英汉商业广告双关语对比分析
毕业论文关键词：双关；中英文广告；对比
Abstract A pun means taking advantage of homonyms or synonyms to make a sentence or a text contain two or more meanings. As a special language rhetoric device, it endows rich and special expressive effects and is often used in commercial advertisements. This paper attempts to discuss homophonic, semantic, grammatical and idiomatic puns used in Chinese and English advertisements. And then it will compare the differences and similarities of puns in English and Chinese advertisements. Through analyzing and comparing a great number of advertising examples, one can draw a conclusion that Chinese advertisements put emphasis on the homophonic puns while English advertisements prefer the semantic puns. Such a comparison can help consumers better understand and appreciate the huge expressiveness of advertisements and it is also beneficial to designers to gain some inspiration in the process of designing and creating better advertisements.
Key words: pun; English and Chinese advertisements; contrast
A Contrastive Study of Pun in English and Chinese Commercial Advertisements
Contents
摘 要 i
Abstract ii
I. Introduction 1
II. An Overview of Advertisement and Pun 2
2.1 The Definition of Advertisement 2
2.2 The Definition of Pun 3
2.3 The Characteristics of Pun 4
2.3.1 Ambiguity 4
2.3.2 Humorous Effect 4
2.4 The Classification of Pun 4
Ⅲ. The Pun in Chinese and English Advertisements 5
3.1 The Pun Used in English and Chinese Advertisements 5
3.1.1 Homophonic Puns 6
3.1.2 Semantic Puns 8
3.1.3 Grammatical Puns 10
3.1.4 Idiom or Proverb Puns 10
3.2 The Effect of Pun in English and Chinese Advertisements 12
3.2.1 The Economic Effect 12
3.2.2 Publicize the Brand 13
3.2.3 Emotional Resonance 13
Ⅳ. The Differences of Pun in Both English and Chinese Advertisements 14
4.1 The Difference in Homophonic Puns 14
4.2 The Difference in Semantic Puns 15
4.3 The Difference in Idiom or Proverb Puns 16
Ⅴ. Conclusion 16
Bibliography 18
Acknowledgements 19
I. Introduction
Nowadays, market economy has made a great progress and the advertisements are extremely swept all over the world. “Everyday people are confronted with millions of advertisements, and advertising plays an important role in our life” (Crystal and Davy 222). In order to excite customers’ purchasing desire, many producers are likely to spend time making their advertisements more attractive. Advertising makers need to produce successful commercial advertisements that lead people to accept the product, remember it deeply and buy it in the end. Advertisers use many rhetorical strategies, such as euphemism, hyperbole, irony and pun etc. The pun, as a special rhetoric of language, has rich expressiveness and fancy effects, which can express language more vividly and acquire an unexpected effect. “Pun is an outstanding form which has been widely employed in advertisements among the various rhetorical devices” (Leigh 18-33). It can attract consumers’ attention and then arouse their curiosity. No matter in Chinese or English advertisement, pun is a common phenomenon.