商务广告英语模糊性探析the-analysis-of-fuzziness-in-advertising-english.doc

广告英语的模糊性探析-TheAnalysisofFuzzinessinAdvertisingEnglishTheAnalysisofFuzzinessinAdvertisingEnglishAbstractAdvertisingmaybedescribedasthescienceofarrestingthehumanintelligencelongenoughtogetmoneyfromit.Itisthusclearthatadvertisinghasplayedadecisiveroleintodaysbusinessworld.Theissueofwhetheradvertisinglanguagesareattractiveandpersuasiveornothasbecamethepointofattention.SothoroughandtheoreticalstudiesonlanguagefeaturesofEnglishadvertisinghelpsimproveboththeunderstandinganddesigningofsuccessfuladvertisements.Afterabriefintroductiontoadvertising,advertisinglanguage,fuzzinessandfuzzylinguistics,thethesisisfocusedonthelinguisticrealizationsoffuzzinessinadvertisingEnglishfromthefollowingtwoperspectives:thesemanticrealizationandrhetoricaldevices.Inthesemanticanalysis,fuzzyqualifiers,numericalfuzzyquantifiers,fuzzyverbs,descriptiveadjectivesandsymbolsandabbreviationsareanalyzedtorevealfuzzynaturethatareusedbyadvertiserstoachievetheirpersuasiveends.Whileintherhetoricaldevices,punning,metaphors,andeuphemismwhichmakelanguagemorevividandcreatemoreboundlessassociationandimaginationarediscussed.Thenthethesisconcludeswithabriefsummaryofthearticleandpointsoutthelimitationsofthestudy.KeyWordsadvertisingEnglish;fuzziness;semanticandrhetoricalanalysis广告英语的模糊性探析【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。这一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语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，从而对广告本身的说服力起增强作用。二、修辞格（双关、暗喻、委婉语）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做出了总结，提出了全文的局限性。【关键字】广告英语；模糊性；语义和修辞分析1.IntroductionWiththerapiddevelopmentoftheworldeconomyandglobalization,advertisinghasplayedavitalroleinpromotingsales,providingservicesandbuildingimages.BasedonthefactthatChinaremainslaggingbehindthewestinbothphysicalattractionandpersuasivenessinadvertising,thoroughandtheoreticalstudiesonthelanguageofadvertisinghavebecomeanurgentneed.Inourdailylife,fuzzylanguagehasbeenemployedincommunicationonvariousoccasionsnegotiationandpublicspeaking.Thoughmanylinguistshavebeenexploringfuzzytheoryandfuzzylinguisticsheavily,theunderstandingoffuzzinesshasntbeensatisfactoryandperfect.Asanotwell-establishedregister,advertisingEnglishhasitsuniquefeaturescomparedwithEnglishforotherpurposes.FuzzinessfunctioninadvertisingEnglishplaysapositiveroleinhumancommunication.ThroughlinguisticrealizationsoffuzzinessinadvertisingEnglishfromsemanticangletorhetoricaldevicesinthetext,thepurposeofthepaperistomakepeopleequipwithabettermanipulationoffuzzyadvertising,soastopreparethemforproducingmoresuccessfuladvertisements,thenarousingpeoplesinterestinads,stimulatingpeoplesneedsofconsumption,andenticingpeopletomakepurchaseinproducts.2.GeneralideasofadvertisinganditslanguageWhatisadvertising?Whatdoesadvertisingoriginatefrom?Whydoesitcomeintobeing?Whatisitslanguagelike?Thefollowingisgoingtoexplainthem.2.1ThedefinitionanddevelopmentofadvertisingInetymologicalstudies,theword“advertise”inMiddleEnglishisspeltas“advertisen”meaning“tonotify”andinoldFrenchas“advertir”or“advertises”.Wefindtworecordshavethesameexplanationof“tonotice”.FurtherstudiesrootedoutitsorigininLatinas“advertere”,meaning“ameansusedtodrawattentionfromthepublictosomethingandleadthemtosomedirection”.1Nowadays,thescholarsfromdifferentcountriesholddifferentopinionsabouttheexplanationofadvertising,butremainingthesimilarmeaningbasically.AnexplanationiswidelyacceptedbyAmericanMarketingAssociationasfollowing:Advertisingisthenonpersonalcommunicationofinformationusuallypaidforandusuallypersuasiveinnature,aboutproducts,servicesorideasthroughthevariousmedia.2Itisnotdifficultforustofindoutfourcomponentsofadvertisingfromtheexplanationabove.First,advertisingisdirectedtothegeneralpublicratherthanindividuals.Second,theinformationconveyedbyadvertisingcanbecommercialornon-commercial.(Commercialadvertisingseeksprofits,whilenoncommercialadvertisingsponsoredbygovernmentornonprofitorganizationsisusedtopublicizetheorganization,seekdonationsorcallforsomeactionsbeneficialtosociety.)Third,advertisingreachesusthroughachannelofcommunicationreferredtoasamedium,suchas:TV,radio,newspapers,magazinesandsoon.Fourth,anyadvertisingislaunchedbyidentifiedsponsorsororganizationswithagivenpurpose,eithercommercialadvertisingorpublicinterestsadvertising.Indeed,advertisingistheresultofhighdegreeofdevelopmentofcommodityeconomy.Inordertomaketheirgoodssellwell,tradesmanandmerchantstriedeverymeanstotriggertheconsumerstobuytheirproducts.HenrySampsondescribedthebeginningofadvertisinginhisworkHistoryofAdvertisingasbelow:Thereislittleaboutthatthedesireamongtradesmenandmerchantstomakegoodtheirwareshaveanexistencealmostaslongasthecustomsofbuyingandselling,anditisbutnaturedtosupposethatadvertisementsinsomeshapeorformhaveexistednotonlyfromtimeimmemorial,butalmostforalltime.3Untilnow,withtherapiddevelopmentoftheworldeconomyandtheaccelerationofglobalizationprocess,advertisinghasplayedaveryimportantroleintodaysbusinessworld.Advertising,withitspersuasivefunctionandtakingactionfunction,helpsabusinesstocreatetheproductsandcorporateidentities,notonlyrealizethedevelopmentofthebusiness,butalsoincreasethevalueofitsgoodwill,andwintheconfidenceoftheconsumers.2.2FeaturesofadvertisinglanguageSincetheadvertisingaimsatdrawingattentionfromthepublicandleadingthemtosomedirection,andthusthelanguageofadvertisingislanguagethatisusedineffortstopersuadeorotherwiseenticepeopletopurchaseproductsorservices.TofflerinhisFutureShockapproachesthelanguageofadvertisingasalanguageoffinelyengineered,ruthlessly,purposefulmessages,intendingtotriggeraspecialresponsefromtheconsumers.ThispointofviewisechoedbylinguistPeterTrudgill,whosaid,“Thewordingofadvertisementsis,inmostcases,carefullycraftedtomeetparticularends.Sometimesitisintendedtoinform,butmoreoften,andmoreimportantly,topersuadeandinfluence.”4DavidOgilvyalsosaid,“Everywordinthecopymustcount,advertisewhatisunique.”5Inotherwords,theultimategoalofadvertisingistosell.Thus,advertisementsmustbepresentedwithatypeoflanguagethatispersuasiveinnature,concise,vivid,visual,andwithemotionandappeal,thatis,thelanguageofadvertisingconveysthemostcomplicatedmeaningwiththesimplestlanguageandisloadedwithpersuasiveintentionsforsalespromotionorotherpurposes.Lookatanexample:“Romantic,Mysterious,Italian”.Threeadjectivesareputtogether,conciseandsprightly,givingexpressiontodeepconnotation.Anotherexample“Bigthrills,Smallbills”.Thisisanadvertisementsponsoredbythetaxicenter.Anyoneenjoystheexcitementtothelargestextentaslongaspayingthelessmoney.Theword“big”standsintotalcontrasttotheword“small”,theendsyllableoftheword“thrillsand“bills”remainssame,whichcreatesasenseofrhythm.Thecasesbelowalsoexplaintheideasabovewell.(1)Lookagain.Alifetimeofperfectcoordination.(CUSTOMEYESfromRevlon)(2)LettheNewYorkTimesfindyou.(3)Thebenefitofforesight,theworldin1993.(4)Somuchflavorthatyoullnevermissyourhigh“tarcigarette.”63.FuzzinessFromtheadvertisementsinsection2.2,wecaneasilyfindthatsomeunclearandvagueexpressionsexistinthelanguageofadvertising.Andthefollowingisgoingtomakeabriefintroductionaboutfuzziness.Inourdailylife,howmanyhairsmustamanlosebeforeheisdeterminedtobebald?Howmanysecondsmakeupa“moment”?Howmuchmoneydoyouhavetoearntobe“rich”?Whenisapileofsandaheap?Weallagreethatonegrainofsandisnotaheapbutthatamilliongrainsisaheap.Somewhereinbetweenthepilemustchangefrom“non-heap”to“heap”.Theseindeterminateconceptsarehardtologicallydefine,andusuallyarechanged,asthevariationoftime,placeandpeoplegroups.Forexample,“Sheisaprettygirl.”Maybeweneednottoknowhowbeautifulsheis,justinordertoconveyusefulinformation“Sheispretty.”Thus,vaguestatementsareprovidedwhereamoreprecisestatementiscalledforsometimes.Mostimportantly,humansseemtobeabletocommunicatequitewellusingvagueterms.PaulTherousevertrenchantlysaid,“Languageisdeceptive,andthoughEnglishissubtle,italsoallowsacleverpersonwithonealerttotheambiguitiesofEnglishtoplaytrickswithmockprecisionandtocombinevaguenesswithpoliteness.Englishisperfectfordiplomatsandlovers.”Lakoffinhisworkalsosaid,“Someofthemostinterestingjobistomakethingsfuzzierorlessfuzzy.”7Indeed,accuracyanddeterminacyoflanguageoccursintheextreme,whileuncertainandinaccuratelanguageisoftenfoundhereandthere.Justbasedontheexistenceofuncertainobjectsandvagueideas,fuzzylanguagecameintobeing.Inspiteoftheunclearness,weseldomchallengethespeakertoanexactexplanationofthesubjectinquestionsincetheseexpressionsareunderstandableandcommunicativeenoughinmostcases.Thus,wecansay,thisintrinsicuncertaintyinnaturallanguageiscalledfuzzinessorvagueness.Thefollowingtwodefinitionswillhelpushaveaclearmindoffuzziness.MaxBlackwroteinhisLanguageandPhilosophythat“Vaguenessconsistsintheexistenceofobjectsconcerning,whichitisintrinsicallyimpossibletosayeitherthesymbolinquestiondoes,ordoesnot,apply”.8WhileCrystaldefinesfuzzinessasatermderivedfrommathematicsandusedbysomelinguiststorefertotheindeterminacyinvolvedintheanalysisofalinguisticunitorpattern.Forexample,severallexicalitems,itisargued,arebestregardedasrepresentingasemanticcategorythathasaninvariantcorewithavariable(or“fuzzy”)boundary,thisallowingforflexibilityofapplicationtoawiderangeofentities,giventheappropriatecontext.9Forinstance,theboundariesofcupandglassaredifficulttobedefined.Invariantcorewithavariableboundaryhadbecometheessenceoffuzzinessrecognizedbymostinvestigatorsinthisregard.Tosumup,fuzzinesscanbedefinedasanindeterminacyoruncertaintyoftheborderlineofthesubjectinquestionwhilefuzzylinguisticsisabranchoflinguisticsthatstudiestheintrinsicuncertaintyorvaguenessoftheborderlineofthelinguisticunitsinalanguage.4.LinguisticrealizationsoffuzzinessinadvertisingEnglishHowdoesthelanguagefuzzinessfunctionintheadvertisingafterall?PerhapslinguisticrealizationsoffuzzinessinadvertisingEnglishcanbeanalyzedfromsemanticaswellassyntacticalperspective,torhetoricaldevicesorotherareas.AndthistextisfocusedonsemanticandrhetoricalrealizationsoffuzzinessinadvertisingEnglish.Thepurposeofthisstudyoflanguagefuzzinessistoraisethelevelofawarenessaboutthepersuasivetechniquesexpressedintheapplicationoffuzzylanguageinads.4.1SemanticRealizationsofFuzzinessSincefuzzinessisembodiedinmanyaspectsofadvertising,thearticlewillfocusontheverbalespeciallysemanticrealizationoffuzziness,includingfuzzyqualifier,numericalfuzzyquantifiers,fuzzyverbs,descriptiveadjectiveandsymbolsandabbreviations.Thediffusedapplicationoffuzzylanguageinadvertisementisduetoitsconformitywiththesemanticfeaturesofadvertisinglanguage.Advertisementswithfuzzylanguagecaneasilyarouseconsumersinterestandstimulateimaginationandassociationofideas.Hence,fuzzylanguageshortensthedistancebetweenconsumersandadvertisements,andenticespeopletomakepurchase.4.1.1FuzzyqualifiersAmericanLinguistGeorgeLakoffintheearly1970sfirstproposedfuzzyqualifiers,whichreferstosomeindeterminatewords.Itqualifierstheexactdegreeoftheutteranceandrestrictsthepropositioninquestiontoacertainscope;meanwhile,italsoshowsthespeakersdirectandsubjectiveestimationuponthesubjectorindirectandobjectiveattitudesbythethirdparty.10Suchfuzzyqualifiersarefoundinadvertisementshereandthere.Examplesofthiskindare:alittle,almost,some,really,moreorless,tosomeextent,about,looselyspeaking,roughly,Isuppose,Ithink,itissaidthat,asiswellknown,etc.Forexample:(1)ThenewNokia8850,averypersonalpleasure.(2)Chiqueonlysomewomenhaveit.(Chique化妆品)(3)Littlewondertheydontbuildcarsliketheyusedto,Buildingapenisdifficultenough.(Pike)(4)Extrataste,notextracalories.(食品)Inexample1,thedegreeadverbialveryisalmostimpossibletomeasuretheexactdegreeofpersonalpleasure.Wecantdrawtheconclusionfromthesurfacemeaning.Example2thewordsomemeansthecosmeticisthepatentofthecreamofthewomen,whichcaterstothepsychologyofthosefashionablewomenwhoupholdnovelty.However,somereferstohowmanypeopleparticipateinpurchase,whichdependsonpeoplesdifferentunderstanding.Andinexample3twowordslittleandenoughrepresentthefinecraftsandunusualthinkingwhichthemanufacturerspentonproducingpens,leavingthereaderssomeroomforimagination.Example4,doubleuseofthewordextra,thedeliciousfoodwithmodestcaloriescantspoilyourfigure.Theinformationconveyedthroughfuzzylanguageaccordswiththeconsumptionconceptofmodernpeople.4.1.2NumericalfuzzyquantifiersAsweknow,thereareanumberofwaysbeingfuzzyaboutquantitiesinEnglish.Inparticular,speakershavetheoptionofeitheraddingsomethingtoaprecisenumberornumbers,orusingaroundnumber,orusingafuzzyquantifier.Whateverwaysthespeakersuse,itallexpressesanuncertainandindeterminatenotion.Whenanumberdoesntrefertoarealnumber,thenitisjustanimaginarynumber.Thisisonephenomenaofsemanticfuzzinessinnumber.Ifnumbersareusedtorefertofuzzymeaning,thenitwillloseitsnumericalmeaning,butr