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1、Application of Metaphor on Advertisement English Abstract With the further acceleration of economic globalization，advertisement has gone deep into every aspect of life in the business world. The advertising language is the soul of a successful advertisement. Each advertisement is a complete discours
2、e conveying some information beyond words. In other words, advertisement not only provides information about the products or services，but also persuades its consumers to purchase them. Metaphor based on the contemporary theory is widely used in our daily life which is not only a language phenomena b
3、ut also a cognitive phenomena and a mode of thinking. The utilization of metaphor is very frequent， which makes advertisement more creative to help advertisers achieve their aims. In this paper， at first， it provides an introduction to the metaphor and advertisement. Then it analyses the nature and
4、functions of metaphor in advertisement by some examples so as to help to achieve the purpose of advertisement. Key words: metaphor; advertising English; functions of metaphor 中图分类号： G623.31文献标识码：A 文章编号： 1. Introduction With the science and economic development, advertisement has spread through almos
5、t every aspects of our daily life. Moreover, the advertising English is becoming outstanding. As a measure to transmit messages, it has special characters. For most of the people, the distinct feature of advertisement is that it is a combination of content and style. That is to say, a good advertise
6、ment 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 metaphor is appropriate or not. It can be found that the use of metaphor plays a very important role in advertisement. Without the use of me
7、taphor, absolutely there is no good advertisement. Therefore, it is necessary to cite some examples to show the functions of metaphor. 2. Metaphor We frequently speak of “the foot of mountain”, “the legs of a table” and “time is money” and so on. Have we realized we are using metaphora figure of spe
8、ech? Metaphor is so pervasive in our daily life that we are almost unaware of it. It is an important tool in language communication and a figurative phenomenon as well. With further study people found metaphor is not only a linguistic phenomenon or a rhetorical device but also a reflection of cultur
9、e and thinking. 2.1The Development of Metaphor In ancient Greece, Aristotle defined metaphor as “the application of an alien name by transference either from genus to species, or from species to genus, or from species to species, or by analogy, that is proportion.” (Shu Dingfang 2000:33). This accou
10、nt of metaphor is known as the comparison theory of metaphor. In the 1880s, George Lakoff, a linguist, and Mark Johnson, a philosopher(1980:2) suggested “that metaphor not only makes our thoughts more vivid and interesting but that it actually structures our perceptions and understanding.” This is w
11、hat we called conceptual metaphor theory. Contemporary metaphor researchers differ greatly in their perspectives of metaphor studies. Some of them are interested in the theoretical explorations of metaphor, focusing on such issues as metaphor identification, categorization of metaphor types, and int
12、erpretation of metaphor in discourse. Other researchers are inclined to investigate the processes of metaphor production and structuring of conceptual domains through metaphor. These scholars contribute to metaphor studies from different perspectives. 2.2The Definition of Metaphor The word “metaphor
13、” comes from the ancient Greek “meta” and “pherein”, which respectively means “across” and “change”. Therefore, the basic function of metaphor is to transform something from one place to another. People define metaphor differently from different angles. I. A. Richards (1986:44-63) gave metaphor such
14、 a definition: “It is the use of one reference to a group of things that are related in a particular way in order to discover a similar relation in another group.” Some other definitions are quoted below: Grammar dictionary said that “metaphor is the comparison of one thing to another without the us
15、e of like or as.” (Shu Dingfang, 2001:43). Lakoff and Johnson (1980:4) hold a viewpoint that “Metaphor is understanding and experiencing one thing in terms of another.” Britannica Book of English Usage defined it “Metaphor is the most important figure of speech, which points out resemblance but with
16、 no acknowledge word.” In the above definitions, we can draw the following conclusions: In the traditional rhetoric, metaphor is only a figure of speech or a way of expression, while in the contemporary views metaphor is a mode of thinking, as well as a way of speaking. From semantic view (semantics
17、: Study of relationships between signs and symbols and what they represent ), there are three basic factors composing a metaphor: the tenor, the vehicle and the ground, not all of which need to be presented in a metaphor, that is to say,some of them may be hidden. In other words a metaphor contains
18、three parts: tenor (the subject for the comparison) vehicle (what the subject is compared to) ground (what the subject and the vehicle have in common) 2.3The functions of Metaphor As an important method of rhetoric, metaphor has its unique function. To sum up, that is, the rhetorical function, lingu
19、istic function and social function. 2.3.1 Rhetorical function Function of metaphor in rhetoric is to obey general function, namely persuasion . Metaphors often makes a person feel changes and differences in language , so to leave a deep impression on people, and also makes people more likely to be t
20、ouched. 2.3.2 Linguistic function Metaphor is often used to exchange the continuous, empirical information. People not only can use existing words to talk about something new through metaphor, but express some subtle differences between things as well, more vividly reflect the essence and characteri
21、stics of things. 2.3.3 Social function Under the help of metaphor, people can avoid many unpleasant words and expressions, and it makes them appear more moderate, and increase the intimate degree in social interactions. 3. Advertising English Advertisement is a type of publicity to draw public atten
22、tion to something, for its Latin origin “advertere” means “to inform somebody of something” or “to draw attention to something”. Today, a widely quoted working definition of advertisement was put forward by Courtland L. Bovee and William F. Arens, “Advertising is the non personal communication of in
23、formation, usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature, about products (goods or services) or ideas by identified sponsors through various media. Advertisements have already become a crucial part of our daily life. We are exposed to advertisements whenever we turn on the TV， read newspapers or
24、 magazines， walk on the street or surf on the internet. We are living in a world of advertisements and have been deeply influenced by them. Its popularity has aroused a great amount of interest studying a language of advertisements in different disciplines such as anthropology，sociology，linguistics，
25、literary criticism，and medium studies. 3.1 The Purposes of Advertisement From the definitions mentioned above, we can learn the purposes of advertisement. Its ultimate purpose is to persuade consumers to buy a certain product or accept some kind of services. More specifically, it is to present some
26、information about goods, services or ideas to the public to influence or persuade them to make choices. The first thing an advertisement tries to do is to grab its audiences attention and make sure that it is noticed. Second, it must achieve the goal of stimulating a desire in the audience to purcha
27、se the advertised product. The more successful the advertisement is, the more possible the prospective consumer will be convinced to purchase the advertised product. In summary, advertisement is a very practical type of writing with high commercial value. Its ultimate purpose is to promote sales. Al
28、l advertisements contain at least two functions: to inform and to persuade, of which the informative function is subordinated to the persuasive function. 3.2 The Features of Advertising English As an important part of English advertisement, advertising English has its own features. To sum up, that i
29、s, the lexical features syntactic features and rhetorical features. 3.2.1 Lexical features Large number of verbs and adjectives is widely used in advertising English. Using these words makes the advertisement easier to be understood, lets the description vivid, and adds much attraction and convincin
30、gness. In addition, a variety of new words, special collocations are generally used to attract the attention of consumers in advertising English. 3.2.2 Syntactic features In advertising English, the imperative sentences can be used directly to persuade consumers into accepting the goods and taking a
31、ctions. While the use of elliptical sentences can not only reduce the advertising expenses but also can left deeply thinking and imaginable space to consumers. Moreover, the interrogative sentences have been widely used. It divides the whole process which is used to receive information into two part
32、s, that is ,question part and answer part. So that consumers can quickly and effectively respond, and be deepen the impression. 3.2.3 Rhetorical features In order to make the advertisement get the desired effects, many rhetorical methods is widely used in advertising English. In various linguistic e
33、xpressions, rhetorical devices play a most positive role. While metaphor is considered to be the most important and general among the rhetorical methods. 4Application of Metaphor on Advertising English 4.1 The application of rhetorical function The rhetorical function of metaphor is used to increase
34、 the effect of expression by advertising writers. First, using metaphor makes advertising English concise and vivid. One of the most outstanding characteristics of metaphor is conciseness. A word or a phrase can express a series of meaning to provoke the imagination about the whole event and context
35、 for readers. Moreover, vehicles are always more specific than objects and more familiar readers in metaphor. Therefore, it brings vivid feelings for readers. E.g. Youd better off under the umbrella. This is an advertisement of travel insurance enterprise. Security is the key point in travelling, wh
36、ich is concerned by most of travelers. This enterprise exploits travelers common mood by using the vehicle?umbrella to let travelers feel that if they buy insurances for travelling, they will be in protective umbrellas to enjoy their travels without sorrow and anxiety. Moreover, “better off” also me
37、ans “free and happiness”, that is to say, if you buy the insurance, your travel will be cozier and full of joys. Although this advertisement is short, it makes travelers feel quietly warm and true for the vivid vehicle choosing. E.g. To spread your wings in Asia, share your vantage point. This adver
38、tisement compares reader to a big bird. There is an eagle soar to great heights on image. The eagle works in concert with the subject and help people understand the meaning of subject. At the same time, this also gives reader a deeply memory. Using metaphor makes advertising English euphemistic and
39、graceful. E.g. Kodak is Olympic color. ( Kodacolor Film) This was taken for Olympic Games by Kodak in 1988. Once mentioned the Olympic a kind of national, energetic, exciting and bright sporting atmosphere will come into peoples mind. “Kodak is Olympic color” means that Kodak is of high quality and
40、good taste. The Kodak film conveys the truth and the beauty rather varied and graceful. Second, using metaphor makes advertising English novel and illuminating. Facing a large number of advertisements, people could not remember them one by one. The advertisements which are full of platitude make peo
41、ple annoying and tiresome. However, the novel advertisements are always very popular and deeply memorized by people. E.g. Something within you is Dior. This is an advertisement for a perfume?Poison, which took by Christian Dior. The perfume named Poison, with such an amazing advertisement gives expr
42、ession to skillful metaphor. Does the charm come from the inner heart without stopping? That is a question. It left consumers ponders over the advertisement. 4.2 The application of linguistical function The advertising writers always use all kinds of new words to attract consumers attention. 4.2.1 T
43、he frequently using of new words When lacking expressions of some concepts in daily language using, people borrow new words to substitute temporarily. If the temporary substitution can be widely acknowledged and spread rapidly, it will be a new meaning of the existent words. E.g. Daylay eggs. This a
44、dvertisement is made for eggs by a supermarket in UK. In order to say eggs are fresh, the supermarket manager creates this word “daylay”. When consumers pronounce “daylay”, they may think of another word “daily”. From here we see that, this kind of eggs are the necessity in daily life. 4.2.2 The use
45、 of compound words Sometimes, the existed words could not express the conceptions or phenomena precise enough. Therefore, people use some special ways to remedy the defects. E.g. And Good Nature has an appealing milky-white look. The powder mixes instantly with no grainy lumps. The ready-to-feed for
46、m has a convenient, reclosable spout. In this powdered milk advertisement, “milky-white” and “ready-to-feed”, the two compound words, are the temporary missed words. The word “milk-white” is fabricated to “milky-white”. From the advertisement, we know that the pondered milk like breast milk which ha
47、s a strong appeal to children. That is can be seen that the innovations and fantastic creative are convinced deeply by consumers. 4.3 The Application of sociological function The applications of sociological function are divided two parts: first, strengthen the “close degree” in social interaction;
48、second, considering the euphemistical and polite need (Shu Dingfang, 2001:149)”Euphemism” means “speak with good words”. There are 3 aspects euphemistical using on advertising English. 4.3.1 Avoid using some words Before advertising writers writing the advertisement, they should consider excluding the negative effects on advertising. E.g. I want you to sponsor a Rice Paddy Baby. “Sponsor” and “buy” have the same meaning, but using “sponsor” can easier than using “buy” to attract consumers. That is because the words “buy” inclines to create the meaning “money spending”. Howe
