Transcript STANDARD ADVERTISING LANGUAGE (SAL)

Aims
• The way we structure information also
depends on the aim of our discourse.
• Information => meaning is structured as a
genre
• A genre is a communicative event defined
by the participants, the topic and the type
of register used.
AIMS OF DISCOURSE
There exist four main aims of discourse:
Expressive
Literary
Conversation
Letters
Diaries
Blog texts
Novel
short story
Drama
Poetry
Referential
Persuasive
Exploratory
Scientific
Informative
Advertising
political speech
religious sermons
PERSUASIVE DISCOURSE
• Persuasive discourse can be reached with
the following:



the ethical argument (testimonials)
the pathetic argument (emotions)
the logical argument (deductions)
LANGUAGE
• It is the faculty of speech: the abstract
system we possess in order to communicate
• It is the linguistic system employed by a
community that has been recognized with
official authority (English, Italian,French,
Spanish, German, etc.)
LINGUISTIC VARIETY
• It is the language used by a community
according to either the social context or the
geographical area.
• Registers, dialects and idiolects may be
considered as linguistic varieties
Register, Dialect, Idiolect (Style)
• Register = content + social context + speakers
• Dialect = personal preference of one variety rather than
another within a geographic area
• Idiolect = personal preferences in terms of linguistic
realization of a variety
– Style = linguistic choice related to the relationship between the
speakers determined by the context
– Any linguistic variety has a suitable style for its context
Advertising = Register
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 7
• Advertising = linguistic variety of English
• It is a type of language adapted to a well
defined social purpose
• => Advertising it as a form of REGISTER.
Register distinction
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 7
• Formal
• Informal
Style
• Spoken
• Written
Medium
Register distinction
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 7
• The difference between formal/informal and
oral/written depends on:
– LEXICAL differences
– GRAMMATICAL differences
• NB: the same elements are important in the
identification of the product to be promoted
Register distinction: Lexical difference
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 7
INFORMAL /ORAL
nice
get better
doctor
quid
lab
FORMAL/WRITTEN
marvellous
ameliorate
medical practitioner
pound
laboratory
Register distinction: Grammatical differences
INFORMAL
I’ll
Don’t go
Frantic France
E = mc2
FORMAL
I will
Do not go
Given an object of mass m traveling at velocity v the
energy and momentum are given by
where γ (theLorenz Factor) is given
and c is the speed of light.
γ occurs frequently in
comes from theLorenz transformation equation.
energy and momentum can be related through
by
The term
relativity, and
The
the formula
which is referred to as the
energy-momentum equation.
relativistic
Dimensions of register distinctions
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 7
• Style of discourse
– (relation between the participants)
• Mode of discourse
– (medium of transmission)
• Role of discourse
– (private or social function of discourse)
STYLE
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 8
There are four sets of style of discourse:
Colloquial / formal
Casual / ceremonial
Personal / impersonal
Simple / complex
Style: Colloquial / formal
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 8
• Colloquial = private sphere of discourse
• Formal = public sphere of discourse
• Ad style is public-colloquial because of the
necessity of reaching the general public
STYLE: CASUAL / CEREMONIAL
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 8
• Casual /Ceremonial = private discourse.
• The choice depends on the degree of intimacy, and
of superiority/inferiority between the speakers (cf
TU vs. LEI, DU vs. SIE, TU vs.VOUS).
• Ceremonial style = patronizing or obsequious
attitude => Copywriters steer to a neutral course
so as not to alienate the audience.
– NB: use of imperative in advertising
STYLE: Personal/Impersonal
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 8
Personal style = free use of the 1st & 2nd
person reference either directly or indirectly
(with imperatives, questions, exclamations).
Intimate and private.
Impersonal style = ample use of the 3rd person
(as in such expressions as it is clear that).
Extremely formal and public.
STYLE: Personal/Impersonal (2)
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 8
In advertising:
1. personal style in prestige ads (ample use of WE)
1. 2nd person reference YOU involves the audience.
1. 3rd person reference is employed in
product-oriented ads
4. Passive forms (highly impersonal) are rarely used in
advertisement, unless where an active voice would imply
reference to those involved in the production.
STYLE: SIMPLE/COMPLEX
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 8
• The simplicity or the complexity of the style
of discourse depends on the status of the
audience as regards:
– Age
– Education
– Willingness to participate.
Mode of discourse
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 9
• Spoken
• Written
• Scripted (written to be spoken)
– Disjunctive (& block), abbreviated modes
Mode of discourse
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 9
• Written mode = preservation through time
• Oral mode = limited capacity of the linguistic
memory
• REPETITION
• ALLITERATION
• RHYME
Mode of discourse : Orality
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 9
• Orality activates Short Term Memory (STM)
• In STM we store grammatical elements in
sequence until the anticipations they create are
solved.
• We then may store such elements as If you agree..;
The only… (incomplete structures) which need at
least one further element to acquire grammatical
sense
Oral mode of discourse
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 9
• The text if the only… is incomplete at three
levels:
– incomplete sentence
– incomplete clause
– incomplete nominal group.
Expectations of if the only… may be satisfied with If
the only train to London is the 2.00 am, lets’ go by
bus.
3 levels of satisfaction:
1) the noun train (complete nominal group),
2) the verb and complement is the 2.00 am (completing the clause)
3) the independent clause let’s go by bus (completing the sentence).
Mode of discourse: scripted texts
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 9
• Scripted mode = text in which the oral mode is
reproduced in details.
• This is not always true. See, for ex., intonation –
how can we reproduce it? What about hesitations,
false starting?
–
–
–
–
What are you looking for?
What are you looking for?
What are you looking for?
What are you looking for?
Disjunctive & abbreviated modes of discourse
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 9
• The disjunctive and abbreviated modes are
a subcategory of the scripted mode used to
augment the illusion of spoken language
• They are two restricted varieties of English
which are heavily employed in advertising
Disjunctive & abbreviated modes
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 9
• Disjunctive mode is used
–
–
–
–
–
–
Public notices, signs
Posters
Catalogues, inventories, tabulated materials
Postal address
Labels and trade-marks
Titles and headings
Disjunctive & abbreviated modes
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 9
• Abbreviated mode is used in:
– Telegrams
– Newspaper headlines.
Disjunctive mode
See Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 9
• Disjunctive language offers many clues so as to
have a correct interpretation of the message.
Notices on 4 DOORS:
Artizzu
Prof. Fodde
No exit
Staff only
How much of English grammar is needed for
their description??
Disjunctive mode
See Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 9
• In disjunctive grammar, the only grammar
we need is a knowledge of the structure of
English proper names: one part of the
nominal group.
GENTLEMEN’S WASHROOM
ENQUIRIES AND APPLICATIONS FOR VISA
Disjunctive mode
See Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 9
• The disjunctive grammar that uses proper
names or nominal group structures only is
called BLOCK LANGUAGE.
• Block language is characteristic of many
types of public announcements, in posters.
Disjunctive grammar
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 9
Disjunctive grammar
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 9
Disjunctive grammar
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 9
Disjunctive grammar
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 9
• Each NG = isolated unit
• Relation between different
parts of the message is
inferred (not
grammatically indicated).
• In poster-like presentation
the Z-reading path is
waived for the sake of
immediate visual impact
Disjunctive grammar
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 9
• Each NG = isolated unit
• Relation between different
parts of the message is
inferred (not
grammatically indicated).
• In poster-like presentation
the Z-reading path is
waived for the sake of
immediate visual impact
Disjunctive grammar
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 9
• For you this summer … a golden tan
• (A Z structure – INDEPENDENT MINOR CLAUSE)
• The castle, at one time a royal residence, is now the
property of the National Trust
• (A Z structure – DEPENDENT MINOR CLAUSE)
You
…if you are aged 16-19 and are taking or have passed your G.C.E. …
and your future
• (A Z structure – INDEPENDENT MINOR CLAUSE)
Disjunctive grammar
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 9
• Main difference between discursive and
disjunctive grammar:
– in discursive grammar, minor and non-finite clauses are
dependent;
– in disjunctive grammar, minor and non-finite clauses
are independent
Abbreviated grammar
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 9
• Typical of newspapers headlines
• Examples:
– “Customs accused of offering secret amnesty”
Abbreviated grammar
Abbreviated grammar
• There are a lot of pre-modifiers required to save
space & to create ambiguity (which means to
catch the interest of the reader)
British left waffles on Falkland islands
a) left Predicator + waffles Complement (waffle = a cake fried
in butter) => P C
b) left (British left) Head of S + waffles Predicator (to waffle =
to ramble, i.e. speak in a confused manner ) => S P.
Small AD
• Small ad uses disjunctive grammar
abbreviated grammar & block grammar:
• LTD Company est 1981 for sale. No assets or
liabilities. VAT registered. UK bank acc with
chequebook. Avble now. Substantial offers over
£15,000. Internet bkg nominee service avble on
both. Tel.08000 152469 or 07845 495852. quote ref
DPH
(The Sunday Times, Feb 27th, 2005)
Small AD
Classifieds
• Small ad uses disjunctive grammar abbreviated
grammar & block grammar:
“The landlord just finished this beautiful Salon and Spa and offering
it for sale. Brand new equipment, retail displays, first class
decoration, waiting room with fire place. Great Corner Visibility!
Excellent retail displays with a great inventory. (4) chair Stations (2)
Manicure and pedicure stations (1)Massage room Must see to
appreciate, great investment for an active stylist or investment
opportunity to run your own business”.
(The New York Times, Nov. 26th, 2013)
Advertising grammar
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 9
• Advertising is a variety of English in which
discursive, disjunctive, abbreviated and block
language are mingled together and sometimes in
an inextricable way.
• This happens because of the variety of display
methods and type faces of printed advertising.
…phew*
You can now buy the emergency contraceptive pill
from the pharmacy. It’s called Levonelle and
works best within 24 hours but can be used
up to 72 hours after unprotected sex.
ROLE OF DISCOURSE
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 10
• Role may be:
– PRIVATE (greetings, socialization, jokes, orders
condolence)
– PUBLIC (journalism, literature, politics, religion).
• The difference between private or social role of
discourse depends on the social function of our
speech.
ROLE SPECIALIZATION
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 10
• Each linguistic variety has specialized
phonology, orthography, morphology,
syntax, vocabulary, semantics
• => each linguistic variety has a ROLE
SPECIALIZATION
ROLE SPECIALIZATION
•
•
•
•
PHONETICS: AMEN (religion)
ORTHOGRAPHY: CHEQUE (business)
MORPHOLOGY: THOU (religion)
SYNTAX:
– Deed of sale: Mr X herein after referred to as Seller
agrees to sell and Mr Y herein after referred to as Buyer
agrees to purchase at a price of $ # on the terms set
forth herein…
• VOCABULARY: PNEUMOLOGY (in medicine)
• SEMANTICS: MOUSE (informatics)
ROLE SPECIALIZATION
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 10
• As the role expresses the social degree of the
communicative event, a breach of the conventional
and linguistic rules assigned to that role may be
seen as a break of the behavioural and social codes
adopted by the speaker.
• Yet there might be variations within role.
ROLE SPECIALIZATION
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 10
• If conformity is expected (legal speech,
business) we have conservatism
• If creative, original, inventive language is
expected (literature, journalism), we have
liberal or ‘creative’ writing.
ROLE SPECIALIZATION
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 10
• Advertising language seems to be both creative
and conservative.
• The choice between them depends on the
copywriter, on the product, on the audience target,
etc.
• Creative language (= eccentric style, new words,
linguistic games and jokes) is adopted to stimulate
curiosity and interest.
ROLE BORROWING
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 10
• In private role, we borrow some features of speech
of other people or a style unsuitable to the
situation whenever we want to be comic or
sarcastic (cf the situation in which we imitate
other people’s way of speaking).
• If the role is public, role borrowing happens
whenever the artists want to imitate other authors’
style (cf Striscia la Notizia or T.S. Eliot’s The
Waste Land)
ROLE BORROWING
Leech, English in Advertising, chapter 10
• In advertising language role borrowing is often a
form of disguise, or at least a means of decoying
the public into taking notice of the sale message:
– The Royal Highland Gathering at Braemar. The most
famous of all the Highland Games. Throwing the
hammer here is champion William Anderson who, when
he’s not winning trophies, is a hard working crofter…
A special Role Borrowing: the
CHAMELEON TECHNIQUE
See Dispensa
• The advertisement seems – both in language and
layout - a feature or an article of the publication in
which it appears.
• It is typical of ads in women’s magazines, which
have tended to adopt the freedom of visual
presentation pioneered by advertising (see
dispensa examples)
everyday angel
indulgent angel
party angel
indulgent angel
everyday angel
party angel
US California
US subway
US market street
Urban Angel
Catch Point
Catch Phrase
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬►
Visual (picture/photo)
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬►
Copy/Slogan
Ideal
Given
Ideal
New
Margin
Margin
Centre
Real
Given
Margin
Real
New
Margin
Light
Light vectors
Botticelli’s Birth of Venus
light
Caravaggio’s La Madonna di Loreto
Centre
Given
New
AND THERE SHE WAS. AN URBAN
ANGEL. MADE NOT BORN
As she walked upon the sand
the eyes of the multitude followed.
And when she turned to speak to
them, they saw that the sea spritz
had blessed her with beautiful
natural movement. And she spoke to
them of the miraculous soothing effects
of GHD cooling mist, and astonished
them with sun survivor shampoo &
conditioner and they no longer
feared the sun
THE HOLY GOSPEL
Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a
great multitude from Galilee followed him, (…) when
they had heard what great things he did, came unto him.
And he spake to his disciples, (…) For he had healed
many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch
him, as many as had plagues.
And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before
him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.
(St. Mark)
GHD
A new religion for hair