語言文化論文-廣告英語中的模糊現象分析AbstractAdvertisingmaybedescribedasthescienceofarrestingthehumanintelligencelongenoughtogetmoneyfromit.Itisthusclearthatadvertisinghasplayedadecisiveroleintodaysbusinessworld.Theissueofwhetheradvertisinglanguagesareattractiveandpersuasiveornothasbecamethepointofattention.SothoroughandtheoreticalstudiesonlanguagefeaturesofEnglishadvertisinghelpsimproveboththeunderstandinganddesigningofsuccessfuladvertisements.Afterabriefintroductiontoadvertising,advertisinglanguage,fuzzinessandfuzzylinguistics,thethesisisfocusedonthelinguisticrealizationsoffuzzinessinadvertisingEnglishfromthefollowingtwoperspectives:thesemanticrealizationandrhetoricaldevices.Inthesemanticanalysis,fuzzyqualifiers,numericalfuzzyquantifiers,fuzzyverbs,descriptiveadjectivesandsymbolsandabbreviationsareanalyzedtorevealfuzzynaturethatareusedbyadvertiserstoachievetheirpersuasiveends.Whileintherhetoricaldevices,punning,metaphors,andeuphemismwhichmakelanguagemorevividandcreatemoreboundlessassociationandimaginationarediscussed.Thenthethesisconcludeswithabriefsummaryofthearticleandpointsoutthelimitationsofthestudy.KeyWordsadvertisingEnglish；fuzziness；semanticandrhetoricalanalysis【摘要】廣告業被認為是一條通過耗盡人類智慧賺取錢財的科學之道。很明顯，廣告在今天的商業世界已發揮著舉足輕重的作用。廣告語言能否具有誘惑力和說服力已成為關注的焦點。因此對英語廣告語言系統、全面地研究，可以提高對廣告的理解，構想出成功的英語廣告。論文在簡短地對廣告，廣告語言，模糊性和模糊理論進行介紹之后，主要對以下兩種模糊實現形式進行分析。一、語義模糊。這一類廣告通過使用模糊限制詞、模糊數量詞、模糊動詞、修飾性形容詞以及符號和縮略語等具備模糊性的語言來突破日常行為的規范，使詞語在表達字面意義的同時又暗示其多重含義，形成詞語含義的未定性，激發了讀者的聯想和想象，吸引他們的注意并提起他們的興趣，從而對廣告本身的說服力起增強作用。二、修辭格（雙關、暗喻、委婉語）的使用，使廣告語言更具生動，引發讀者無限的想象和聯想。最后結論部分中，論文對主要概念和內容做出了總結，提出了全文的局限性。【關鍵字】廣告英語；模糊性；語義和修辭分析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化妝品)(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,butrepresentimagerymeaning.11Examplesarepresentedasfollowing:(1)InTaipei1+1+1+1+1=one.(2)ThisChristmassurpriseshimwithadozenpresents-ayearofGQ.(3)Thisyearistwenty,andnextyeariseighteen.ThisisthemysteryofBelie.(Belie化妝品)Example1istheadvertisementinTaipeiWorldTradeCenter.Whyfour1equalsone,butnotfour?Originallytheadvertisementintendstoenticethereadertoreadthebodyquicklyandarousetheirimagination.Theequation1+1+1+1+1=onerealizestheshiftfromnumbertoimage,makingthereadersconnectfour1withtheCenterofConference,theWorldOffice,theCenterofExhibition,andLuxuryHotelinTaipei.Inexample2,thephraseadozenpresentsdoesntrefertoarealnumber,butanimagerynumber.Andinexample3,thenumberindicatesthefunctionoftheproductsmakespeoplelookyounger.Nowletslookatnon-numericalfuzzyquantifiers.CrystalandDavyinitiatedthisnewconcept.Theiranalysisoflargestretchesofnaturalconversationdatarevealedtheuseofmanynon-numericalfuzzyquantifiers.Englishhasagreatmanywaysofquantifyingwithoutusingnumberofanykind.Forinstance:several,lotsof,massesof,bagsof,heapsof,etc.Letstakeanexample:Wevehiddenagardenfullofvegetablewhereyoudneverexpect,inapie.(食品)Thewordfullofattractsthereaderstothelargestextent.Anyonewantstoa