Курсовая работа: Idioms in Commercials Pragmatic Aspect
Kyiv National Linguistic University
Department of stylistics and linguistics
Course Paper
” Idioms in Commercials: Pragmatic Aspect”
Scientific supervisor:
Associate Professor V.V. Timofeyeva
Kyiv-2006
Contents
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1. THE LINGUISTIC ESSENCE OF IDIOMS
1.1. DEFINITION OF THE IDIOM AS A LINGUISTIC PHENOMENON
1.2. BASIC FEATURES OF IDIOMS
CHAPTER 2. PRACTICAL USAGE OF THE IDIOMS IN COMMERCIAL ADVERTISING
2.1. MANIPULATING BY IDIOMS. FOREGROUNDING
2.2. IDIOMATIC LANGUAGE IN COMMERCIALS
2.3. CREATIVE USAGE OF THE IDIOMS. EXTENSION AND ALTERATION CONCLUSION
RESUME
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Introduction
The English language provides a great array of means created for the expression and rendering thoughts. In this work we focus on one of the most efficient expressive tool, namely, an idiom. In brief, an idiom is an expression (i.e. term or phrase) whose meaning cannot be deducted from the literal definitions and the arrangement of its parts, but refers instead to a figurative meaning that is known only through conventional use. In linguistics, idioms are widely assumed to be figures of speech that contradict the principle of compositionality. [10; 79]
Idiom is an indispensable part of the language. It helps to create a brighter image, to render concisely an extended idea or create the particular impression with the listener. Many researches are dedicated to the use of the idiom in literary works by poets and prose writers.
However, such a powerful language element could not be also overlooked by the people who search for ways of manipulation and persuasion for their own purpose and in business. Therefore, we will analyze the usage of the idioms in business advertising. With a speedy tempo of contemporary life and high rates at media time the usage of idioms in order to make the commercial advertising more effective becomes more important which brings about the actuality of this study.
The aim of the researchis basically to define the idiom as a tool of commercial manipulation and underline the pragmatic aspect of this language phenomenon in this respect.
This study sets a row of specific tasks to be completed during the research, namely:
- To study and classify the phenomenon of the idiom as a linguistic element,
- To analyze the value of idiom both for the conversational and commercial use,
- To bring out the pragmatic aspect of the idiom in the sphere of commercial advertising.
The object of the research paper is the idiomatic phrases and words in English language and their usage.
The subject of the study is the use of English idioms in commercial advertising regarding their pragmatic aspect.
The paper consists of the introduction part, two chapters, the conclusion, the reference list of the literature used and a resume.
Chapter 1. The linguistic essence of idioms
1.1. Definition of the idiom as a linguistic phenomenon
idiom linguistic commercial advertising
The English language abounds in idioms like any other highly developed tongues. Idioms consist of set phrases and short sentences, which are peculiar to the language in question and loaded with the native cultures and ideas. Therefore, idioms are colorful, forcible and thought provoking.
Idiom is an expression in the usage of a language that is peculiar to itself either grammatically (as no, it wasn't me) or in having a meaning that cannot be derived from the conjoined meanings of its elements.
We can draw a simple classification of the idioms.
Category and Level . First, we might wish to group them according to their category and level. Lexical idioms (ignoring mono-morphemic lexical items) can be nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Phrasal idioms can be adjectival ("stark raving mad"). Nominal ("notary public"), verbal ("come a cropper"), prepositional ("in a brown study"), or sentential ("it takes one to know one").
Function. For the idioms that are not syntactically dependent on other elements, we could classify them according to their function. Some formulaic expresses accompany acts ("this hurts me more than it hurts you"), some accomplish acts ("I declare the meeting adjourned"), some are comments on the ongoing discourse ("I wouldn't touch that with a ten-foot pole"), some are parenthetical, qualifying what is being said ("you might say"), and so on.
Sentence Type. Sentential idioms can be classified according to the sentence type. Some are imperatives ("knock on wood", "shut up"), some are conditionals ("if the shoe fits, wear it"), some are questions ("who knows?", "can the leopard change its spots?"), and some use certain special constructions ("the more the merrier", "the bigger they come, the harder they fall").
Gaps. Many idioms are not complete "runs" but have gaps in them. Some such gaps are complete sentences ("it's (about) time [you brushed your teeth]", where the sentence has to be in past tense form), some are verb phrases ("I wouldn't [marry Louise] for all the tea in China"), some are noun phrases ("play second fiddle to [Harry]"). Possessive gaps can be co-referential to the subject, in the case of verbal idioms ("to blow [one's] nose"), or referentially distinct ("to pull [someone's] leg"), and some can go either way ("to cook [(some) one’s] goose").
Collocations. Collocations are phrase made up of two or more words, in some grammatical relation to each other, where it appears that one or both of the words is has some special conventional association with the other. In some cases, one of the word only, or almost only, occurs in the phrase in question (the "blithering" of "blithering idiot", the "aspersions" of "cast aspersions"), sometimes each word occurs frequently elsewhere but the combination has a special sense or a special frequency of occurrence ("spontaneous combustion", "manual labor", "consenting adult"), and so on. [1; 62]
In many cases a dependent or modifying word fulfills a necessary function in respect to the other word, such as that of intensifying: "broad daylight", "dark red", "fancy footwork", "vast majority", etc.
In the case of sentential idioms, it is important to distinguish between the conventional meaning that a construct built on them might have and the kind of reasoning that is involved in cooperative conversational interaction. If a mother says, "I wonder who could have left their dirty socks on the middle of the floor", she probably expects her intended addressee to take this as a sarcastic request to pick the socks up and put them where they belong. A lot has been written about the mechanisms for this kind of reasoning; one reasonable view is that the mother expects what she says to be taken as the first part of a potentially continuing conversation that, given the relationships that hold between speaker and hearer, is going to lead to a specific conclusion; the cooperative child can anticipate this path and act on the inference without requiring the whole conversation to be played out. [1; 63]
But now consider certain negative "why" questions, in particular, questions such as those exhibited here:
"Why don't you try again tomorrow?"
"Why don't you just memorize your Social Security Number?
"Why don't you visit me some time?"
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