Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................. 2 1 Relevance theory and communication ........................................................................ 3 1.1 Relevance, cognition and ostension ......................................................................... 3 1.2 The function and features of relevance theory ......................................................... 4 1.3 Importance of context .............................................................................................. 5 2 Introduction of pun...................................................................................................... 7 2.1 Classification of pun ................................................................................................ 8 2.1.1 Homonym.............................................................................................................. 8 2.1.2 Asteismus .............................................................................................................. 9 2.1.3 Pun-metaphor ...................................................................................................... 10 2.1.4 Free-morpheme ................................................................................................... 10 2.1.5 Acronym.............................................................................................................. 11 2.2 Functions of puns in advertising ............................................................................ 11 2.2.1 Attracting attention.............................................................................................. 11 2.2.2 Making advertisements brief............................................................................... 12 3 Context and puns in the light of relevance theory .................................................... 13 3.1 Puns being situational ............................................................................................ 13 3.2 Used in headlines and slogans ............................................................................... 14 3.3 Involving the brand names of the product or service............................................. 15 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 17 Notes ............................................................................................................................ 18 Bibliography................................................................................................................. 19
On the Relevance Theory and Puns in English Advertisement
Abstract: Advertising communication is human communication act. Many ads are often
not directly express the messages, but rather through an indirect way to express that. Pun is one of this indirect way. Advertising language require simple and short language, and then punning with short discourse being able to represent rich connotations. This article according to Sperber and Wilson's relevance theory, analyze pun in English advertising which is special language phenomenon. Based on the kinds of features and related knowledge of puns, the author attempts to use relevance theory to research common sense. This is not only a new perspective to rich advertising language study, and will deepen the pragmatic study.
Key words: Advertisement; Pun; Relevance Theory; Context
从关联理论看广告英语的中双关
摘要：广告交际是人类交际行为的一种。很多广告常常不直接表达所要传递的信息，
而是通过间接的方式来表达，双关语就是其中之一.广告语言要求言简意赅，双关修辞能够用简短的话语表述丰富的内涵。本文依据Sperber 和Wilson提出的关联理论，对英语广告双关语这一特殊语言现象进行剖析。基于双关语的功能和种类相关知识试图从关联理论的进行常识探讨。这不仅是一个新的视角，并以此来丰富广告语言的研究，同时也是将语用研究引向深入的动力。
关键词：广告；双关；关联理论；语境
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Introduction
In the age of information, advertisements have infiltrated into all works of life and become an important source of information as well as an indispensable part of our life. With China’s opening up to the outside world, especially after China’s entry into the World Trade Organization, more and more multinationals are doing business in China. Advertisements appear everywhere: on news programs that consumers access, in the entertainment they seek, on billboards as they commute, on Internet sites as they surf the Web, and even in their classrooms and office space. Advertisements impinge on consumers’ awareness greatly and affect their thoughts, attitudes, feelings and decisions potentially.
In considering the many and varied effects of advertising, a very central issue is how the information in an advertisement said, that is, how people understand and remember what an advertisement said. Science approaches to advertising research have been fragmented, and the second chapter would give more detail information. Spending money is usually serious business. People do not buy from clown.” But the arguments for the usefulness of wordplay are stronger than such doubts. Advertising space is costly. Economy is essential, and puns are highly economical. According to the theory of Peter Newmark, advertising belongs to the vocative text, as the main purpose is to sell the products[1].
In this paper, it is Sperber and Wilson’s Relevance Theory that will be used to analyze the puns in English advertisements. In pondering the title of this paper interpret, two questions came to mind: one is that although the English language provides its speakers with ample means for communicating with each other directly, why an advertiser chooses to use puns even though its ambiguity, the other is that how the communicative interpreted by the consumers correctly. Many scholars employ Austin’s Speech Act Theory and Grice’s Cooperation Principle to explain English puns. Relevance Theory suggests that communication is a process of ostensive-inference, a cognitive process for the audience to identify the communicator’s intent on the basis of Relevance Theory, why pun is used and how it is used to express the communicative exist intent are interpreted. The employments of
pun discussions on the effects of pun exist more in literature while less in advertising. The present paper, based on an analysis of the main categories and the discussions of the related knowledge in understanding pun, is an attempt to give some enlightenment to the understanding and study of pun in English advertising.
There are three parts in this thesis. Part one provides relevance theory and communication. In the second part two, the author puts forward introduction of pun. The third part covers context and puns in the light of relevance theory.
1 Relevance theory and communication
Contextual effects do not come free; they cost some mental effort to derive. The processing effort required to understand an utterance depends on two main factors. First, the effort of memory and imagination needed to construct a suitable context; second, the psychological complexity of the utterance itself. The processing effort needed to derive contextual effects is crucial, and this leads to the notion of optimal relevance. That is, an act of ostensive communication automatically communicates a presumption of relevance. The level of relevance presumed to exist takes into account the interests of both communicator and audience. This level is called optimal relevance. In real-life communication, it may not be within the communicator’s capabilities to achieve maximal relevance. Besides, on the addressee’s part, interpretation of utterance may not be necessarily maximally relevant, but merely optimally relevant principle
Relevance theory is referred to analyze language phenomenon. In view of Sperber and Wilson’s claim that their theory can be applied to human communication in general, it should work for advertising as well-at least in as much as advertising is a kind of communication.
1.1 Relevance, cognition and ostension
Sperber and Wilson’s Relevance Theory is palsied in this thesis as the theoretical foundation for the study. In the preface of Relevance: communication and Cognition, according to the theory represents that the purpose of their writing is to present a new approach to the study of human communication which is governed by the overall ,automatically turn toward information; hence to communicate is to imply that
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the information communicated is relevant. Thus Relevance Theory proposes a general approach to human communication and utterance interpretation from a cognitive prospective and within context, which are lack in previous studies on this topic. A concrete introduction of the theory is available in this chapter.
The principle of relevance is the principle that every utterance creates an expectation of relevance. Sperber and Wilson argue that the key to an explanation of human communication lies in the notion of relevance, a notion which is grounded in a general view of human cognition. As they point out, they point out, they aim to characterize a property of mental processes. The assumption is that human cogntion is relevance-oriented. Humans tend to pay attention to those phenomena which are most relevant to them. Relevance is defined in terms lf contextual effect and processing effort. An utterance can contextual effects in one of the three ways.
However, contextual effects do not come free; they cost some mental effort to derive. The processing effort required to understand an utterance depends on two main factors. First, the effort of memory and imagination needed to construct a suitable context; second, the psychological complexity of the utterance itself.
The processing effort needed to derive contextual effects is crucial, and this leads to the notion of optimal relevance. That is, an act of ostensive communication automatically communicates a presumption of relevance. The level of relevance presumed to exist takes into account the interests of both communicator and audience. This level is called optimal relevance. In real-life communication, it may not be within the communicator’s capabilities to achieve maximal relevance. Besides, on the addressee’s part, interpretation of utterance may not be necessarily maximally relevant, but merely optimally relevant. Relevance and understanding are two sides of a single coin.
1.2 The function and features of relevance theory
There are two different modes of communication: coded communication and astensive-inferential communication. From Aristotle through to modern semiotics, all theories of communication are based on a single model, which we call the code model. A code is a system which pairs internal messages with external signals, thus enabling two information-processing devices to communication.
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