系统功能与语篇分析：从及物性语气和语域分析英语广告.doc

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1、从及物性，语气和语域分析英语广告Abstract The advertisement is an indispensable part in the society. So the researches on the English advertisements are becoming more and more useful and important. At the beginning of the thesis, the author holds the definition, the effect and the component of the advertisement. And

2、 then the author states something about discourse analysis from its definition, components, and levels. Discourse analysis is the process of description, explanation, illustration, and evaluation. The understanding of the text is the low level, but the high one is evaluating the text. Systemic Funct

3、ional Grammar (SFG) is proved that it is more suitable for discourse analysis than any other theories. It consists of systemic grammar and functional grammar. Systemic Grammar claims that language is a system network of meaning potential or that it is a semiotic system. Functional Grammar is classif

4、ied language function into three parts: ideational metafunction, interpersonal metafunction, and textual metafunction. Finally, the author puts these theories into the practice of analyzing the English advertisement. With the discussion and analysis, it is proved that SFG can develop the relationshi

5、p between them further, and English advertisement can be understood clearly.Key Words English advertisement; discourse analysis; systemic functional grammar; functional grammar摘要广告现在已经成为社会生活不可缺少的一部分，对广告语篇分析有其存在的必然性。论文首先论述了广告的定义，影响以及其文案的组成部分。接下来论述了关于语篇分析，从语篇分析的概念，组成部分，以及两个层面。语篇分析是一个描写，解释，说明，评估的过程，对语篇

6、理解了还要会做出评论。而系统功能语法被指出这个语法比其他语言学框架更适合用来分析语篇，所以论文接下来描述了系统功能语法的理论内容去支持语篇分析，系统功能语法包括系统语法和功能语法。系统语法核心思想是认为语言是有个意义潜势的系统网络。功能语法从语言的功能的角度总结出语言的三大元功能：概念功能，人际功能，语篇功能。最后作者用以上的相关理论对一个英语广告实例进行了具体分析。通过以上论述和分析，作者证明了系统功能语法指导语篇分析的可行性。作者也望两者能更加的完善，以至能更系统地分析理解广告语篇。关键词 英语广告； 语篇分析； 系统功能语法； 功能语法 1. IntroductionSince the

7、1960s, Halliday, the Professor of linguistics, develops a systematic and comprehensive theory of language, called “Systemic-Functional Grammar (SFG)”, and publishes his book “An Introduction to Functional Grammar” in 1985 and 1994. Many scholars also published a number of books and papers on systemi

8、c grammar. The research of Systemic Functional Grammar begins in 1970s and become popular in the late 1980s.English advertising begins in the medieval times and the advertising-boom appears in the 1920s. Today advertising has become an indispensable tool for modern companies and institutions. So the

9、 discourse analysis of English advertising is very necessary. With the analysis, people can understand the advertisement completely and supply the further improvement with some evidence. Now few people have tried to use the theories of the SFG to analyze English advertisements. But Professor Huanggu

10、owen makes a detailed study on the combination of the SFG and the analysis of English advertisement in his newly published book “Theory and Practice of Discourse Analysis-A Study in Advertising Discourse (2001)”.The thesis will make a tentative endeavor to apply the theories of the SFG to the analys

11、is of English advertisements, hoping to prove that the theories of SFG can be used to analyze English advertising and are actually effective. 2. Advertising2.1 The definition of advertisingMost of the scholars hold that “Advertising” originates from the Latin word “Adventure” which means arousing pe

12、oples interest to take action. In 1300 to 1475, it was changed to the medieval English “Advertise”, which meant, “Someone pays attention to something”. The first newspaper advertisement is said to have appeared in 1704 in the Boston News Letter in America. During the 18th century advertising grew in

13、 popularity both in Britain and the American colonies.Before 1890, in the western, the definition of advertising is generally called, as “Advertising is a piece of news about the product or the service.” In 1948, The Committee on Definitions of the American Marketing Association defines: “the non-pe

14、rsonal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, service or idea by identified sponsors through the various media.” American Sponsors Association hold: Advertising is the paid communication for the masses, and its final purpose is to transmit mess

15、ages, change the attitude, induce people to take action and benefit identified sponsors. The Encarta Encyclopedia defines “advertising” as “a form of commercial mass communication designed to promote the sale of a product or service, or a message on behalf of an institution, organization, or candida

16、te for political office”.1 Now, draw the following conclusion: “Advertising is a paid, mass-mediated attempt to persuade”. 2 Firstly, identified sponsors need to pay for it. Secondly, it is delivered through a communication medium designed to reach more than one person. Thirdly, it is the public com

17、munication designed to change or reinforce the attitude and the action.2.2 The effect of advertisingAdvertising can make a contribution to sales-along with the right product, the right price, and the right distribution. It can not only create social wealth directly and provide lots of jobs, but also

18、 promote the development of other industries. And advertising is related to GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in that it can contribute to levels of overall consumer demand when it plays a key role in introducing new products. Advertising can have a stabilizing effect on downturns in business activity.Ad

19、vertising is alleged to stimulate competition and therefore motivate firms to strive for better products, better production methods, and other competitive advantages that ultimately benefit the economy as a whole.Due to the economies of scale produced by advertising, consumers actually realize lesse

20、xpensive products. As broad-based demand stimulation results in lower production and administrative costs per unit, low prices are passed on to consumers. The pressure of competition and the desire to have fresh, marketable products stimulate firms to produce improved products and do some innovation

21、s. All of these can contribute to the standard of living and quality of life in a society.Advertising educates consumers, equipping them with the information they need to make informed purchase decisions. Consumers become more educated regarding the features, benefits, functions, and value products.

22、 Further, consumers can become more aware of their own tendencies toward being persuaded and relying on certain types of product information. According to the above, better-educated consumers enhance their lifestyles and economic power through astute marketplace decision-making.In all, with the deve

23、lopment of the technology and the diversity of the mass media, advertising has influenced people pervasively in the daily life. Advertising plays an important role in the society. Foreign countries (especially American) have developed the advertising for a long time, so Chinese need to use the exper

24、ience of other countries for reference. That is the study of English advertising has its necessity. The study of analysis of English advertising is meaningful.2.3The components of copywriting“Copywriting is the process of expressing the value and benefits; a brand has to offer, via written or verbal

25、 descriptions.”3 A complete piece of copywriting generally consists of headline (including sub-headline), body copy, slogan, and supplementary items.The headline is the most important part, which is the leading sentence used at the top or bottom of the advertising. It should arouse interests and att

26、ract attentions. It can make people keep on reading and get to know more about the product being sold. It must be short, simple word about not more than 10 words, but it includes enough information, the name of brand and so on. Subhead is an additional headline usually appears above or below the hea

27、dline. It includes important brand information not included in the headline. Like the headline it transmits key selling points or brand information quickly. It should reinforce the headline and serves as a transition to the body copy.Body copy tells a more complete story about the product or service

28、, only one out of 10 readers read the body copy, so it will arouse peoples interest and more information for people to know of. Generally it includes emotional copy and reason-why copy.Slogan, its structure is similar to the headline. A slogan is a short phrase used to help establish an image, ident

29、ity, or position for a brand or an organization. It can provides continuity across different media and between advertising campaigns. It expresses advertising message with brief, repeatable, and memorable statement. That is, it can make consumers take actions. Take some famous slogans for example: “

30、Just do it! (Nike)”, “Fresh up with seven-up (Seven-up)”, “Things go better with Coca-cola (Coca-cola)”.Supplementary items are the complete instructions of advertising content. It includes illustration, trademark, and name of commodity, logo type, address, telephone number, price, accounts number,

31、box and panel, seal and so on. Illustration and trademark are very important in them. Most of people read ad following the order: illustration, headline, and body copy. So illustration is the most important part for a successful ad. Illustration arouses interest to read the headline, identify the su

32、bject of the ad, clarify claims made by the copy, and create a farmable impression of the information. Trademark includes brand name, corporate or store name and visual symbol. It maybe use in shortening. A well-known brand name is worthy and therefore is of great importance to a corporation. The fe

33、atures of the trademark are describable and remarkable,such as “Ford”, “Adidas”.3. Discourse analysisIn 1952, Zellings.Harriss, the structuralists, reported the article “Discourse Analysis” in the magazine “Language”. In the last 50 years, a lot of scholars make some efforts to this subject and gain

34、 some achievements. From the document, discourse analysis involves linguistics, semiotics, psychology, anthropology, sociology, literature, information science and so on, and gradually forms the knowledge studying language-in-use in the communication. “Discourse analysis is the study of how sentence

35、s in spoken and written language form larger meaningful units such paragraphs, conversations, interview, etc. For example, discourse analysis deals with (a) how the choice of articles, pronouns, and tenses affects the structure of the discourse. (b) The relationship between utterances in a discourse

36、. (c) The moves made by speakers to introduce a new topic, change the topic, or assert a higher role relationship to the other participants.”4 “Discourse analysis emphasizes that language is not merely a self-contained system of symbols but more importantly a mode of doing, being, and becoming. Disc

37、ourse analysis seeks to describe and explain linguistic phenomena in terms of the affective, cognitive, situational, and cultural contexts of their use and to identify linguistic resources through which we (re) construct our life (our identity, belief, ideology, and so forth). Essentially, it asks w

38、hy we use language the way we do and how we live lives linguistically. Discourse analysis insists on the use of naturally occurring language date (as opposed to invented data)”. 5Generally speaking, discourse analysis is a developing and non-qualitative subject, which has neither the guidance of a s

39、pecific theory nor generally recognized analysis ways and steps. Schiffirn, American discourse analyst, introduces six methods using in the discourse analysis: speech act theory, international sociologist, and the ethnography of communication, pragmatics, conversation analysis, and variation analysi

40、s. M.A.K.Halliday in his book “An introduction to Functional Grammar”holds that “The aim (of SFG) has been to construct a grammar for purposes of text analysis: one that would make it possible to say sensible and useful things about any text, spoken or written, in modern English.”63.1 Purpose of dis

41、course analysisSFG construct a grammar for purposes of text analysis, so most of scholars insist that it is more suitable for discourse analysis than any other theories. That is SFG is the approach proposed in the study of discourse analysis. The discourse analysis guiding by SFG is called as “Funct

42、ional discourse analysis”.Some analysts think discourse analysis is the interpretive activity, because its purpose is to help the readers understand the meaning of the text and the writer. But functional discourse analysis is the explanatory activity; its purpose is to explain why the text expresses

43、 the meaning. Halliday and Hasan hold that the purpose of the text analysis is explanation not interpretation. For a text, the purpose of “interpretation” is to understand what the meaning of the text is, but the purpose of “explanation” is to make clear that how the text expresses its meaning. Acco

44、rding to the authors understanding, the explanatory activity includes interpretive activity, because before explaining how a text expresses its meaning, people will know what the meaning of a text is.The purpose of functional discourse analysis is to evaluate the text. Before evaluating a text, disc

45、ourse analysis must study the text from “What is the meaning of the text?” “How does the text express the meaning?” “Why does the text express the meaning?”In all, the purpose of discourse analysis is explanatory activity to evaluate the text.3.2 Scopes of discourse analysis Halliday holds that disc

46、ourse analysis consists of context of culture, context of situation, language. (I) Context of culture: language is the social phenomenon and the reflection of the social activity. Every text is produced and then affected in a particular context of culture. “Context of culture” refers to the text exp

47、ressing all the meanings in the special society and culture (including purpose of communication, way of communication, form of communication, content of communication, etc). Context of culture is reflected by “genre”. Genre consists of schematic structure and realizational pattern.(II) Context of si

48、tuation: it is immediate environment of language activity, which is time, place, talking content, the relation among people related to transfer communicational meanings. Halliday and Hasan (1985) divide context of situation into three parts: field, tenor and mode.(a) Field refers to what is being ta

49、lk about, what is it that the participants are engaged in, in which the language figures as some essential components.(b) Tenor refers to the people involved in the communication and the relationship between them. What kinds of role relationships obtain among the participants, including permanent and temporary relationships of one kind or another, both the types of speech role that they are taking on in the dialogue and the whole cluster of socially significan