广告中双关语的语用功能和运用技巧.docx

广告中双关语的语用功能和运用技巧

　　[Abstract] In modern society, advertisement’s influence is universal. Pun is to add more attraction, being applied as a kind of figures of speech in advertisement and deeply loved by people. Pun has many forms of expression such as pun on polysemy, homophone, hononymy, parody, illustrations and words, grammar, etc. The advertisers use brand, idiom, and phrase, etc, to form pun skillfully. From the aspect of pragmatics, pun violates the Cooperative Principle by Grice. People usually violate the maxims in four ways. The article analyses pun from the fourth way that the speaker may flout a maxim; that is, he may blatantly fail to fulfill it and to achieve some purpose. The proper use of pun in advertisement results in the effects of humor, wit, beauty, economy, warning, and even makes the product more competitive and profitable, and makes the advertisement sweet to the ear, and please both the eye and mind.
[Key words] advertisement; pun; pragmatic maxims; pragmatic function
【摘 要】当今社会，广告作为一种竞争手段无处不在，而双关语是一种广泛运用于广告创作并深受人们喜爱的修辞格。双关语的表现形式多种多样，可分为一词多义双关，同音异义双关，谐音双关，仿拟双关，插图和文字双关，语法双关等。广告商巧妙地运用品牌、成语、习语等构成双关语以增加宣传效果。但从语用学的角度去分析双关语，它违背了Grice提出的合作原则。合作原则的违反通常有四种情况，而本文主要从第四种进行分析双关语，即说话人公然不执行某一条准则，也就是说话人知道自己违反了一条准则，他还想让听话人知道他违反了一条准则。运用恰当的双关语产生了幽默、风趣、经济和警告的作用，使人享受语言的美，同时帮助厂家在激烈的竞争中立于不拜之地，获得更大收益。
【关键词】广告；双关语；语用原则；语用功能

1. Introduction
“The definition of advertisement by AMA(American Marketing Association): Advertising is the nonpersonal communication usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services of ideas by identified sponsors through the various media.[1] It is a device to arouse consumers’ attention to a commodity and induce them to use it. In modern age, people find themselves surrounded by various advertisements each day. An American writer writes: “ we find advertisement of all kinds everywhere, for example, glittering neon signs on top of high buildings and a long main streets, colorful pictures painted on buses pamphlets sent to very house, advertisement jammed between TV programs various advertisement glutting, newspaper and radio broadcast; etc.” Facing so many advertisement, how to make the advertisement impressive is the main purpose of the advertisers. In order to enhance the appeal of an advertisement, advertisers pay much attention not only to such expressive devices as plates, color and the layout of a printed page, but also to the choice of words or phrases, to make an advertisement beautiful and attractive. In the practice of the advertising English, people pay more attention to pun to make the advertisement succinct, accurate and vivid and to provide rich imagination and plentiful associations for readers so as to stimulate their desire.
The frequent and wide use of figures of speech is an important characteristic of advertising English, which is an effective way to make the advertisement attractive. Among the figures, pun is loved deeply. Oxford Advanced Dictionary defines pun as “humorous use of a word that has two meanings or of different words that sound the same”. A pun (also known as paronomasia) can be understood like that it is a deliberate confusion of similar-sounding words of phrases for rhetorical effect, whether humorous or serious. It leaves a deep impression on readers by its readability, wit and humor. It can satisfy the requirement of advertisement characteristics—selling power, memory value, attention value, and readability. So pun is very popular in advertisement. The article just wants to present the pragmatic function and application of pun in advertisement.
2.Types of pun in advertisement
A pun is a rhetorical device in which people use the polysemous, or homonymous relation of a language to cause a word, a sentence of a discourse to involve two things of meanings. It has several types.
Pun on Polysemy
“While different words may have the same of similar meaning, the same one word may have more than one meaning. This is what we call polysemy, and such a word is called polysemic word. Historically speaking, polysemy can be understood as the growth and development of or change in the meaning of words.” Pun on polysemy is used widely, especially with the name of the product such as the following examples:
[1] “From sharp minds. Come sharp products.”
The example is an advertisement for the Sharp copier. The word “sharp” praises the consumers’ brightness, but also refers to the Sharp product. The advertisement praises the consumers who are sharp to buy the product which is sharp. The vanity of the audiences is aroused and they want to use it to show their wise, and also they believe the product is really sharp.
“Money doesn’t grow on the trees. But it blossoms at our branches. Lioyd Bank.”
It is the slogan of Lioyd Bank. “branch” means “part of a tree growing out from the trunk”, but here it implies the division of bank”. The slogan encourages people to store their money in Lioyd Bank, and their money will be like the blooming flowers, yielding better fruits. After understanding its meaning, readers will figure it out in mind that their money will become more and more daily and daily, just like the leaves in spring.
Pun on Homonymy
“Homonymy refers to the phenomenon that words with different meanings have the same form, , different words are identical in sound or spelling, or in both. When two words are identical in sound, they are homophones. When the words are identical in spelling, they are homographs. When two words are identical in both spelling and sound, they are complete homonyms.” The follow instances will explain that:
“ ‘VIPs’ an atomical comfort.
Variable Impact Pressure Sole”
The advertisement of sportshoes uses the homophonic word “VIPs”. As we know, VIP usually stands for “ very important persons”, while, here, it stands for “Variable Impact Pressure Sole”. It implies if you use VIPs, you will be a VIP. The word “VIPs’ motivates the audiences’ vanity and induces them to buy the product.
“Trust us. Over 5000 ears of experience.”
It is an advertisement for audiphone. The literal meaning is that the product has experienced a lot of texts. While “ears” and “years” are a pair of homophone. So it implies that the product has a long history and has high quality.
“Goodbuy
Winter!
100% cotton knitwear $40”[10]
It is an advertisement for the sale of winter clothes. The advertisement seems to people that it s a good and cheap to buy cotton knitwear. But when the audiences read “goodbuy winter” together, they will understand the good use of pun. “Goodbuy winter” sounds the same as “goodbye winter”. The advertisement use homophone to show two meanings: it is a good business to buy the cotton knitwear now, and winter has passed away. Naturally, people will associate the situation happening every year that when they say goodbye to winter, the clothes will have a great discount and it is good time to buy them.
“More sun and air for your sun and heir.”[11]
The advertisement is for a bathing beach. The advertiser uses homophone skilfully, sun vs. son, and air vs. heir. The advertiser encourages people to bring their son and heir to the bathing beach to get sun and air to keep fit. Each couple hopes their son and heir will be healthy all their life. Pun makes the advertising language sound sweet, fluent and persuasive.
Pun on Parody
“Parody is a piece of speech, writing of music that imitates the style of an author, composer, etc in an amusing and often exaggerate way.”[12] Pun on parody uses the outfit of saying, apothegm, proverb or idiom to form new meanings. English has a lot of well-known phrases, idioms and sayings. They are important part of everyday language spoken by the English speakers, and have become one of the aspects of the English culture. The advertisement designers are sharp-minded and imaginative. They change a part of the expressions and put their ideas into them to achieve sensational effect. And most of them achieve a remarkable success. The transformations are not only eye catching, but also easy to be accepted by the common, who will do according to the tradition. As the sayings of idioms have been one part of the tradition, the people will be easily persuaded by the advertisement works of this kind. So pun on parody is popular in advertisement.
“A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play.”[13]
It is the slogan of Mars chocolate company. Looking at this advertisement, people will associate it with two idioms: “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” and “ All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. From the meanings of the two idioms, the watchword tells people that a Mars’ chocolate a day will make you not be a dull boy (make you wise) and keep the doctor away (keep fit).
“Try our sweet corn, you’ll smile from ear to ear.”[14]
It is taken from the advertisement for a kind of sweet corn. The word “ear” has double meanings: the organ of hearing and the seed –bearing part of a cereal. Te idiom “ from ear to ear” also is a pun. One meaning is that people are satisfied with the product. The other one is that the consumers eat one ear by another. So the advertisement implies that the sweet corn is very delicious, and you will enjoy it and eating one by one. How can people refuse such delicious food?
“All is well that ends well.”[15]
This is an idiom, but here, it is taken from an advertisement of a cigarette. “End”, as a verb, means “finish”, while, as a noun, means “cigarette butt”. The sentence means that if the cigarette ends are good that the cigarette is good.
Pun on Grammar
Many advertisers use pun produced for grammar problem to attract the audiences, such as ellipsis or word with different grammar functions. If this type of pun can be used properly, it will achieve unexpected effect.
[10] “Which lager can claim to be truly German?
This can.” [16]
It is an advertisement for Lager beer. “Can” is a modal verb. But in the advertisement, a can of beer beside it reminds people “can” has another meaning—tin. Also “Lager” refers to the name of beer. With the illustration, the whole advertisement brings a humorous effect and impresses the audiences deeply.
The Coca-cola company also uses “can” to do their advertisement.
[11] “Coke refreshes you like no other can.” [17]
Just like last example, “ can ” has double meanings, so the sentence can be understand like that Coke refreshes you like no other (can; tin, drink) can (refresh you). It implies their product is the best one. Of course, people like to buy the best one.
Pun on Illustration and Words
A lot of advertisement associates with illustrations and words to achieve better effect, especially on TV, because people are more easily attracted by pictures than words. The illustrations and words can help people to understand the advertisement fully. Pun in the advertisement must be connected with illustrations and words, so people can understand the implied meanings. For instances:
[12] “50% OFF.”[18]
It is a shopwindow advertisement of E-spirit exclusive shop in Shanghai from 2001 and spring festival. The illustration is a picture with six lights, three on and three off. From the illustration, people know it does not only mean a half of the lights are off, but also means the whole sale discounts 50%. The illustration and words are vivid, and attract the passers-by’ attention more easily.
[13] “Stop at two.”[19]
It is the title of an public service advertising (PSA) which the Population and community Development Association ( PCDA) of Thailand uses to advocate the couple to have children no more than two. The illustration is the photo of Wistern Churchill who formed a “V” letter with his forefinger and middle finger. The gesture “V” means victory. So people also can understand that it is a victory to have only one child. This picture is famous, so people will remember it easily. To achieve the success of their country, people may more like to control the population.
3.Pragmatic analysis of advertisement pun
From analyses above, people can understand that a pun usually uses one word in a sentence relating to double meanings, surface meaning and implicit meanings, which is the main idea the speaker wants to convey. The advertisers like to use the double meanings to produce ambiguity. While, analyzing from pragmatic maxims, it breaches Cooperative Principle. Just look at another example:
[14]You’ll go nuts for the nuts you get in Nux.[20]
In the advertisement, “go nuts” means “go to buy nuts”, here in the advertisement, it also means “go crazy” in the daily English expression. And “Nux” is the name of the product. So it means the nuts will make you crazy if you buy them in Nux. The use of pun violates the Cooperative Principle, but what is Cooperative Principle?
Cooperative Principle
“The theory of conversational implicature was originally suggested by Herbert Paul Grice, an Oxford philosopher, who later went to America.”[21] His approximation is “We might formulate a tough general principle which participants will be expected to observe namely: Make your conversational contribution such as is required, at the stage at which it occurs, by the accepted purpose of direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged. One might label this the COOPERATIVE PRINCIPLE.”[22]
“In order to explain further the cooperative principle, abbreviated as CP, Grice borrows from the German philosopher Immanuel Kant four categories: quantity, quality, relation and manner. That is, the CP is specified from four aspects. And the content of each category is known as maxim.
Quantity
a. Make your contribution as informative as is required (for the current purpose of the exchange)
b. Do not make your contribution more informative than is required”[23]
That is to say the quantity of the information you give must suit for the requirement, no less, no more. For instance, if you go to buy one pen, but the assistant gives you two pens, he breaches the Quantity. Because he should give one pen to you that you want.
“Quality
a. Do not say what you believe to be false
b.Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence”[24]
It means that the speaker can’t tell lies but only can say that which has been proved to be right fact. However, if the speaker thinks what he says is right, but in fact it is false, he still obeys the principle. Give you an example, if someone asks you to go shopping with him, but you don’t like to, so you tell him that you have a meeting tonight. At this time, you violate Quality, for you have told lies to your friend.
“Relation: be relevant”[25]
That means what you say must be relevant. For example, when you are hungry, you don’t expect you partner giving you a book, but a cake, because cake is relevant to your feeling at this situation.
“Manner
a. Avoid obscurity of expression
b. Avoid ambiguity
c. Be brief (avoid unnecessary prolixity)
c.Be orderly”[26]