模糊語在廣告中的應用及其功能畢業(yè)論文

1、<p>　　學科分類號 0502 </p><p>　　本科學生畢業(yè)論文（設計）</p><p>　　題 目（中文）： 模糊語在廣告中的應用及其功能 </p><p>　　（英文）： On the Application of Vague Language in Advertisement </p&

2、gt;<p>　　and Its Functions </p><p>　　姓 名 鄭 歡 </p><p>　　學 號 200804001221

3、 </p><p>　　院 （系） 湖南科技學院外國語言文學系 </p><p>　　專業(yè) 、年級 英語專業(yè)2008級 </p><p>　　指導教師 劉臘梅 教授 <

4、;/p><p>　　2012年 5月10日</p><p>　　On the Application of Vague Language in</p><p>　　Advertisement and Its Function</p><p><b>　　by</b></p><p>　　Zheng H

5、uan</p><p>　　supervised</p><p><b>　　by</b></p><p>　　Professor Liu Lamei</p><p><b>　　submitted</b></p><p><b>　　to</b><

6、;/p><p>　　The Foreign Languages Department</p><p>　　In partial fulfillment of the requirements</p><p>　　for the degree of</p><p>　　Bachelor of Arts</p><p>　　i

7、n the subject of</p><p>　　English Linguistics</p><p>　　Hunan University of Science and Engineering</p><p>　　Yong Zhou, Hunan</p><p><b>　　May, 2012</b></p

8、><p>　　Introduction</p><p>　　Nowadays advertising plays an important role in today’s business world and it has penetrated every corner of our life. Advertising promotion needs clear intention and p

9、recise information, however, vague language is widely used in ads. Actually, vagueness is an intrinsic feature of natural languages, it has been everywhere in our daily language use. It is the very vagueness that enriche

10、s our daily language and enables us to realize different pragmatic effects under different circumstances. And on</p><p>　　This paper discusses vague language used in advertisement. It is composed of three p

11、arts. The first part serves as a brief introduction to vague language. Vague language refers to a special language with uncertain denotation and non-specific connotation. Compared with precise language, vague language po

12、ssesses greater generality and flexibility, which mainly reflect in the denotation of the language. Part two, composed of two sections, focuses on the use of vague language in ads with the help o</p><p><

13、b>　　1</b></p><p>　　An Overview on Vague Language</p><p>　　Vague language seems very difficult to define due to the vague nature of language itself. Though great efforts have been made b

14、y linguists to give a definition of the term“vague language”, there is still no consensus as there are one thousand hamlets in one thousand people's eyes. This part is to present some definitions proposed by several

15、famous scholars.</p><p>　　1.1 Definition of vague language</p><p>　　Pierce is considered as the originator of the notion of vagueness in language. He defines it as follows:</p><p>　

16、　A proposition is vague where there are possible states of things concerning which it is intrinsically uncertain whether, had they been contemplated the speaker, he would have regarded them as excluded or allowed by the

17、proposition. By intrinsically uncertain we mean not uncertain in consequence of any ignorance of the interpreter, but because the speaker's habits of language were indeterminate; so that one day he would regard the p

18、roposition as excluding, another as admitting, those states of th</p><p>　　Later H. P. Grice also offers a definition for vagueness:</p><p>　　To say that an expression is vague(in a broad sense

19、of vagueness)is presumably, roughly speaking, to say that there are cases(actual or possible)in which one just does not know whether to apply the expression or to withhold it and one's not knowing is not due to ignor

20、ance of the facts. (H. P. Grice, 1 975)</p><p>　　Grice’s definition is a relatively broader one: it applies to what we call pragmatic vagueness as well as semantic vagueness. Not knowing ‘whether to apply th

21、e expression’ can mean not knowing whether applying a statement would be true, or not knowing whether it would be appropriate in the circumstances to make such a statement. After listing some historical views on the defi

22、nition of vagueness, let’s see Channell’s definition:</p><p>　　An expression or word is vague if</p><p>　　a. it can be contrasted with another word or expression which appears to render the same

23、 proposition;</p><p>　　b. it is‘purposely and unabashedly vague’;</p><p>　　c. its meaning arises from the‘intrinsic uncertainty’referred to by Peirce. (Channell, 2000: 20)</p><p>　　

24、Channell’s definition is in fact in line with Grice’s and it applies to pragmatic vagueness as well as semantic vagueness. That is to say, the language system permits speakers to produce utterances without having decided

25、 whether certain facts are “excluded or allowed by” them.</p><p>　　In China, the first one studying vagueness is Wu Tieping. He says that, in fact, in human language, many expressions have no clear-cut bound

26、aries, that is, they are “vague concepts”. And he points out that those words denoting time, color and temperature do not have an explicit boundary between them.</p><p>　　Hence up till now, there is no clear

27、 and precise definition of vague language. But we can get some common points about it, that is, vague language refers to a special language with uncertain denotation and non-specific connotation. Compared with precise la

28、nguage, vague language possesses greater generality and flexibility, which mainly reflect in the denotation of the language. </p><p>　　1.2 Classification of vague language</p><p>　　Hedge (or vag

29、ue expression) was first put forward by George Lakoff , he defines it as word whose job is to make things fuzzier or less fuzzier. But different scholars hold different viewpoints and classification methods to vague lang

30、uage. The following are two of the most famous classification methods.</p><p>　　Zadel makes a distinction between four types of vague language from the grammatical point of view.</p><p>　　a. Som

31、e adjectives and adverbs, such as maybe, often, usually, always, quite, some, very, almost, somewhere, recently, somewhat and so on.</p><p>　　b. Words formed by adding a suffix such as “-ish”, “-likely”, “-l

32、y” etc.. For example, reddish, greenish, sweetish, childish, childlikely, friendly, manly and so on.</p><p>　　c. Expressions used by a speaker when he is unsure or hesitant about something, like as if, as th

33、ough, so…that… , so…as to… etc..</p><p>　　d. Some structures used by a speaker when he tries to show politeness to the hearer, such as I think, I guess, I wonder, I believe, it seems to me, as far as I can t

34、ell, if I understand it right and so on.</p><p>　　Another more influential classification methods put forward by E.F.Prince and his colleagues J.Frader and C.Bosk, hold that hedges (or vague expression), fro

35、m the pragmatic point of view, can be divided into two parts. One is approximator(變動型模糊限制語) and the other is shield(緩和型模糊限制語).</p><p>　　Approximator can change the truth condition of a proposition. For insta

36、nce, The party was somewhat spoiled by the return of the parents. “Somewhat” is a hedge that expresses the speaker’s attitude. Without “somewhat”, this sentence will be a statement. Approximator either modifies the orig

37、inal discourse or gives a variable range to it. And it can be further divided into two types, adaptor(程度變動語) and rounder(范圍變動語). The former reveals the degree of difference in semantic meaning, such as sort o</p>

38、<p>　　Shield can't change the truth condition of a proposition. For example, They told me that they are married. Here, the action that they told me is a shield. Whether the speaker utters this sentence with or

39、without the action that they told me, the truth condition of this sentence will keep the same. The major function of shield is to soften the tone of speech by pointing out whether the view is the speaker himself's or

40、 a third person's. It can also be further divided into two types, plausibility(直</p><p><b>　　2</b></p><p>　　Vague Language in Advertisement</p><p>　　Our daily life i

41、s filled with vagueness, and it’s actually an inherent characteristic of natural language. In this chapter, we will focus on the vague language which is used in ads. </p><p>　　2.1 Reasons for the existence o

42、f vague language in advertisement</p><p>　　Vague language is full of fuzziness, while advertising promotion requires clear intention. Since vague language is semantically vague, why is it widely used in adve

43、rtising language? </p><p>　　2.1.1 Language itself is vague</p><p>　　Linguistic signs are inadequate. In accordance with this view, vagueness of language is essentially a matter of the way langua

44、ge relates to the world. Sometimes we may express vagueness by means of metaphor. For example, there isn’t a specific word to express the concept of the mouth of a river（河口）or the foot of a mountain(山腳) both in Chinese a

45、nd English. But sometimes, we even can’t find a metaphor to express some vague concept. For instance, Recently, things have been going really well. Here t</p><p>　　2.1.2 Human beings are born with the fuzzil

46、y-thinking ability </p><p>　　In contemporary language, fuzzy words can be seen everywhere. Vague language is necessary or even indispensable on many occasions, because language is the tool of human communica

47、tion, which is not perfect. It cannot express ideas with absolute accuracy, and people don’t need this absolute accuracy in communication. For instance, in casual conversation, you ask someone, “How many people were at t

48、he meeting?” and he replies, “about 1000”. Under this circumstance, the degree of accuracy of the answ</p><p>　　2.1.3 Advertisement demands of vagueness</p><p>　　The aim of advertisement is to p

49、ublicize its products, to encourage, to persuade, and to induce the consumers to buy them. Hence the advertising language usually includes information about the goods, but it is also full of strong persuasiveness and ind

50、uction. So the advertising language is required to contain truth in it, but not so accurate as language used in science and law. The employment of vague language in ads meets these special requirements. Vagueness exists

51、objectively in advertising l</p><p>　　Take the unusual way. (Meters/bonwe)</p><p>　　Anything is possible. (Li Ning)</p><p>　　Impossible is nothing, (Adidas)</p><p>　　We

52、 can see that there isn’t any relationship between these slogans and their products’ characteristics. These slogans all tend to endow their products a kind of spirit and uniqueness through advocating an idea by means of

53、vague language. And this is exactly what sports and sportswear seek for. In the age of everyone pursuing uniqueness, when this uniqueness caters to the consumers, it will turn into an action of purchasing.</p><

54、;p>　　2.2 Realization of Vagueness in Advertisement</p><p>　　In advertisement, it is important to use precise language to convey information of the goods accurately and sufficiently. However, sometimes the

55、 employment of vague language could be more convenient and efficient in conveying information and it could speed up the communication between the advertisers and the consumers. The most widely used words in advertising l

56、anguage are adjectives, verbs and numerals. While other parts of speech, like nouns, adverbs and pronouns appear in a relatively low fre</p><p>　　2.2.1 Use of Adjectives to Express Vagueness</p><p

57、>　　The aim of advertisement is to publicize the products and present their characteristics. And adjectives are critical to product description and concept expression in advertising language. An appropriate adjective c

58、an make things vivid and lifelike. So we can see a large amount of adjectives in advertisement because of its powerful function of description and modification.</p><p>　　British linguist G．L．Leech in his boo

59、k English in Advertising：Linguistic Study of Advertising in Great Britain listed 20 adjectives of supreme frequency, they are new，good(better／best)，fresh，free，delicious，full，sure，clean，wonderful，special，crisp，fine，big，gr

60、eat，real，easy，bright，extra，safe，rich. These words, with tendentious emotive meaning, are of strong vagueness. For example, </p><p>　　Good to the last drop．(Nescafe)</p><p>　　I am More satisfied．

61、(More cigarette)</p><p>　　In addition, some evaluative commendatory adjectives are also employed greatly in ads. They are used to describe different kinds of products and services, encourage the audiences to

62、 imagine and trigger their interest in the products. For example,</p><p>　　In perfect shape．For unlimited times．(Rado Watch)</p><p>　　In this ad, "perfect" and "unlimited" ar

63、e commendatory adjectives of unclear connotation and fuzzy denotation. In what degree can the shape of the watch be called perfect, this is an undefinable standard. And the word "unlimited" is also an immeasura

64、ble scale. So even if the characteristics of the watch are obvious, we don't need exact figures to present its diameter, the length of the watch strap and its service life. The use of vague language in ads would mani

65、fest the good quality and perfect </p><p>　　There is another reason for the activeness of adjectives in ads. For they have comparative and superlative forms. There is a well-known Chinese ad , “沒有最好，只有更好”(No

66、 best, only better). This kind of vague expression helps extend the content of ads, and leave a space of imagination for the consumers. For example：</p><p>　　You are more beautiful with Kodak．(Kodak film)<

67、;/p><p>　　Let's make things better．(Philips Electronics)</p><p>　　In the first example, there are two meanings with "more beautiful". One means the pictures photographed by Kodak film

68、 are more beautiful than the actual looking. And the other means the pictures photographed by Kodak film are more beautiful than those photographed by other film companies. It doesn't specify which meaning it refers

69、to in the ad. Likewise, in the latter example, it also doesn't specify whether its products are better than their earlier products or those produced by other companies</p><p>　　2.2.2 Use of Verbs to Expr

70、ess Vagueness</p><p>　　The information conveyance of ads requires not only accuracy but also maximum quickness and economy, so people must resort to vague language. Verbs can vivify nouns and turn abstract i

71、mage into bright terms with distinct characters, so they are widely used in ads. As we all know, the major function of ads is to persuade and induce, then, the ad writers usually use verbs of semantic fuzziness and stron

72、g induction, to influence the consumers. For example,</p><p>　　Take time to indulge. (Nestle ice cream）</p><p>　　The verb “indulge” is a word with great uncertainty, because there are many thing

73、s we can enjoy and indulge in life. But if on a hot summer day, then this ad possesses an explicit orientation. That is, indulging yourself in Nestle ice cream on a hot summer day is a great enjoyment. Consequently, this

74、 ad, achieves its publicity effect when the readers indulge in the process.</p><p>　　Some sensory verbs, such as look, smell, feel, taste, are also employed in ads. Though these words have vague semantic mea

75、ning, for they are difficult to be measured exactly, they can strengthen the intensity of discourse. They can represent personal perception and entice the consumers to produce rich imagination. For example,</p>&l

76、t;p>　　Feel the new space.（Samsung Electronics）</p><p>　　It makes you look much young.（a clothing advertisement）</p><p>　　Of course, everyone hopes himself to be forever young and can feel the

77、 new space everyday. And advertisers take advantage of this universal mentality of people, claiming that their products can make you look young and let you feel the new space. Its meaning is extremely vague, for everyone

78、 has his own perspective, consequently, their feelings are totally different. But this usage meets the needs of the consumers and leaves a space for the advertisers to explain.</p><p>　　2.2.3 Use of Numerals

79、 to Express Vagueness</p><p>　　In daily life, numerals often give us a true feeling by its precise form and quantitative analysis. So it's common to use numerals in advertising language, because it can i

80、ncrease the credibility of the products. However, the numerals in ads are often used in a vague sense. When a numeral doesn't represent a specific quantity, then it loses its original meaning of number and amount, bu

81、t it possesses image significance. This phenomenon is known as semantic vagueness of numerals. Such vague meanin</p><p>　　In TaiBei 1+1+1+1=ONE (an ad in TaiBei Business Center）</p><p>　　We are

82、all certain that four ones make four, but here four ones make ONE. This leads us consumers eager to know the real intentions of the ad, and, at the same time, stimulate our imagination. The four ones in the ad, in fact,

83、refer to the four parts of the business center. And these four parts working together make a business center. This usage is really innovative.</p><p>　　Take another example,</p><p>　　Is 2 months

84、 salary too much to spend of something that lasts forever? (diamond advertisement)</p><p>　　In this ad, the spiritual enjoyment brought by diamonds, which can only be expressed by vague language, is uncertai

85、n and beyond description. While although "2 months salary" is a precise numeral, it can’t convey the specific number of it. Through this kind of vague language it indicates that you just need to pay a small sum

86、 of money then you can get something of permanent value.</p><p>　　From the above, we learn that numerals, which is seemingly exact but, in fact, with vague concept, caters to the consumers who pay attention

87、to the accurate expression of ads.</p><p>　　2.2.4 Use of Other Parts of Speech to Express Vagueness</p><p><b>　　i. Nouns</b></p><p>　　Nouns often serve as modifiers in a

88、ds. They differentiate one product from the other by providing information about quality, specification and other technical information of the goods. On many occasions, there is a clear relationship between the noun modi

89、fier and the modified noun. However, the former can be of great vagueness. And the ads, making use of this feature, can achieve unexpected effect. For example, </p><p>　　It is the taste! (Nescafe)<

90、/p><p>　　You can feel the feature in Philips design. (Philips Electronics)</p><p>　　The meaning of the two nouns "feature" and "taste" in the above two cases is absolutely indef

91、inite. We have no idea of the features of Philips design or the taste of Nescafe, until we have experienced or tasted it. Hence, it can be learned that it's difficult to understand the vague meaning of noun modifiers

92、. But if appropriately used, it can arouse the interest and curiosity of people.</p><p>　　ii. Adverbs</p><p>　　Adverbs in English are mainly used as adverbial, they can modify verbs, adjectives

93、and adverbs, and sometimes the entire sentence. Due to the locational flexibility and functional diversity, adverbs are also frequently used in ads to express vague meaning. For example,</p><p>　　Is her skin

94、 really this beautiful? (Maxfactor Foundation Cream)</p><p>　　It just feels right．(Mazda Motor)</p><p>　　iii. Pronouns</p><p>　　Compared with other parts of speech such as nouns, ve

95、rbs, adjectives, etc., pronouns appear in a low frequency in ads. Advertisers try not to use pronouns as far as possible, because the major function of pronouns is to substitute another word. Because in ads, a single wor

96、d is worth a thousand pieces of gold.</p><p>　　Although the use frequency of pronouns is relatively lower than other parts of speech, it's not abandoned at all. Sometimes, the use of pronouns will give u

97、s a sense of neatness. For instance,</p><p>　　You are loving it.(McDonald)</p><p>　　From the perspective of cognitive linguistics, the demonstrative pronouns, like it, that, this, here, there, a

98、re fuzzy in themselves. Here, the word 'it" has many meanings. It may refer to some kind of food in McDonald, or the brand of McDonald, or McDonald's restaurant, or the service of it. A simple word "it&

99、quot; gives us a broad space to imagine. It really leaves the consumers a deep impression. </p><p><b>　　3</b></p><p>　　Pragmatic Functions of Vague Language in Ads</p><p&g

100、t;　　The goal of ads is to promote products and services to customers. To achieve this goal, advertisers are usually very careful about their advertising language, especially the use of vague language. Because if it’s app

101、ropriately used, it can achieve unexpected effect, but if used inappropriately, it can also bring the advertisers negative influence. So the vague language used in ads is a double-edged sword. In this part, we’ll talk ab