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The Use of Figurative Expression in the Language of Advertisement

The Use of Figurative Expression in the Language of Advertisement

 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

The Use of Figurative Expression in the Language of Advertisement
The Use of Figurative Expression in the Language of Advertisement

1.1  Background to the Study

Figurative  expression  is  commonly  used  in  advertisement  to  make  the  product  advertised  to  be  more  interesting.  Language  is  one  of  the  important  parts  and  characteristics  form of  human behavior.  Language  has a  strong relation  to the society  because  language  is  a  form  of  communication  itself.  No  one  can  communicate  well  without  having  an  ability  to  understand  the  language  used  in  the  context  of  communication. Communication is  a process that is acted whether between speaker  and hearer or between writer and reader. So,  in  the process  there must be a speaker and a listener, or a writer and a reader who to share the idea with. This definition means that in communication  there  is  a  transferring  of  information  whether  is  it  spoken  or  written.

Besides that, the definition mentioned above, language is not an abstract contraction of the learned or of dictionary-maker, but it is something arising out of the work, need, ties, joys, affection, tastes, of long generation of humanity, and has its bases broad and low, close to the ground. (Victoria Fromkim: An Introduction to Language: 1990: 3).

Figurative expressions are forms of styles in which words are used to express more than they mean ordinarily so as to make the idea very emphatic and effective. On the other hand, hyperbole is one of the figurative expression and it means the use of deliberate expression for emphasis to achieve heightened effect or to produce some effect. In advertisements, hyperbole is mostly used to capture the interest of the public to patronize the product or the services been advertised.

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Both advertising and poetry are consciously created literary structures which affect the perceiver through the condensed use of evocative language. Advertising tries to “breathe life into some otherwise inanimate object” (Durgee 1986/7, p. 57), just as poetry seeks to create vivid dramatic experiences for the perceiver (Brooks and Warren 1960). The “poetry of commerce” (Rimer 1987) is a particularly important concept for services advertising, thought to show special needs for creative imagery to tangibilize essentially intangible offerings (see George and Berry 1981; Shostack 1977).

Since services are generally viewed as different from goods on the dimension of abstraction, it has been suggested that the function of services advertising is to make the offering “‘known’ by the tangible clues, the tangible evidence, that surround it” (Shostack 1977, p. 76). The use of imagery in figurative expressions thus appears to carry a heavier burden in conveying the essence of a service than a good. Creative language can be used to endow the abstract service with “sense appeal,” and an analysis of figures of speech can help advertisers determine which kinds will most effectively reach consumers.

Stylistics, according to Verdonk (2002:4), is the study of language styles. It can also be defined as the analysis of distinctive expressions in language and the description of its purposes and effects. The language of advertisement is designed carefully to leave certain impressions to its readers as their target buyers. Generally, figurative languages are exposed in the advertisements in magazine.

Language forms the fundamental function of communication as social being. Man uses it as a medium of communication to help him communicate with other people that live within and beyond our geographical locations. It is noted that our live takes us through sires of activities that demand immense use of language.

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The Use of Figurative Expression in the Language of Advertisement

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Figurative expression has a special meaning because there are some kinds of connotative meanings, they are a metaphore, simile, antithesis and hyperbola. Actually, figurative language can be applied sociolinguistically and semantically. In this research, the research uses figurative language in a semantic area because the research wants to know the real meaning of news on Jakarta Post. It is important because by studying the text, the research does a research about figurative language on the Jakarta post, so it gives more knowledge about figurative language on Jakarta post and related to the uniqueness of writers the news.

1.3  Research Questions 

  1. What special choices do advertising make of language?
  2. To what extent does the language of advertising deviate from the established rules of well-formedness in language
  1. To what extent does the language of advertising use modifiers?
  2. Does the language of advertising make use of appeals?

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