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Luận văn tiếng Anh: A study on mataphorical expressions in English advertising slogans from the semantic approach = Nghiên cứu các biểu thức ẩn dụ sử dụng trong các khẩu hiệu quảng cáo bằng tiếng Anh từ phương diện ngữ dụng học. M.A Thesis Linguistics: 60 22 15
Nhà xuất bản: ĐHNN
Ngày: 2010
Chủ đề: Ẩn dụ
Ngữ dụng học
Tiếng Anh
Miêu tả: 37 p. + CD-ROM
M.A Thesis. English Linguistics – University of Languages and International Studies. Vietnam National Universty, Hanoi, 2010
Electronic Resources
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY OF STUDY PROJECT REPORT ........................................ i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................................ ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................................ ii
ABSTRACT................................................................................................................................... iii
LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES.............................................................................................. iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS.................................................................................................................v
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................... 1
1. Rationale ............................................................................................................................. 2
2. Research questions and aims of the study........................................................................... 2
3. Scope of the study............................................................................................................... 3
4. Research methodology........................................................................................................ 3
5. Design of the study ............................................................................................................. 4
CHAPTER I. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND: METAPHORS AND THE USE OF
METAPHORS IN ADVERTISING. ........................................................................................... 5
1. Definitions of metaphor and promotional metaphor........................................................... 5
2. Kinds of metaphors............................................................................................................. 6
3. Previous studies on Metaphor in Advertising..................................................................... 9
CHAPTER II. AN ANALYSIS ON METAPHOR EXPLOITATION IN ADVERTISING
SLOGANS ................................................................................................................................... 14
1. Advertising slogan: A crucial part of an advertisement.................................................... 14
2. The exploitation of metaphors in advertising slogans ...................................................... 16
3. Hypotheses........................................................................................................................ 18
4. Procedures......................................................................................................................... 19
5. The analysis ...................................................................................................................... 21
CHAPTER III. RESULTS AND FINDINGS........................................................................... 27
1. The result .......................................................................................................................... 27
2. Discussion and findings .................................................................................................... 30
3. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 33
CHAPTER IV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION ................................................................ 35
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INTRODUCTION
“Advertising, your right to choose!”
American Advertising Association-CNN
Despite the best-seller position of “The fall of advertising, the rise of PR” (Alries Rises & Laura
Rises), advertising has been remaining an integral part in the global economy. As an old slogan
has put it, “Advertising, your right to choose!” advertising has been always considered as one of
the most crucial tools in any marketing campaign. Advertising, through the process of informing
customers, spreading and enhancing brand awareness, helps offer consumers a freedom of choice
for various products. To fulfill these tasks, advertising needs the exploitation of language as the
foundation to realize all creative ideas. In fact, advertising‟s linguistic creativity is most
effectively expressed through advertising slogans, where its functions of spreading information
and enhancing brand awareness are well semantically served. The number of linguistic devices
exploited in advertising slogans has been truly increasing owing to the marketers‟ preference to
convey their product messages in an implicit, rather than explicit way.
Metaphor
“Let your fingers do the walking” (Yellow pages-1964)
Simile
“Sleeping on a Seely is like sleeping on a cloud” (Seely mattresses)
Contradiction
”Annoy the neighbors. Turn it down” (JFM Radio Station)
Imperatives
“Just do it!” (Nike)
Chiasmus
"I am stuck on Band-Aid, and Band-Aid's stuck on me." (Band-Aid bandages)
"You like it. It likes you."
(Seven-Up soft drink)
In this implicit way of expressing ideas, the slogans‟ messages become more impressive and
persuasive. It really helps marketers assert their comparative advantages in comparison with both2
their direct competitors and new entrants in the industry. Among of different linguistic features
namely simile, metaphor, chiasmus, implicature or even presupposition, metaphor is preferably
used owing to its ability of generating belief, and enhancing products‟ and services‟ images from
Semantics perspective. Yet, quite little research on marketing literature and linguistic appliance
has discussed about the nature and effectiveness of metaphors in advertising in general and in
slogans in particular. This study, hence, is carried out to discuss the effectiveness of metaphor in
English advertising slogans and its comprehension in promotional context.
1. Rationale
Advertising slogans have proven their importance in both generating sales volume and creating a
great impression on customers‟ mind. In any companies-whether they are of small, or medium
size, and any industries-service or trade, advertising slogans turns out to be the very first thing to
add further values to the products.
To create an understandable, meaningful and useful slogan, the exploitation of most fields in
language is involved. These include pragmatics, lexicology, phonology, syntax...and so on. The
linguistic features Giúp transmit the message in an implicit way, avoiding the violation of the
Law of Truth.
Based on the acknowledgement of all linguistic devices exploited in slogans, the study is
conducted to investigate the employment of metaphors in advertising slogans from a Semantic
approach.
2. Research questions and aims of the study
2.1 Research questions
Dealing with the study of different kinds of metaphor, the researcher has established several
research questions to ensure the orientation of the roadmap. In fact, based on the business
context, studying advertising slogans requires quite specific research questions as well as clear
study aims. With the foundation of all the literature review studied and the samples collected,
three research questions have been established:
1. What kind of metaphor represents the most frequently chosen by advertisers and marketers?
2. What are the strengths (or weaknesses, if any) of each kind of metaphor exploited in
advertising slogans?
Ket-noi.com kho tai lieu mien phi Ket-noi.com kho tai lieu mien phi3
3. What kind of metaphor represents the wisest choice for the slogans in specific classified
groups?
2.2 Aims of the study
The study deals with the employment of different metaphor types based on Lakeoff and
Johnson‟s theory (1980). In this work, a classification of metaphors is presented, and then is
applied in the study of a collection of 40 advertising slogans from English-speaking countries or
global brands. To find out the answer for the research questions proposed, the study specifically
aims at:
(i) quantitatively identifying the frequency of different metaphor types exploited in slogans to
find out which kind is most favored by advertisers and marketers.
(ii) investigating the target domain, source domain and metaphor concepts in each slogans to
discover the strengths (or weaknesses, if any) of each metaphor type when applied in advertising.
(iii) placing the analysis of each metaphorical slogan in its group context to see which type
represent the smartest choice for each classification of products.
3. Scope of the study
In this study, the analysis is (i) a semantic analysis which bases itself on a semantic approach and
Lakeoff and Johnson‟s theory of metaphors and (ii) a hypothesis-testing analysis on each type of
metaphors used in international advertising slogans. For this reason, the study primarily deals
with researching matters from a semantic approach. Furthermore, since the study takes
hypothesis testing as one of the two main methods, it is somehow deductive and subjective.
Nevertheless, all the predictions and inferences are made based on the theory and previous
studies of linguistics and advertising.
As the exploitation of linguistic features in advertising slogans is quite huge and diversified, and
the number of slogans has been increasing year after year, the analysis is supposed to be
selective rather than comprehensive in three senses: (i) only four groups of products and services
are chosen, (ii) only 10 slogans of each group are selected as typical samples and (iii) in each
group, just some cases are picked up for a further in-depth study.
4. Research methodology
The research is based on the combination of both quantitative and qualitative methods. The
choice originates from the fact that the use of quantitative method helps us to build up a general4
picture over all the selected cases and the exploitation of qualitative analysis allows us to
painstakingly research each specific case. Hence, a quantification to synthesize all metaphor
patterns in each case. In fact, it really helps us to fulfill the task of defining frequencies of each
type of metaphor in use.
After using quantification and classification to identify the frequencies and divide selected
slogans into groups of types and sub-types, three predictions would be made and proven later
based on the result of the classification.
5. Design of the study
Apart from the Introduction and Conclusion to begin and conclude the study, the thesis
comprises three chapters, each of which is supposed to serve a specific function.
The Introduction serves as an explanation for the reason why the study is conducted, and worth
being carried out. In addition, the thesis also states the aims and objectives of the study, as well
as the research questions and the scope of the study, which are considered as a significant
roadmap for the research.
Chapter one will begin by stating the definition of metaphors and promotional metaphor. In
addition, the typical classification of metaphors by Lakeoff and Johnson is asserted as a theory
base for the specific classification of metaphor types exploited in 40 selected slogans. This
chapter also reflects different previous studies on advertising and advertisements, in which the
linguistic devices receive the greatest attention.
Chapter two centers on the slogans‟ significance to advertising and to the producers‟ reputation.
Also, in this chapter, an analysis of 40 slogans selected from four fields is conducted. As it is
carried out in the form of a hypothesis-testing research, some predictions are proposed
beforehand and latter on, are proved through the classification.
Finally, chapter three presents all the results and findings, which have been proved and obtained
from the analysis conducted in chapter two. This chapter plays the role of a harvest for all what
have been achieved.
The last part Conclusion provides a full summary of all what have been gained through the study
and suggest some prospects for future researches. The study is covered by a list of advertising
slogans that are selected for study and a table analyzing the target domain, source domain and
typical metaphor concepts of conceptual/conventional metaphor-the type of the most frequent
use.
Ket-noi.com kho tai lieu mien phi Ket-noi.com kho tai lieu mien phi5
CHAPTER I. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND: METAPHORS AND THE USE OF
METAPHORS IN ADVERTISING.
1. Definitions of metaphor and promotional metaphor
Metaphor expressions abound in most aspects of life: in daily conversations, in literature, and
even in other fields. In fact, according to Lakeoff and Johnson, “metaphor is pervasive in
everyday life, not just in language but in thought and action.” (1980:3). Owing to its mass
appearance in different fields, the study of metaphor has long been of great interest to other
disciplines. These prominently include philosophy (for a review of historical and recent
perspectives see Johnson 1981), psychology (for reviews see Billow 1977, Ortony 1979), or
linguistics (e.g., see Lakeoff and Johnson 1980).
In general, metaphor is a figure of speech concisely expressed by an implied analogy between
two objects or ideas, conveyed by the use of a word instead of another. Or, stated in a “working
definition”, metaphor in Murray Knowles and Rosamund Moon‟s eyes is viewed as “the use of
language to refer to something other than what it was originally applied to, or what it „literally‟
means, in order to suggest some resemblance or make a connection between the two things”.
Usually, three components are included in a metaphor: the tenor (or object), the vehicle (or
image), and the ground (or sense). Let‟s analyze the following example to further understand
how these components work. In accordance with I. A. Richards‟example, these components are
more clearly understood:
All the world‟s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances; — William Shakespeare, As You Like It
In this metaphoric example, "the world" is compared to a stage, describing it with the attributes
of “the stage”; hence, "the world" is the tenor, and "a stage" is the vehicle; "men and women" is
a secondary tenor, "players" is the secondary vehicle. In George Herbet‟s poetic sentence: “Hope
is the poor man's bread.”, “hope” is the tenor, “bread” is the vehicle and the ground is “the
necessity of poor man”.
As a socio-economic facet, advertising also exploits this figure of speech to the full for its
purpose of informing and persuading customers in the process of selecting products. In fact, this
is quite understandable since the "Truth in advertising" laws make it highly desirable for
advertisers to avoid making explicit statements that could be judged true or false; therefore6
metaphors (and apparently other devices) are chosen to convey the manufacturers‟ messages. In
advertising, promotional metaphor is divided into visual metaphor (or pictorial metaphor) and
textual metaphor. In advertising, the latter, which is also my study‟s focus, in
semantic domain which has positive connotations.”
2. Kinds of metaphors
Ways to classify metaphors vary greatly based on different approaches. From Semantic
approach, I do think it‟s better to comprehend metaphors in Lakoff and Johnson‟s classification.
2.1 Conceptual/Conventional metaphors
Conceptual Metaphor Theory, sometimes called Cognitive Metaphor Theory, was developed by
researchers within the field of cognitive linguists. It became widely known with the publication
of Metaphors We Live By, by Lakoff and Johnson, in 1980. Conceptual metaphor theory has
since been developed and elaborated. According to this theory, conceptual metaphor is perceived
as a figurative comparison in which one idea (or conceptual domain) is understood in terms of
another. The fundamental basis of Conceptual Metaphor Theory is that metaphor operates at the
level of thinking. Conceptual metaphors link two conceptual domains, the „source‟ domain and
the „target‟ domain. The source domain consists of a set of literal entities, attributes, processes
and relationships, linked semantically and apparently stored together in the mind. The „target‟
domain tends to be abstract, and takes its structure from the source domain, through the
metaphorical link, or „conceptual metaphor‟. Target domains are therefore believed to have
relationships between entities, attributes and processes which mirror those found in the source
domain. At the level of language, entities, attributes and processes in the target domain are
lexicalized using words and expressions from the source domain. In the example: “Time is
Money”, the metaphor uses everyday experience with money-the source domain to conceptualize
time, an abstract entity, and herein, recognized as the target domain. However, since the link
between the target and the source is the metaphorical conceptualization, it is not always
necessary to conceptualize time as money since according to many cultures‟ and societies‟ other
concepts, time is not merely or priorly money and vice versus, money is not often metaphorically
linked with time, but with other entities, as affirmed by Murray Knowles and Rosamund Moon,
“Conceptual metaphors may be culture-specific”.
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In the 1980 edition of Metaphors we Live by, Lakoff and Johnson identify three categories of
conceptual metaphors: ontological, structural and orientational. Belonging to the structural
metaphors group, ontological metaphor is perceived as a metaphor in which “an abstraction, such
as an activity, emotion, or idea, is represented as something concrete, such as an object,
substance, container, or person” such as in:
I put a lot of energy into washing the windows.
I get a lot of satisfaction out of washing windows.
In a detailed manner, this metaphor is further classified into container metaphor, where one
concept is represented as having an inside and outside, and capable of holding something else
and entity metaphor, in which an abstraction is represented as a concrete physical object, or
maybe a person (personification). Another kind of ontological metaphor is substance metaphor
via the use of which, an abstract entity such as idea, emotion, event or activity is represented as a
solid material. As seen in the following examples from “Metaphor we live by”, three kinds of
ontological metaphors are quite clearly illustrated:
Life is empty for him. (container metaphor)
Her ego is very fragile. (entity metaphor)
Inflation is eating up our profits. (personification)
There was a lot of good running in the race. (substance metaphor)
As stated, structural metaphors, in their view, are considered as “cases where one concept is
metaphorically structured in terms of another”. Structural metaphors allow us to do much more
than just orient concepts, refer to them, quantify them, etc., as we do with simple orientational
and onto-logical metaphors; they allow us, in addition, to use one highly structured and clearly
delineated concept to structure another. This metaphor allows us to conceptualize what a rational
argument is in terms of something that we understand more readily, namely, physical conflict. In
fact, as Lakoff and Johnson analyzed, “The point here is that not only our conception of an
argument but the way we carry it out is grounded in our knowledge and experience of physical
combat. Even if you have never fought a fistfight in you life, much less a war, but have been
arguing from the time you began to talk, you still conceive of arguments, and execute them,
according to the ARGUMENT IS WAR metaphor because the metaphor is built into the
conceptual system of the culture in which you live.” There is also another kind-orientational
metaphor which “organizes a whole system of concepts with respect to one another” since “most8
of them have to do with spatial orientation: up-down, in-out, front-back, on-off, deep-shallow,
central-peripheral”. Orientational metaphors give a concept a spatial orientation; as in “Happy is
up”.
2.2 Mixed metaphors
Mixed metaphors can be understood as different metaphors occurring in the same utterance, or
the same sentence, to express the same concept. Mixed metaphors is divided into impermissible
mixed metaphor-metaphors that conflict because they serve different purposes and permissible
mixed metaphor which not conflict with each other because they serve the same purpose, and/or
exhibit a correlation with each other. This classification may have sprung from the possibility to
lead to a conflict of concepts. In the following sentences a mixture of the argument-as-journey
and argument-as-container metaphors is presented. The first two sentences are acceptable;
however, the last two are marginally acceptable.
1. At this point our argument doesn‟t have much content.
2. If we keep going the way we‟re going, we‟ll fit all the facts in.
3. We can now follow the path of the core of the argument.
4. The content of the argument proceeds as follows…
Here we can see the argument-as-container metaphor is decisively presented in the first two
examples, however in the following illustrations there exist an overlap between the argument-ascontainer metaphor “the core of the argument”, “the content of the argument” and the argumentas-journey metaphor-“the path of…” or “proceed”.
2.3 New metaphors
Not all metaphors belong to the existing concepts; some are outside the conventional conceptual
system, that‟s why new metaphors are perceived as “imaginative and creative”. In Lakeoff and
Johnson‟s affirmation, “such metaphors are capable of giving a new understanding of
experience. Thus, they can give new meaning to our pasts, to our daily activity, and to what we
know and believe.” The creation of novel and unconventional metaphors requires the
employment of some devices, including extending, elaboration, questioning and combining
(Kovecses 2002: 47). However, in terms of the frequency and favoritism towards new
metaphors‟ sub-types exploited in advertising slogans, the thesis just mentions extended new
metaphor and elaborated new metaphor.
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2.3.1. Extending
The employment of extending is recognized when a new conceptual element is introduced in the
source domain to an already existing conventional metaphor and the ordinary conceptual
metaphor is expressed with new metaphorical expression. The examples stated by Kovecses
(2002:47) can illustrate this tactic.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and II took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference.
It is not very difficult to acknowledge the conventional metaphor “Life is a Journey” employed
in the poem. The novelty added is in this case, despite the very same destination both roads lead
to, there is one road less or more traveled than the other.
2.3.2. Elaborating
Quite different from extension, in elaboration, an existing element of the source is elaborated in
an unusual way. Elaboration captures the source in a novel and strange way, rather than adding a
new expression to the source domain. According to Lakeoff and Turner (1989), Horace used the
metaphorical expression “eternal exile of the raft” to refer the death. The conventional metaphor
“Death is Departure” is captured right in the words. Nevertheless, it is also further elaborated
when described in detailed definition “exile” and “raft”. The two words employed provoke the
understanding that death is a forceful departure and the means of transportation-“raft” can not
take them to the destination.
3. Previous studies on Metaphor in Advertising
Due to the interdisciplinary nature and the massive exploitation of metaphors in advertising,
quite a vast amount of research has been so far carried out. However, I have no intention of
making this overview effortlessly lengthy and exhaustive. Hence, since this paper bases itself on
the Semantics approach, it will be an insightful view on studies relevant to the present one. It is
also noted that in studying metaphors in advertising, not many researchers have seen metaphors
studied in Semantics and in general linguistics as clear-cut. This also means for many studies
selected to be herein reviewed, there will be a painstaking selection of viewpoints compatibly
related to the chosen approach.10
3.1 Meaning of Metaphors: Denotation and Connotation
Discussing about the use of metaphors in advertising, the first and foremost to notice is the
meaning. In this aspect, Roland Barthes (1988) paid a great attention to the hidden meaning
expressed in advertisements. It was also him who adopted from Louis Hjelmslev the notion that
there are different orders of signification (Barthes 1957; Hjelmslev 1961). The first order of
signification is that of denotation: at this level there is a sign consisting of a signifier and a
signified. Connotation is a second-order of signification which uses the denotative sign (signifier
and signified) as its signifier and attaches to it an additional signified. This study seems to be too
semiotics-oriented rather than semantics even though studying the signifier and the signified
leads to his conclusion that the sign (which is the advertisement in his “Advertising message”,
The Semiotic Challenge) has loaded multiple meanings. In fact, in his research, the close
connection between the meaning and the advertisements is undeniable.
The term denotation, according to Gillian Dyer (1988), refers to “the literal meaning of the
advertisement, to what is „objectively‟ present and easily recognized or identified”. Connotation,
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Nhà xuất bản: ĐHNN
Ngày: 2010
Chủ đề: Ẩn dụ
Ngữ dụng học
Tiếng Anh
Miêu tả: 37 p. + CD-ROM
M.A Thesis. English Linguistics – University of Languages and International Studies. Vietnam National Universty, Hanoi, 2010
Electronic Resources
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY OF STUDY PROJECT REPORT ........................................ i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................................ ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................................ ii
ABSTRACT................................................................................................................................... iii
LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES.............................................................................................. iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS.................................................................................................................v
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................... 1
1. Rationale ............................................................................................................................. 2
2. Research questions and aims of the study........................................................................... 2
3. Scope of the study............................................................................................................... 3
4. Research methodology........................................................................................................ 3
5. Design of the study ............................................................................................................. 4
CHAPTER I. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND: METAPHORS AND THE USE OF
METAPHORS IN ADVERTISING. ........................................................................................... 5
1. Definitions of metaphor and promotional metaphor........................................................... 5
2. Kinds of metaphors............................................................................................................. 6
3. Previous studies on Metaphor in Advertising..................................................................... 9
CHAPTER II. AN ANALYSIS ON METAPHOR EXPLOITATION IN ADVERTISING
SLOGANS ................................................................................................................................... 14
1. Advertising slogan: A crucial part of an advertisement.................................................... 14
2. The exploitation of metaphors in advertising slogans ...................................................... 16
3. Hypotheses........................................................................................................................ 18
4. Procedures......................................................................................................................... 19
5. The analysis ...................................................................................................................... 21
CHAPTER III. RESULTS AND FINDINGS........................................................................... 27
1. The result .......................................................................................................................... 27
2. Discussion and findings .................................................................................................... 30
3. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 33
CHAPTER IV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION ................................................................ 35
Ket-noi.com kho tai lieu mien phi Ket-noi.com kho tai lieu mien phi1
INTRODUCTION
“Advertising, your right to choose!”
American Advertising Association-CNN
Despite the best-seller position of “The fall of advertising, the rise of PR” (Alries Rises & Laura
Rises), advertising has been remaining an integral part in the global economy. As an old slogan
has put it, “Advertising, your right to choose!” advertising has been always considered as one of
the most crucial tools in any marketing campaign. Advertising, through the process of informing
customers, spreading and enhancing brand awareness, helps offer consumers a freedom of choice
for various products. To fulfill these tasks, advertising needs the exploitation of language as the
foundation to realize all creative ideas. In fact, advertising‟s linguistic creativity is most
effectively expressed through advertising slogans, where its functions of spreading information
and enhancing brand awareness are well semantically served. The number of linguistic devices
exploited in advertising slogans has been truly increasing owing to the marketers‟ preference to
convey their product messages in an implicit, rather than explicit way.
Metaphor
“Let your fingers do the walking” (Yellow pages-1964)
Simile
“Sleeping on a Seely is like sleeping on a cloud” (Seely mattresses)
Contradiction
”Annoy the neighbors. Turn it down” (JFM Radio Station)
Imperatives
“Just do it!” (Nike)
Chiasmus
"I am stuck on Band-Aid, and Band-Aid's stuck on me." (Band-Aid bandages)
"You like it. It likes you."
(Seven-Up soft drink)
In this implicit way of expressing ideas, the slogans‟ messages become more impressive and
persuasive. It really helps marketers assert their comparative advantages in comparison with both2
their direct competitors and new entrants in the industry. Among of different linguistic features
namely simile, metaphor, chiasmus, implicature or even presupposition, metaphor is preferably
used owing to its ability of generating belief, and enhancing products‟ and services‟ images from
Semantics perspective. Yet, quite little research on marketing literature and linguistic appliance
has discussed about the nature and effectiveness of metaphors in advertising in general and in
slogans in particular. This study, hence, is carried out to discuss the effectiveness of metaphor in
English advertising slogans and its comprehension in promotional context.
1. Rationale
Advertising slogans have proven their importance in both generating sales volume and creating a
great impression on customers‟ mind. In any companies-whether they are of small, or medium
size, and any industries-service or trade, advertising slogans turns out to be the very first thing to
add further values to the products.
To create an understandable, meaningful and useful slogan, the exploitation of most fields in
language is involved. These include pragmatics, lexicology, phonology, syntax...and so on. The
linguistic features Giúp transmit the message in an implicit way, avoiding the violation of the
Law of Truth.
Based on the acknowledgement of all linguistic devices exploited in slogans, the study is
conducted to investigate the employment of metaphors in advertising slogans from a Semantic
approach.
2. Research questions and aims of the study
2.1 Research questions
Dealing with the study of different kinds of metaphor, the researcher has established several
research questions to ensure the orientation of the roadmap. In fact, based on the business
context, studying advertising slogans requires quite specific research questions as well as clear
study aims. With the foundation of all the literature review studied and the samples collected,
three research questions have been established:
1. What kind of metaphor represents the most frequently chosen by advertisers and marketers?
2. What are the strengths (or weaknesses, if any) of each kind of metaphor exploited in
advertising slogans?
Ket-noi.com kho tai lieu mien phi Ket-noi.com kho tai lieu mien phi3
3. What kind of metaphor represents the wisest choice for the slogans in specific classified
groups?
2.2 Aims of the study
The study deals with the employment of different metaphor types based on Lakeoff and
Johnson‟s theory (1980). In this work, a classification of metaphors is presented, and then is
applied in the study of a collection of 40 advertising slogans from English-speaking countries or
global brands. To find out the answer for the research questions proposed, the study specifically
aims at:
(i) quantitatively identifying the frequency of different metaphor types exploited in slogans to
find out which kind is most favored by advertisers and marketers.
(ii) investigating the target domain, source domain and metaphor concepts in each slogans to
discover the strengths (or weaknesses, if any) of each metaphor type when applied in advertising.
(iii) placing the analysis of each metaphorical slogan in its group context to see which type
represent the smartest choice for each classification of products.
3. Scope of the study
In this study, the analysis is (i) a semantic analysis which bases itself on a semantic approach and
Lakeoff and Johnson‟s theory of metaphors and (ii) a hypothesis-testing analysis on each type of
metaphors used in international advertising slogans. For this reason, the study primarily deals
with researching matters from a semantic approach. Furthermore, since the study takes
hypothesis testing as one of the two main methods, it is somehow deductive and subjective.
Nevertheless, all the predictions and inferences are made based on the theory and previous
studies of linguistics and advertising.
As the exploitation of linguistic features in advertising slogans is quite huge and diversified, and
the number of slogans has been increasing year after year, the analysis is supposed to be
selective rather than comprehensive in three senses: (i) only four groups of products and services
are chosen, (ii) only 10 slogans of each group are selected as typical samples and (iii) in each
group, just some cases are picked up for a further in-depth study.
4. Research methodology
The research is based on the combination of both quantitative and qualitative methods. The
choice originates from the fact that the use of quantitative method helps us to build up a general4
picture over all the selected cases and the exploitation of qualitative analysis allows us to
painstakingly research each specific case. Hence, a quantification to synthesize all metaphor
patterns in each case. In fact, it really helps us to fulfill the task of defining frequencies of each
type of metaphor in use.
After using quantification and classification to identify the frequencies and divide selected
slogans into groups of types and sub-types, three predictions would be made and proven later
based on the result of the classification.
5. Design of the study
Apart from the Introduction and Conclusion to begin and conclude the study, the thesis
comprises three chapters, each of which is supposed to serve a specific function.
The Introduction serves as an explanation for the reason why the study is conducted, and worth
being carried out. In addition, the thesis also states the aims and objectives of the study, as well
as the research questions and the scope of the study, which are considered as a significant
roadmap for the research.
Chapter one will begin by stating the definition of metaphors and promotional metaphor. In
addition, the typical classification of metaphors by Lakeoff and Johnson is asserted as a theory
base for the specific classification of metaphor types exploited in 40 selected slogans. This
chapter also reflects different previous studies on advertising and advertisements, in which the
linguistic devices receive the greatest attention.
Chapter two centers on the slogans‟ significance to advertising and to the producers‟ reputation.
Also, in this chapter, an analysis of 40 slogans selected from four fields is conducted. As it is
carried out in the form of a hypothesis-testing research, some predictions are proposed
beforehand and latter on, are proved through the classification.
Finally, chapter three presents all the results and findings, which have been proved and obtained
from the analysis conducted in chapter two. This chapter plays the role of a harvest for all what
have been achieved.
The last part Conclusion provides a full summary of all what have been gained through the study
and suggest some prospects for future researches. The study is covered by a list of advertising
slogans that are selected for study and a table analyzing the target domain, source domain and
typical metaphor concepts of conceptual/conventional metaphor-the type of the most frequent
use.
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CHAPTER I. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND: METAPHORS AND THE USE OF
METAPHORS IN ADVERTISING.
1. Definitions of metaphor and promotional metaphor
Metaphor expressions abound in most aspects of life: in daily conversations, in literature, and
even in other fields. In fact, according to Lakeoff and Johnson, “metaphor is pervasive in
everyday life, not just in language but in thought and action.” (1980:3). Owing to its mass
appearance in different fields, the study of metaphor has long been of great interest to other
disciplines. These prominently include philosophy (for a review of historical and recent
perspectives see Johnson 1981), psychology (for reviews see Billow 1977, Ortony 1979), or
linguistics (e.g., see Lakeoff and Johnson 1980).
In general, metaphor is a figure of speech concisely expressed by an implied analogy between
two objects or ideas, conveyed by the use of a word instead of another. Or, stated in a “working
definition”, metaphor in Murray Knowles and Rosamund Moon‟s eyes is viewed as “the use of
language to refer to something other than what it was originally applied to, or what it „literally‟
means, in order to suggest some resemblance or make a connection between the two things”.
Usually, three components are included in a metaphor: the tenor (or object), the vehicle (or
image), and the ground (or sense). Let‟s analyze the following example to further understand
how these components work. In accordance with I. A. Richards‟example, these components are
more clearly understood:
All the world‟s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances; — William Shakespeare, As You Like It
In this metaphoric example, "the world" is compared to a stage, describing it with the attributes
of “the stage”; hence, "the world" is the tenor, and "a stage" is the vehicle; "men and women" is
a secondary tenor, "players" is the secondary vehicle. In George Herbet‟s poetic sentence: “Hope
is the poor man's bread.”, “hope” is the tenor, “bread” is the vehicle and the ground is “the
necessity of poor man”.
As a socio-economic facet, advertising also exploits this figure of speech to the full for its
purpose of informing and persuading customers in the process of selecting products. In fact, this
is quite understandable since the "Truth in advertising" laws make it highly desirable for
advertisers to avoid making explicit statements that could be judged true or false; therefore6
metaphors (and apparently other devices) are chosen to convey the manufacturers‟ messages. In
advertising, promotional metaphor is divided into visual metaphor (or pictorial metaphor) and
textual metaphor. In advertising, the latter, which is also my study‟s focus, in
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, is defined as “a metaphor used to associate a product with asemantic domain which has positive connotations.”
2. Kinds of metaphors
Ways to classify metaphors vary greatly based on different approaches. From Semantic
approach, I do think it‟s better to comprehend metaphors in Lakoff and Johnson‟s classification.
2.1 Conceptual/Conventional metaphors
Conceptual Metaphor Theory, sometimes called Cognitive Metaphor Theory, was developed by
researchers within the field of cognitive linguists. It became widely known with the publication
of Metaphors We Live By, by Lakoff and Johnson, in 1980. Conceptual metaphor theory has
since been developed and elaborated. According to this theory, conceptual metaphor is perceived
as a figurative comparison in which one idea (or conceptual domain) is understood in terms of
another. The fundamental basis of Conceptual Metaphor Theory is that metaphor operates at the
level of thinking. Conceptual metaphors link two conceptual domains, the „source‟ domain and
the „target‟ domain. The source domain consists of a set of literal entities, attributes, processes
and relationships, linked semantically and apparently stored together in the mind. The „target‟
domain tends to be abstract, and takes its structure from the source domain, through the
metaphorical link, or „conceptual metaphor‟. Target domains are therefore believed to have
relationships between entities, attributes and processes which mirror those found in the source
domain. At the level of language, entities, attributes and processes in the target domain are
lexicalized using words and expressions from the source domain. In the example: “Time is
Money”, the metaphor uses everyday experience with money-the source domain to conceptualize
time, an abstract entity, and herein, recognized as the target domain. However, since the link
between the target and the source is the metaphorical conceptualization, it is not always
necessary to conceptualize time as money since according to many cultures‟ and societies‟ other
concepts, time is not merely or priorly money and vice versus, money is not often metaphorically
linked with time, but with other entities, as affirmed by Murray Knowles and Rosamund Moon,
“Conceptual metaphors may be culture-specific”.
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In the 1980 edition of Metaphors we Live by, Lakoff and Johnson identify three categories of
conceptual metaphors: ontological, structural and orientational. Belonging to the structural
metaphors group, ontological metaphor is perceived as a metaphor in which “an abstraction, such
as an activity, emotion, or idea, is represented as something concrete, such as an object,
substance, container, or person” such as in:
I put a lot of energy into washing the windows.
I get a lot of satisfaction out of washing windows.
In a detailed manner, this metaphor is further classified into container metaphor, where one
concept is represented as having an inside and outside, and capable of holding something else
and entity metaphor, in which an abstraction is represented as a concrete physical object, or
maybe a person (personification). Another kind of ontological metaphor is substance metaphor
via the use of which, an abstract entity such as idea, emotion, event or activity is represented as a
solid material. As seen in the following examples from “Metaphor we live by”, three kinds of
ontological metaphors are quite clearly illustrated:
Life is empty for him. (container metaphor)
Her ego is very fragile. (entity metaphor)
Inflation is eating up our profits. (personification)
There was a lot of good running in the race. (substance metaphor)
As stated, structural metaphors, in their view, are considered as “cases where one concept is
metaphorically structured in terms of another”. Structural metaphors allow us to do much more
than just orient concepts, refer to them, quantify them, etc., as we do with simple orientational
and onto-logical metaphors; they allow us, in addition, to use one highly structured and clearly
delineated concept to structure another. This metaphor allows us to conceptualize what a rational
argument is in terms of something that we understand more readily, namely, physical conflict. In
fact, as Lakoff and Johnson analyzed, “The point here is that not only our conception of an
argument but the way we carry it out is grounded in our knowledge and experience of physical
combat. Even if you have never fought a fistfight in you life, much less a war, but have been
arguing from the time you began to talk, you still conceive of arguments, and execute them,
according to the ARGUMENT IS WAR metaphor because the metaphor is built into the
conceptual system of the culture in which you live.” There is also another kind-orientational
metaphor which “organizes a whole system of concepts with respect to one another” since “most8
of them have to do with spatial orientation: up-down, in-out, front-back, on-off, deep-shallow,
central-peripheral”. Orientational metaphors give a concept a spatial orientation; as in “Happy is
up”.
2.2 Mixed metaphors
Mixed metaphors can be understood as different metaphors occurring in the same utterance, or
the same sentence, to express the same concept. Mixed metaphors is divided into impermissible
mixed metaphor-metaphors that conflict because they serve different purposes and permissible
mixed metaphor which not conflict with each other because they serve the same purpose, and/or
exhibit a correlation with each other. This classification may have sprung from the possibility to
lead to a conflict of concepts. In the following sentences a mixture of the argument-as-journey
and argument-as-container metaphors is presented. The first two sentences are acceptable;
however, the last two are marginally acceptable.
1. At this point our argument doesn‟t have much content.
2. If we keep going the way we‟re going, we‟ll fit all the facts in.
3. We can now follow the path of the core of the argument.
4. The content of the argument proceeds as follows…
Here we can see the argument-as-container metaphor is decisively presented in the first two
examples, however in the following illustrations there exist an overlap between the argument-ascontainer metaphor “the core of the argument”, “the content of the argument” and the argumentas-journey metaphor-“the path of…” or “proceed”.
2.3 New metaphors
Not all metaphors belong to the existing concepts; some are outside the conventional conceptual
system, that‟s why new metaphors are perceived as “imaginative and creative”. In Lakeoff and
Johnson‟s affirmation, “such metaphors are capable of giving a new understanding of
experience. Thus, they can give new meaning to our pasts, to our daily activity, and to what we
know and believe.” The creation of novel and unconventional metaphors requires the
employment of some devices, including extending, elaboration, questioning and combining
(Kovecses 2002: 47). However, in terms of the frequency and favoritism towards new
metaphors‟ sub-types exploited in advertising slogans, the thesis just mentions extended new
metaphor and elaborated new metaphor.
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2.3.1. Extending
The employment of extending is recognized when a new conceptual element is introduced in the
source domain to an already existing conventional metaphor and the ordinary conceptual
metaphor is expressed with new metaphorical expression. The examples stated by Kovecses
(2002:47) can illustrate this tactic.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and II took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference.
It is not very difficult to acknowledge the conventional metaphor “Life is a Journey” employed
in the poem. The novelty added is in this case, despite the very same destination both roads lead
to, there is one road less or more traveled than the other.
2.3.2. Elaborating
Quite different from extension, in elaboration, an existing element of the source is elaborated in
an unusual way. Elaboration captures the source in a novel and strange way, rather than adding a
new expression to the source domain. According to Lakeoff and Turner (1989), Horace used the
metaphorical expression “eternal exile of the raft” to refer the death. The conventional metaphor
“Death is Departure” is captured right in the words. Nevertheless, it is also further elaborated
when described in detailed definition “exile” and “raft”. The two words employed provoke the
understanding that death is a forceful departure and the means of transportation-“raft” can not
take them to the destination.
3. Previous studies on Metaphor in Advertising
Due to the interdisciplinary nature and the massive exploitation of metaphors in advertising,
quite a vast amount of research has been so far carried out. However, I have no intention of
making this overview effortlessly lengthy and exhaustive. Hence, since this paper bases itself on
the Semantics approach, it will be an insightful view on studies relevant to the present one. It is
also noted that in studying metaphors in advertising, not many researchers have seen metaphors
studied in Semantics and in general linguistics as clear-cut. This also means for many studies
selected to be herein reviewed, there will be a painstaking selection of viewpoints compatibly
related to the chosen approach.10
3.1 Meaning of Metaphors: Denotation and Connotation
Discussing about the use of metaphors in advertising, the first and foremost to notice is the
meaning. In this aspect, Roland Barthes (1988) paid a great attention to the hidden meaning
expressed in advertisements. It was also him who adopted from Louis Hjelmslev the notion that
there are different orders of signification (Barthes 1957; Hjelmslev 1961). The first order of
signification is that of denotation: at this level there is a sign consisting of a signifier and a
signified. Connotation is a second-order of signification which uses the denotative sign (signifier
and signified) as its signifier and attaches to it an additional signified. This study seems to be too
semiotics-oriented rather than semantics even though studying the signifier and the signified
leads to his conclusion that the sign (which is the advertisement in his “Advertising message”,
The Semiotic Challenge) has loaded multiple meanings. In fact, in his research, the close
connection between the meaning and the advertisements is undeniable.
The term denotation, according to Gillian Dyer (1988), refers to “the literal meaning of the
advertisement, to what is „objectively‟ present and easily recognized or identified”. Connotation,
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