On the Use of Rhetoric in English Advertisement论修辞在英语广告中的应用.doc

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1、On the Use of Rhetoric in English Advertisement论修辞在英语广告中的应用AbstractAdvertisement is a popular cultural phenomenon in peoples daily life. It not only provides the information about products and stimulates the purchasing power, but also enriches peoples ideological life.Rhetoric is one kind of importa

2、nt expressive device in language. It refers to interpreting abstract and complex ideas or processes through simple and concrete methods. Since rhetoric is full of imagination, it can promote the transmission and communication of emotions and ideas.Rhetoric exists in writings with various styles, esp

3、ecially, in advertisements. Rhetoric plays a very important role in English advertisement, acting as a key element for the success of an advertisement. The thesis, based on the respective studies of the definition of advertisement and rhetoric, makes a careful analysis of the use of main rhetorical

4、devices in English advertisement, including simile, metaphor, pun, personification, parallelism and rhyme, targeting at promoting the further development of advertisement.Key WordsEnglish advertisements; rhetoric; function 摘要广告是人们日常生活中最常见的一种文化现象，不仅提供产品信息，刺激购买力，而且丰富人们的精神生活。修辞是一种重要的语言表达手段，是用简单具体且充满想象的

5、方法将抽象复杂的思想或进程阐释出来，能够促进情感的传递和思想的表达。修辞存在于各种文体之中，尤其在英语广告中起着极为重要的作用， 是影响英语广告成败的关键。 论文从分析广告及修辞的定义和功能出发，认真研究了主要修辞手段在英语广告中的作用，包括明喻、暗喻、双关、拟人、平行和押韵等修辞手段，旨在推进广告的进一步发展和提高。关键词 英语广告; 修辞; 功能 IntroductionNowadays, concerning with advertisement, different people have different opinions. For most of the people, the

6、distinct feature of advertisement is that advertisement is a combination of content and style. That is to say, a good advertisement not only has attraction in content, but also has charm in style. Obviously, the determinative factor of a good or a bad advertisement is whether the use of rhetoric is

7、appropriate or not. It can be found that the use of rhetoric plays a very important role in advertisement. Without the use of rhetoric, absolutely, there is no good advertisement. Therefore, it is necessary to make an analysis and study on this subject.The whole thesis is concerned about the use of

8、rhetoric in English advertisement, and the thesis is divided into three parts. The first part talks about the definition and function of advertisement. The second part illustrates the definition and function of rhetoric. The third part makes a carefully study on the use of main rhetorical devices in

9、 English advertisement, such as, simile, metaphor, pun, personification, parallelism and rhyme. I. AdvertisementAs for advertisement and products, some people believe the successful selling of products cannot be separated from advertisement. Advertisement keeps people informative about the price and

10、 function of products; whats more, advertisement can help to improve products brand awareness and its reputation.A. The Definition of Advertisement“Advertisement is the nonpersonal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by ide

11、ntified sponsors through the various media.” (Liu Xiuyu, P3, 2002)Advertisement has taken many different kinds of forms from ancient times. At the beginning, advertisement evolved to take a variety of forms and to permeate nearly every aspect of the society. Advertisement devices include many kinds,

12、 such as, banners at sporting events, billboards, and Internet Web sites, logos on clothing, magazines, newspapers, radio spots, and television commercials. The people are overwhelmed by a lot of advertisements. It is said that the individuals can expect to be exposed to more than 1,200 different ad

13、vertisement messages each day. Therefore, advertisements are popular in peoples daily life.B. The Function of AdvertisementEnglish advertisements can encourage competition, guide consumption, promote sales, and transmit information. For instance, advertisement tells a consumer the information about

14、a specific product, brand or service and helps him or her to understand and evaluate the information. Moreover, by making people aware of products, services and ideas, advertisement promotes sales and profits. Advertisement is one of the major forces that can help improve the standard of living. The

15、 people, no matter in urban or rural areas, are overwhelmed by a lot of advertisements. Advertisement makes peoples environments more colorful and vigorous. Meanwhile, it can also enrich peoples cultural life and transmit information which contributes to social and cultural prosperity.II. RhetoricRh

16、etoric can be found in any forms of writingpoetry, prose, drama, fictional and non-fictional writing, advertisement. The understanding about the definition and function of rhetoric is helpful for the use of rhetorical devices.A. The Definition of Rhetoric Aristotle was one of the most famous thinker

17、s and orators in Greek. In his famous book, Rhetoric, rhetoric was defined as “the art of persuasion”. (Tang Yin, P1, 2004) Whereas, John Locke, the noted English philosopher of the latter part of the 17th century, said that “rhetoric was the science of oratory, the art of speaking with elegance, an

18、d force”. (Tang Yin, P1, 2004)In present day, the meaning of rhetoric has been extended. Rhetoric assumes the following characteristics, that is, the elaborated and exaggerated language, the art of using language effectively and persuasively, the skills of using language effectively, the structure o

19、f verbal communication. B. The Function of RhetoricRhetorical devices are variations of literal or ordinary forms of expressions. Their function is to make the thought more striking and effective. A fresh and suitable rhetorical device appeals to the imagination, creates mental pictures and makes th

20、e speech or writing vivid, impressive and interesting. Rhetorical devices can make language more vivid by using the simple words to express complex meanings. By the use of rhetoric, even abstract ideas can become concrete. Rhetoric can make the modified subjects more prominent, distinctive, and spec

21、ific. By the use of rhetoric, the language can give people more space to imagine. Whereas, without the use of rhetoric, the language is boring and there is no vigor in the language.For example:Light as a breeze, soft as a cloud.In the sentence, the writer used a kind of rhetorical devicessimile. Sim

22、ile is a figure of speech in which two essentially unlike subjects are compared. Simile often signals itself by “like” or “as”. By using simile, it helps the writer to better communicate with his readers. It is easy for the readers to understand and remember the sentence.III. An Analysis of Rhetoric

23、 in English AdvertisementSeveral kinds of rhetorical devices are frequently used in advertisement, and it is necessary to study them one by one by giving definitions and making illustrations. All of the examples studied below are constrained within English advertisements.A. Simile“Simile is a way of

24、 comparing one thing with another of explaining what one thing is like by showing how it is similar to another thing and it signals itself in a text, with the words as or like.” (Hu Zhuanglin，P286，2001) A simile is made up of four parts: “the tenor”, “the vehicle”, “the comparing word” and “the grou

25、nd”. “The tenor” is the subject of simile. “The vehicle” is the thing compared to or the part transported. “The comparing word” is the simile marker such as, “like, as, than, as if, similar to.” “The ground” is the common properties owned by “the tenor” and “the vehicle”.For example:Breakfast withou

26、t orange juice is like a day without sunshine. (Sun Yijuan)This is an advertisement for “orange juice”. It can be found that, in this advertisement, “orange juice” is “the tenor” and “sunshine” is “the vehicle”. The word “like” signals that the advertisement makes use of the rhetoric devicesimile. T

27、hus by using simile, the advertisement makes the products characteristic more vivid and lively. If the “orange juice” really has such an effect, the customers are eager to drink this kind of juice at breakfast. Precisely, this advertisement is a good example in simile craftsmanship. It can not be im

28、agined what the world will be look like without sunshine. The importance of “orange juice” is no less than “sunshine”. Since the significance of this kind of “orange juice” is so great, nobody would refuse to drink it. Thus this advertisement touches the customers heart and greatly promotes the sale

29、 of this kind of “orange juice”.Another example: Featherwater, light as a feather. (Sun Yijuan)This is an advertisement for “Featherwater” eye-glasses. “Featherwater” is just a brand. In this advertisement, “the tenor” is the “Featherwater” eye-glasses and “the vehicle” is “feather”The word “as” is

30、the simile marker in the advertisement. However, the association between “the tenor” and “the vehicle” is hidden, which means that even wearing a pair of “Featherwater” eye-glasses for a long time will not make eyes and noses out of shape. The weight of the “Feather” eye-glasses is equal to the weig

31、ht of a feather. This advertisement can easily win the customers hearts. For most of customers, they can not help buying this kind of glass for it gives them such a good opportunity to enjoy the beautiful world. In this advertisement, the use of simile makes the hidden association between the tenor

32、and the vehicle become clear to customers. This advertisement successfully stimulates customers to buy the product. In the process of illustrating the advertisement, the force and the beauty of the advertisement can be appreciated.B. Metaphor “Metaphor can also transfer qualities from one thing to a

33、nother. There is a formal difference between metaphor and simile, however, in metaphor the word like or as do not appear. A metaphor, like a simile, also has a comparison between two unlike elements, but unlike a simile, this comparison is implied rather than stated.” (Hu Zhuanglin，P287，2001)Metapho

34、r is not explicitly signaled, so they are more difficult to identify. For metaphor plays a quiet important role in advertisement, to some extent, it helps advertisement composers communicate with the customers more effectively. In metaphor, one thing is directly compared to another thing, without th

35、e marker“like ” or “as”. Thus the relationship between them is implied in other words is unstated. Therefore, the use of metaphor makes the language more vivid and also makes the product it advertising more attractive. Metaphor is a kind of rhetoric devices which is favored by most advertisement com

36、posers. The following is a good example. Youd better off under umbrella. (Sun Yijuan)This is an advertisement for a travel insurance agency. In this advertisement, “umbrella” refers to the travel insurance agency. In the advertisement, “the vehicle” is not stated. In fact, “the vehicle” is the staff

37、 of the “Umbrella” agency. No matter it is raining or shining, if the customers carry an umbrella with them, the umbrella will be very useful to them, for it protects them from being influenced by the bad weather. In most peoples minds, the word “umbrella” is always linked with safety and protection

38、. While the customers are traveling, there are some unpredictable factors existing during their journey. Just imagine that no matter what happens, there are always someone waiting for customers, listening to customers and comforting customers. They are not anyone else and they are the staff of “Umbr

39、ella”. By using metaphor, the companys image is more vivid. The advertisement would leave a deep impression on the customers.C. Pun “Pun is the humorous use of a word, or of words which are formal or sound alike but have different meaning, in such a way as to play as two or more of the possible appl

40、ication.”(Tang Yin, P120, 2004) There are many words in the English language which look or sound alike. In all, it can be divided into three kinds. Homonymy refers to the phenomenon that words have different meanings, but the same forms, that is, words are identical in sound or spelling but differen

41、t in meaning. On this occasion, it can be divided into three kinds, which are homophone, homograph and complete homographs. When two words are identical in sound, they are homophone. When two words are identical in spelling, they are homograph. When two words are identical in both sound and spelling

42、, they are complete homographs. Pun just takes advantage of these characteristics of language. However, it is not easy to make a successful and impressive pun in an advertisement. Except for its own meaning, the word used as a pun is usually closely related to the characteristics of a certain produc

43、t or the brand name of a product. Such coincidence doesnt occur often. Here are several classic examples of puns used in advertisements. For example:Im more satisfied. (Liu Xiuyu, P51,2004)This is an advertisement for the cigarettes of “More”. Some people hold that pun is only a kind of literature g

44、ame. However, in fact, it is a traditional rhetoric device in advertisement. By using pun, advertisements will easily be remembered by the readers. In addition, filled with wit and humor, puns help advertising products win favor from readers. In this advertisement, “More” not only refers to this kin

45、d of cigarette, but also implies that this kind of cigarette can bring customers pleasure and a feeling of happiness and satisfaction. The advertisement composer grasped the characteristics of this kind of product and made use of the rhetoric devicepun. This advertisement has a strong humorous sense

46、 and attracts customers attention, strengthening the effect of advertisements. “More satisfied” means that this kind of cigarette can give customers more pleasure and happiness than the other kinds of cigarette. Thus this advertisement makes a sharp comparison between its products and the other prod

47、ucts. By this kind of comparison, the customer will choose this kind of cigarette undoubtedly. It goes without saying that this advertisement sets a good example of using pun in English advertisement. The next coming advertisement is also an excellent advertisement in the fields of using pun in Engl

48、ish advertisement. For example:From sharp minds, come sharp products. (Chen Chini, )This is an advertisement for “Sharp” typewriter. It means that owing to “sharp minds”, “sharp products” come into being. In the sentence, the word “sharp” has two levels of meaning. The superficial meaning refers to

49、“sharp” typewriter; the deep meaning refers to those persons who design this kind of typewriter and those who use this kind of typewriter. By using pun, this advertisement effectively shortens the distance between the advertisement composer and the customers. Under such kind of occasion, the customers can not help buying this kind of productthe “Sharp” typewriter. They can not resist the charm of “Sharp” typewriter since it ex