What are the linguistic characteristics of advertising English?

Language characteristics of advertising English style

1. Lexical Characteristics of Advertising English

Advertising English has rich and colorful vocabulary, but the selection and use of each word serves the ultimate purpose of "selling goods", so they are often motivating and infectious. To sum up, the main performances are as follows:

●The use of adjectives and their comparative and superlative forms. For example: Famous world-wide gourmet cuisine. Excellent daily specials and mouthwatering desserts． (World-famous gourmet cooking. Exquisite American and Japanese specialties and mouth-watering snacks.) Tasters richer... mellower... more satisfying. (The taste is stronger...more mellow...more satisfying.)

●Create new words and strange words to arouse a sense of novelty, highlight the newness, strangeness and specialness of the product, and satisfy consumers' pursuit of trendy, The psychology of flaunting individuality. For example: For twogether? the ultimate all inclusive one price sunkissed holiday. (Two people have a sunny holiday together. All expenses are included in the single price.) Twogether is taken from the sound of together, and the meaning of "two people" is more vivid and interesting than together.

●Repetition of vocabulary. The repetition of words is a common technique that can play the role of emphasis and rendering, and this is exactly the effect that advertising language seeks to achieve. For example: Easy to use? easy to clean? easy to assemble． ?Sunlight brand simple barbecue grill advertisement

●Use abbreviations and compound words to save advertising space. In advertising writing, the length is often shortened as much as possible to reduce costs. The use of abbreviations and compound words abounds. For example: Where to leave your troubles when you fly JAL. ?Take Japan Airlines and have a worry-free journey. JAL is the abbreviation of Japan Airlines.

●The world is equally divided between "elegant" language and "vulgar" language, and they are colorful. For example: The home of your dreams awaits you behind this door. Whether your taste be a country manor estate or a penthouse in the sky? you will find the following pages filled with the worlds’ most elegant residences． (Open the door and you’ll find your dream home waiting for you. Whether you want a country mansion or a rooftop in a skyscraper, turn the pages below to see some of the most beautiful homes in the world for you to choose from. .) The words await, be, manor elegant, and residence in advertisements are all "elegant" words used in specific situations. They replace the "slang" wait, is, house, nice, and place here.

2． The syntax characteristics of advertising English

●There are many simple and short sentences, which are eye-catching and easy to understand. For example: Fresh Up with Seven-up. (Please drink Qixi to be more energetic).

●There are many parallel sentences, concise, clear and easy to understand; the parallel structure deepens the impression. For example: Introducing FITNESS magazine. It’s about health? it’s about exercise? it’s about your image? your energy and your outlook. (Recommend "Health" magazine to you: talk about health, talk about exercise, talk about image, talk about energy, talk about outlook.

) ●There are many omitted sentences and the language is concise. For example: You’ll enjoy relaxed sunny days. Warm? crystal clear lagoons． Cool? green foliage. Waterfalls． Flowers． Exotic scents． Bright blue skies. Secluded beaches. Graceful palms． Breathtaking sunsets． Soft evening breezes． And food that simply outstanding． (You will enjoy these sunny and relaxing days. Warm, clear lagoons, cool, green leaves, waterfalls, flowers, exotic fragrances, bright blue skies, secluded beaches, graceful palms, magnificent sunsets, gentle The evening breeze. And the wonderful food. ) A series of noun phrases replaces the sentence You'll enjoy... from "the warm, clear lagoon" to "the gentle evening breeze." Not only is it simple and compact, but it is also distinct and powerful.

●There are many imperative sentences, which have a strong agitative color. For example: So come into McDonald’s and enjoy big Mac Sandwich. (Go into McDonald's and enjoy a big sandwich.)

● Few negative sentences. Even if a negative sentence is used, it is to contrast it with other products or to highlight the product features from the negative side. For example: We would never say the new Audi A4 is the best in its class. We don’t have to. (We don’t have to say that the new Audi A4 is the best car in its class at all. There is no need.)

● Commonly used active voice and present tense, giving a sense of immediacy and suggesting the durability and eternity of the product characteristic. For example: Harmony of style and performance set this new Mazda 6 a part. Qualities are at the heart of every Mazda. (The harmony of style and performance sets the new Mazda6 apart. Quality is at the core of Mazda.)

3. Rhetorical Characteristics of Advertising English

Some people call it "sub-literary genre" (Leech, 1969), so rhetorical devices are often used in advertisements.

●Metaphor (analogy): Featherwater: light as a feather. (Fazewater glasses: light as a feather.)

●Personification: Flowers by Interflora speak from the heart. (The flowers cultivated in the botanical garden express your heartfelt feelings.)

●Pun (pun): Ask for More． (Advertisement for Moore cigarettes)

●Rhyming: Hi-fi? Hi-fun? Hi-fashion? only from Sony． (High fidelity, high fun, high fashion, only from Sony.) (Sony Audio Advertisement)

●Repetition: Dish after dish after dish. People expect us to be better． (Plate after plate after plate. People expect better from us.)