广告中模糊语的现象分析(英语论文)

.-.AbstractAbstract:Advertisingmaybedescribleasthescienceofarrestingthehumanintelligencelongenoughtogetmoneyfromit.Itisclearthatadvertisinghasplayedadecisiveroleintoday’sbusinessworld.Theissueofwhetheradvertisinglanguagesareattractiveandpersuasiveornothasbecamethepointofattention.SothoroughandtheoreticalstudiesonlanguagefeaturesofEnglishadvertisinghelpsimproveboththeunderstandinganddesigningofsuccessfuladvertisements.Afterabriefintroductiontoadvertising,advertisinglanguage,fuzzinessandfuzzylinguistics,thethesisisfocusedonthelinguisticrealizationsoffuzzinessinadvertisingEnglishfromthefollowingtwoperspectives:thesemanticrealizatiionandrhetoricaldevices,descriptiveadjectivesandsymbolsandabbreviationsareanalyzedtorevealfuzzynatruethatareusedbyadvertiserstoachievetheirpersuasiveends.Whileintherhetoricaldevices,punningandmetaphorswhichmakelanguagemorevividandcreatmoreboundlessassocoationandimaginationarediscussed.Thenthethesisconcludeswithabriefsummaryofthearticleandpointsoutthelimitationsofthestudy.KeyWords:advertisingEnglish,fuzziness,semanticandrhetoricalanalysis摘要摘要:广告业被认为是一条通过耗尽人类智慧赚取钱财的科学之道。很明显，广告在今天的商业世界已发挥着举足轻重的作用。广告语言能否具有诱惑力和说服力已成为关注的焦点。因此对英语广告语言系统全面地研究，可以提高对广告的理解，构想出成功的英语广告。论文在简短地对广告、广告语言、模糊性和模糊理论进行介绍之后，主要对以下两种模糊实现形式进行分析。一、语义模糊。这类广告通过使用模糊限制词，模糊数量词、模糊动词、修饰性形容词以及符号和缩略词等具备模糊性的语言来突破日常行为的规范，使词语在表达字面意义的同时又暗示其多重含义，形成词语含义的未定性，激发了读者的联想和想象，吸引他们的注意并提起他们的兴趣，从而对广告本身是说服力起增强作用。二、修辞格（双关和暗喻）的使用，使广告语言更具生动，引发读者无限的想象和联想。最后结论部分中，论文对主要概念和内容作出了总结，提出了全文的局限性。关键词：广告英语；模糊性；语义和修辞分析IntroductionWiththerapiddevelopmentoftheworldeconomyandgloblization,advertisinghasplayedavitalroleinpromotingsales,providingservicesandbuildingimages.BasedonthefactthatChinaremainslaggingbehindthewestinbothphysicalattractionandpersuasivenessinadvertising,thoroughandtheoreticalstudiesonthelanguageofadvertisinghavebecomeanurgentneed.Inourdailylife,fuzzylanguagehasbeenemployedincommunicationonvariousoccasions’negotiationandpublicspeaking.Thoughmanylinguistshavebeenexploringfuzzytheoryandfuzzylinguisticsheavily,theunderstandingoffuzzinesshasnotbeensatisfactoryandperfect.Asanotwell-establishedregister,advertisingEnglishhasitsuniquefeaturescomparedwithEnglishforotherpurpose.FuzzinessfunctioninadvertisingEnglishplaysapositiveroleinhumancommunication.ThroughlinguisticrealizationsoffuzzinessinadvertisingEnglishfromsemanticangletorhetoricaldevicesinthetext,thepurposeofthepaperistomakepeopleequipwithabettermanipulationoffuzzyadvertising,soastopraparethemforproducingmoresuccessfuladvertisements,thenarousingpeople’sinterestinads,stimulatingpeople’sneedsofcomsuption,andenticingpeopletomakepurchaseinproducts.1.GeneralideasofadvertisinganditslanguageWhatisadvertising?Whatdoesadvertisingoriginatefrom?Whydoesitcomeintobeging?Whatisitslanguagelike?Thefollowingisgoingtoexplainthem.1.1ThedefinitionanddevelopmentofadvertisingInetymologicalstudies,theword“advertise”inMiddleEnglishisspeltas“advertisen”meaning“tonotify”andinoldFrenchas“advertir”or“advertises”.Wefindtworecordshavethesameexplanationof“tonotice”.FutherstudiesrootedoutitsorigininLatinas“advertere”,meaning“ameansusedtodrawattentionfromthepublictosomethingandleadthemtosomedirection”.[1]Nowadays,thescholarsfromdifferentcountriesholddifferentopinionsabouttheexplanationofadvertsing,butremainingthesimilarmeaningbasically.AnexplanationiswidelyacceptedbyAmericanMarketingAssociationasfollowing:Advertisingisthenonpersonalcmmunicationofinformationusuallypaidforandusuallypersuasiveinnature,aboutproducts,servicesorideasthroughthevariousmedia.[2]Itisnotdifficultforustofindoutfourcomponentsofadvertisingfromtheexplanationabove.First,advertisingisdirectedtothegeneralpublicratherthanindividuals.Second,theinformationconveyedbyadvertsingcanbecommericalornon-commercial.Third,advertisingreachesusthoughachannelofcommunicationreferredtoasamedium,suchas:TV,radio,newspaper,magazinesandsoon.Fourth,anyadvertisingislaunchedbyidentifiedsponsorsororganizationswithagivenpurpose,eithercommercialadvertisingorpublicinterestsadvertising.Indeed,advertisingistheresultofhighdegreeofdevelopmentofcommodityeconomy.Inordertomaketheirgoodssellwell,tradesmanandmerchantstiredeverymeanstotriggertheconsumerstobuytheirproducts.HenrySampsondescribledthebeginningofadvertisinginhisworkHistoryofAdvertisingasbelow:Thereislittleaboutthatthedesireamongtradesmenandmerchantstomakegoodtheirwareshaveanexistencealmostaslongasthecustomsofbuyingandselling,anditisbutnaturedtosupposethatadvertisementsinsomeshapeorformhaveexistednotonlyfromtimeimmemorial,butalmostforalltime.[3]Untilnow,withtherapiddevelopmentoftheworldeconomyandtheaccelerationofglobalizationprocess,advertisinghasplayedaveryimportantroleintoday’sbusinessworld.Advertising,withitspersuasivefunctionandtakingactionfuction,helpsabusiness,butalsoincreasethevalueofitsgoodwill,andwintheconfidenceoftheconsumers.1.2FeaturesofadvertisinglanguageSincetheadvertisingaimsatdrawingattentionfromthepublicandleadingthemtosomedirection,andthuslanguageofadvertisingislanguagethatisusedineffortstopersuadeorotherwiseenticepeopletopurchaseproductsorservices.TofflerinhisFutureShockapproachesthelanguageofadvertisingasaalanguageoffinelyengineered,ruthlessly,purposefulmessages,intendingtotriggeraspecialresponsefromtheconsumers.ThispointofviewisechoedbylinguistPeterTrudgill,whosaid,“Thewordingofadvertisementsis,inmostcases,carefullycraftedtomeetparticularends.Sometimesitisintendedtoinform,butmoreoften,andmoreimportantly,topersuadeandinfluence.”[4]DavidOgilvyalsosaid,“Everywordinthecopymustcount,advertisewhatisunique.”[5]Inotherwords,theultimategoalofadvertisingistosell.Thus,advertisementsmustbepresentedwithatypeoflanguagethatispersuasiveinnature,concise,vivid,visual,andwithemotionandappeal,thatis,thelanguageofadvertisingconveysthemostcomplicatedmeaningwiththesimplestlanguageandisloadedwithpersuasiveintentionsforsalespromotionorotherpurposes.Lookatanexample:“Romantic,Mysterious,Ttalian”.Threeadjectivesareputtogether,conciseandsprightly,givingexpressiontodeepconnotation.Anotherexample“Bigthrills,Smallbills”.Thisisanadvertisementsponsoredbythetaxicenter.Anyoneenjoystheexcitementtothelargestextendaslongaspayingthelessmoney.Theword“big”standsintotalcontrasttotheword“small”,theendsyllableoftheword“thrills”and“bills”remainssame,whichcreatesasenseofrhythm.Thecasesbelowalsoexplaintheideasabovewell.Lookagain.Alifetimeofperfectcoordination.LettheNewYorkTimesfindyou.Thebenefitofforesight,theworldin1993.Somuchflavorthatyouwillnevermissyourhigh“tarcigarette”.[6]2.FuzzinessFromtheadvertisementsinsection1.2,wecaneasilyfindthatsomeunclearandvagueexpressionsexistinthelanguageofadvertising.Andthefollowingisgoingtomakeabriefintroductionaboutfuzziness.Inourdailylife,howmanyhairsmustamanlosebeforeheisdeterminedtobebald?Howmanysecondmakeupa“moment”?Howmuchmoneydoyouhavetoearntobe“rich”?Whenisapileofsandaheap?Weallagreethatonegrainofsandisnotaheapbutthatamilliongrainsisaheap.Somewhereinbetweenthepilemustchangefrom“non-heap”to“heap”.Theseindeterminateconceptsarehardtologicallydefine,andusuallyarechanged,asthevariationoftime,placeandpeoplegroups.Forexample,”Sheisaprettygirl.”Maybeweneednotknowhowbeautifulsheis,justinordertoconveyusefulinformation“sheispretty.”Thus,vaguestatementsareprovidedwhereamoreprecisestatementiscalledforsometimes.Mostimportantly,humansseemtobeabletocommunicatequitewellusingvagueterms.PaulTherousevertrenchantlysaid,“Languageisdeceptive,andthoughEnglishissubtle,italsoallowsacleverpersonwithonealerttotheambiguitiesofEnglishtoplaytrickswithmockprecisionandtocombinevaguenesswithpolitenss.Englishisperfectfordiplomatsandlovers.”Lakoffinhisworkalsosaid,“Someofthemostinterestingjobistomakethingsfuzzierorlessfuzzy.”[7]Indeed,accuracyanddeterminacyoflanguageoccursintheextreme,whileuncertainandinaccratelanguageisoftenfoundhereandthere.Justbasedontheexistenceofuncertainobjectsandvagueideas,fuzzylanguagecameintobeing.Inspiteoftheunclearness,weseldomchallengethespeakertoanexactexplanationofthesubjectinquestionsincetheseexpressionsareunderstandableandcommunicativeenoughinmostcases.Thus,wecansay,thisintrinsicuncertaintyinnaturallanguageiscalledfuzzinessorvaguenss.Thefollowingtwodefinitionswillhelpushaveaclearmindoffuzziness.3.LinguisticrealizationsoffuzzinessinadvertisingEnglishHowdoesthelanguagefuzzinessfuctionintheadvertisingafterall?PerhapslinguisticrealizationoffuzzinessinadvertisingEnglishcanbeanalyzedfromsemanticaswellassyntacticalperspective,torhetoricaldevicesorotherareas.AndthistextisfocusedonsemanticandrhetoricalrealizationsoffuzzinessinadvertisingEnglish.Thepurposeofthisstudyoflanguagefuzzinessistoraisethelevelofawarenessaboutthepersuasivetechniquesexpressedintheapplicationoffuzzylanguageinads.3.1SemanticRealizationofFuzzinessSincefuzzinessisembodiedinmanyaspectsofadvertising,thearticlewillfocusontheverbalespeciallysemanticrealizationoffuzziness,includingnumericalfuzzyquantifiers,fuzzyverbsanddescriptiveadjective.Thediffusedapplicationoffuzzylanguageinadvertisementisduetoitsconformitywiththesemanticfeaturesofadvertisinglanguage.Advertisementswithfuzzylanguagecaneasilyarouseconsumers’interestandstimulateimaginationandassociationofideas.Hence,fuzzylanguageshortensthedistancebetweenconsumersandadvertisement,andenticespeopletomakepurchase.3.1.1Asweknow,thereareanumberofwaysbeingfuzzyaboutquantitiseinEnglish.Inparticular,speakershavetheoptionofeitheraddingsomethingtoaprecisenumberornumbers,orusingaroundnumber,orusingafuzzyquantifier.Whateverwaysthespeakersuse,itallexpressesanuncertainandindeterminatenotion.Whenanumberdoesnotrefertoarealnumber,thenitisjustanimaginarynumber.Thisisonephonomenaofsemanticfuzzinessinnumber.Ifnumbersareusedtorefertofuzzymeaning,thenitwilllostitsnumericalmeaning,butrepresentimagerymeaning.[11]Examplesarepresentedasfollowing:InTaipei…1+1+1+1+1=one.ThisChristmassurpriseshimwithadozenpresents---ayearofGQ.Thisyearistwenty,andnextyeariseighting.ThisisthemysteryofBelie.Example1istheadvertisementinTaipeiWorldTradeCenter.Whyfour1equalsone,butnotfour?Originallytheadvertisementintendstoenticethereadertoreadthebodyquicklyandarousetheirimagination.Theequation1+1+1+1+1=onerealizestheshiftfromnumbertoimage,makingthereadersconnectfourIwiththeCenterofConference,theWorldOffice,theCenterofExhibition,andLuxuryHotelinTaipei.Inexample2,thephraseadozenpresentdoesnotrefertoarealnumber,butanimagerynumber.Andinexample3,thenumberindicatesthefunctionoftheproductsmakespeoplelookyounger.4.1.2FuzzyverbsThereisakindofverbsinadvertisementthatcreatesasenseofintimacy,andmakestheadvertisementsstrikerootintheheartsofthepeople.Especiallyformonosyllabicverbs:make,get,have,come,love,know,etc.Inadditiontoeasilyacceptedbythereader,thesefuzzyverbsareofclearnessanddefinitenessinmeaningexpression.Forexample,TakeTOSHIBA,taketheworld.(东芝电子)Meanwhile,suchthewordslook,feel,taste,smell,etc.asexpresspeople’ssubjectivenotionsandfeeling.Uncertaintyandindeterminacyinnatureleavesthereadersmuchroomforimagination.Forexample:YoucanfeelthefeatureinPhilipsdesign.Goforit!Look,good,feelgood.Beyoubest!“Icouldnotbelieveit,untilItriedit!”“Iamimpressed!”“Youhavegottatryit!”“Iloveit”Inexample3,itssimplewordingandcolloquialdesignlettheconsumersfeelthereality---aconsumerwhohasusedtheproductsistalkingabouttheexcellenceofproductsinquality.Aseriesofverbsbelieve,try,impresseasilyinducepeopleproduceastrongurgetomakepurchase.Carl.P.Wright,afamouscopywriter,holdsthatthesewordsnotonlyavoiddirectandbluntexpressionbutalsoinducepeopletofiguretheimplicationsunderlyingthewordsspokenandtoholdthemastrue.Hepointsoutthreetypicalfuzzywordsinads,namely,help,like,virtually.“Help”isapopularcatchwordinads,whichmeans,“beconduciveto”butwhosedefiniteeffectsarenotindicated.Forexample:Check.UpGUM(Check.Up口香糖)Carrythisplaguefighteralongtohelpfightplagueafterlunchandbetweenbrushngs.Clinicaldatashowsithelpsremoveplague.Whenyoucannotbrush,ChewCheck.UpGUM.Inthisexample,consideringpsychologicalphenomenaofhumanbeing:Everyonewantstobehelpedtogetridofdifficultiesandfrustraction,theuseofthewordhelpmakestheconsumersfeelthattheirneedsaremetwiththepresenceofthegoodorservices.Basedonthis,thecopywriterswintheconsumerssupportandhelpthesalepromotionforthemanufacturer.“Like”isalsoafrequentlyusedcatchword.Itinducespeopletoimagineandleadsthemtofeelasifthemselvesareparticipatingintheactivities,leavingthemmoreroomtocreatameaningfulandfantasticworld.Forexample,Forpreciousmoments,likerightafterdinner.(Godiva,icecream)3.1.3Asweknow,copywritersusuallyuseadjectivesadstomakedetaildescriptionandjudgmentsonthequality,feature,andeffectsoftheproducts.Forthecomsumers,itisdifficulttodifferentiatebetweenobjectivedescriptionandsubjectivejudgments.Basedonthefuzzinessofunderstanding,copywriterstryeverymeanstomakeexaggeratedcomplimentsintheirproductsforthepurposeofcateringtopeople’spsychologicalneeds,andstimulatinggreatcuriositytomakepurchase.AccordingtothestatisticsfromGeoffreyLeech,themostfrequentlyused20descriptiveadjectives.(1)new;(2)good;(3)free;(4)fresh;(5)delicious;(6)full;(7)sure;(8)clean;(9)wonderful;(10)specia;(11)special;(12)fine;(13)big;(14)great;(15)real;(16)easy;(17)bright;(18)extra;(19)safe;(20)rich[13]Thesewordstendtoexpressindefiniteextension,andthelargerextensiontheyhave,thefuzziertheyare.[14]Semanticfuzzinessstimulatesreaders’interestforads,callingforimmenseimaginationandassociation.Someexamplesasfollows:Aturecollector’sitem.Theonlycoinwatchfortheconnoisseur.Goodtothelastdrop.(麦斯威尔咖啡)Alladjectivesabovearelaudatoryfuzzyinmeaning.Inexample1,itisvaluableandclassicalwatchthatattractsallcollectors.Thewordonlyembodiestheextraordinaryquality.Andinexample2,Chinesemeaningis“滴滴香浓，意犹未尽”,clevewordinggoodseemstobediffusingthickaftertasteofcoffee.Findingunusalthroughcomparisonisthefrequentmeansofforcopywriters.Inordertohighlighttheexcellenceoftheproducts,copywritersoftencomparetheirproductswitnotherproducts.Itiswhysomanyadjectiveandadverbialcomparativesandsuperlativesarewidelyusedinads.Comparedwiththeadjectiveandadverbialthemselves,adjectiveandadverbialcomparativesandsuperlativesownthelargerextension,andthefuzziermeaning.Meanwhile,theuseofadjectiveandadverbilecomparativesandsuperlativespromoteselevationofmeaninginads.Itshouldbenotedthatmanycomparativesandsuperlativesdonothaveanindicatedtarget,whichcreatesafuzzyimpressionupontheviewersandleaveroomforimagination.[15]Somecasesasfollowing:Tastesricher…mellower…moresatisfying.(Real香烟)Sothebestwaywellbeyettocome.Carcompaniesmadelotsofclaimsabouttheircaes.AtNissan,wedomore---Wofferproof.Wehaveenoughevidencetoarriveataconclusion:Manymanufacturerstryeverymeanstoadvertisetheirproductstopamongtheircompetitions,aimingatstimulatingconsumers’needsofconsumption.3.2FuzzinessinFiguresofSpeechSametoliteraryworks,figuresofspeecharewidelyusedinads.Therhetoricaldevicesareusedtocommunicateinformationabouttheproductsandtheirfeatures,ordescribethefeelingsandattitudesofconsumers,whichincreasesthevividnessandinterestofadsandimpressespeopledeeply.Oncebuildingthecorporateimageandwiningconsumers’favor,ithasachievedthepurposeofsalepromotionandconsumption.Inaddition,thefunctionoftherhetoricaldevicesarousespeople’sasssociationandaestheticappeal,soakingindulcetmood,andgraduallyenticestheconsumerstomakepurchase.Infact,therhetoricaldeviceisafuzzylanguagephenomenon.Thefollowingstudyismainlyfocusedonpunningandmetaphor.3.2.1Topunistoplayonword,orrathertoplaywiththeformandmeaningofwords,forawittyorhumorouseffect.[16]BasedonthefactthatmanywordsintheEnglishlanguagelookorsoundalike,butdifferentsenses,orconnotations,copywriterstactfullyemploypuntotheads,aimingatcreatinganunexpectedeffect.Forexample:Moneydoesn’tgrowontrees.Butitblossomsatourbranches.---LloydsBank(劳埃德斯银行)TheadispostedupoutdoorssignpostofLloydsBank.Thewordbrancheshasdoublemeaning.Thesurfacemeaningrefersto“树枝”,whichformsacontrastwiththewordtrees.Whilethedeepmeaningrefersto“分行结构”.Inasense,theadaimsattellingpeopletodepositmoneyinthisbank,andthenthemoneywillgradullyincrease.Thecopywriterstactfullyusethewordbranches,andnovelconceptioncreatesanunexpectedeffect.Similarcasesasfollows:GiveyourhairatouchofSpring.(发乳)IamMoresatisfied!(香烟)Example1,whenholdingpilesoffairwithhighresilience,doyoufeelenergeticandsunshine?Thisisthefunctionofthewordspring.Example2,“More”,asabrandoftheproduct,alsoindicatesthestateofsatisfactionandcomfortwhenenjoyingsmokycigarette.Forexample:Makeyoueveryhelloarealgood-buy.Haveanicetrip,buybuy.“Buy-buy”isderivedfrom“bye-buy”,theadhappensinafree-taxshopatHeathrowAirport,fullservicesanddependabilityinqualityareworthtomakepurchase,whichmakesyouhaveagoodtrip.Meanwhileitisameansofsalepromotion.Thehumorandconnotationoffuzzylanguagearemagicallyexcellent.3.2.2Metaphor Ametaphor,unlikeasimile,alwaysrepresentsimpliedmeaningoftheutterancevividlyandvisually.Duetowithoutdefiniteboundarybetweencomparedthings,tosomeextent,itmotivatespeopleimaginationtoconveymoreexactimage.Forexample:(1)Smoothassilk.(化妆品)(2)TheJungle,theJungleFighter.(防汗剂)Inexample2thereexistsacross-culturalgap.Thenoun“Jungle”easilyassociatesthefiercestruggleandcompetitioninWesternsocietythatwasfullofthelawofthejungle---theweakarethepreyofthestrong.Thereeveryonefeltscaredandtired,butdidnotrefusetobedrawnintothematter.Inthiscase,itwastheJungleFighterthatmadepeoplegetridofthetroble.Theademploysthemetaphor:thesocietyiscomparedtoabattlefiedthatisfullofroughstuff.TheJungleFighteriscomparedtocombatarms.thoughthesurfacemeaningseemsfuzzy,thedeepsemanticconjunctioniswellformed.4.ConclusionUndoubtedly,fuzzylanguagesenhancetheeffectivenessofcommunication,reinforcetheflexibilityofexpress