inanimate objects or abstractions are endowed with human qualities or are represented as possessing human form. The use of personification in advertising will endow the product with human emotion, and will make them amicable to consumers.

　　Flowers by Interflora speak from the heart.

　　--Interflora

　　We are proud of the birthplaces of our children, the grapes of Almaden.

　　On our classic varietal wines, you will find the birthplaces of our children.

　　--Almaden

　　2. Simile and Metaphor

　　Simile is a figure of speech in which two essentially unlike things are compared, often in a phrase introduced by like or as.

　　Light as a breeze, soft as a cloud.

　　This is about clothes, and it describe the feature of clothes vividly by using two similes.

　　Ride like a feather in your pocket.

　　Metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison.

　　Go for the Gold

　　The brightest star in electronics.

　　The perfect machine for the perfect machine.

　　Nothing works quite like the human body. But there's one device that works quite well with it. The INTERPLAK Home Plaque Removel Instrument.

　　The last three lines is an advertisement of an electric toothbrush. It compares human body to a perfect machine. What can works well with the body? The answer is another perfect machine and that is a small electric toothbrush. The metaphors indicate that although an electric toothbrush is small, it can work very well as if it's a part of our bodies. So metaphor is useful in English Advertising.

　　3. Pun

　　Pun is a play on words, sometimes on different senses of the same word and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words. It makes a sentence have two meanings, so it is one meaning literally while it wants to convey another meaning factually. It can lead consumers to pay attention to it, have associability and memorize it easily.

　　Ask for More

　　--More cigarette

　　Spoil yourself and not spoil your figure.

　　A Deal with Us Means A Good Deal To You.

　　4.Parallelism

　　Parallelism is also a kind of repetition, but it's stricter than repetition in structure of a sentence. It can strengthen mood or semantic stratification by using a group of sentence components, clauses or sentences.

　　For example, Half Moon Bay Coastside is a wonderland for traveling near San Francisco. In order to attract more visitors, it published a leaflet by using parallelism pattern.

　　Discover the Half Moon Bay Coastside.

　　Discover the Charm…

　　Discover the beauty…

　　Discover the Entertainment…

　　Discover the Adventure…

　　Discover…along the Pacific Ocean…

　　The advertisement is so attractive that visitors can't help wanting to visit it.

　　6. Rhyming

　　Rhyming is correspondence of terminal sounds of words or of lines of verse. It can make an advertisement more interesting and easy to memorize and recite.

　　Examples as follows,

　　Cleans your breath while it cleans your teeth. (Colgate toothpaste)

　　Pepsi-Cola hits the spot,

　　Twelve full ounces, that's a lot,

　　Twice as much for a nickel, too,

　　Pepsi-Cola is the drink for you.

　　The advertisement of Pepsi-Cola is written according to the tunes of a folk in England. The tunes of a folk itself are popular, so the advertisement is easy to accept and be on everybody's lips. Therefore, its disseminate effect is quite good.

　　Ⅳ. Conclusion

　　Advertising language as a special kind of language is very different from common language. It has its own features in morphology, syntax, and rhetorical devices. Simple and attractive are two general features of advertising English. By using the above principles and forms of writing advertisement, we could easily find a way, which we believe is the best one, to write an advertisement. The headline should be attractive, the body copy should be persuasive, and the slogan should be memorable. All the details are perfect in linguistic direction.

　After analyzing the features of advertisements, we should can find a proper position for our own advertisement, and choose methods fit it best.

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