The Wording Characteristics of the Advertising English

Going through long-term development and evolution, the advertising English has formed its unique artistic style, stylistic features and vivid linguistic forms and therefore formed its unique linguistic characteristics. It mainly focuses on its vocabulary application, syntax structure, rhetorical devices, and types of writing and so on. We will focus on analyzing its wording selection and application in the following paragraphs.

Advertising English is a kind of commercial language, though vary from products; it has common purpose of persuading customers to buy goods. Therefore, advertising English has the following wording features.

First, Using Oral Words for Everyday Goods

The advertising English generally select simple and common words and express meaning by oral words that are easy to understand, impressive and flowing well. It is suitable for all circles of life, old and young, man and women, such as “you’ve gotta try it”, “I couldn’t believe it, until I tried it”, “I’m really impressed”, “I love it”.

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Second, Using Elegant Vocabulary for Certain Goods

According to different grades and types of advertising goods as well as different economic and cultural background of people, advertising English also needs to use elegant and formal words, such as literary language or poem.

Some luxury goods designed for certain rich customer group with high cultural background. So the advertising words are elaborate and carful thus creating a kind of atmosphere for the high quality goods. If using common and oral words, it can not persuade this kind of people to buy.

For example: Beautiful is the word: a gleaming, flint-hard finish you’ll be pleased to see your face in, and an occasional discreet flick of stainless steel. And then there are the seats, firm enough to support you on the straightest motorway.

This is the advertisement about motors which selects refined and elegant words, such as gleaming, discreet and etc.

Third, Preferring to Use Commendatory Adjectives

Advertising generally use a large number of commendatory adjectives, expected to make a good impression in customers’ mind on the goods. Such kind of commendatory adjectives include: delicious, up-to-date, fragrant, attractive, complete, charming, comfortable, wonderful, perfect, superior, etc. These words make the advertisement impressed and glorifying.

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Fourth, Using Simple and Short Verbs

The advertising English often use monosyllable words or words with fewer letters to make the language vivid and clear at a glance. For example, use get instead of using obtain. Such kind of words include make, come, go, give, try, let, etc. These are words used most in people’s daily life, so they are easy to understand, simple, but they can produce enormous effects.

Fifth, Perfect Use of Personal Pronoun

In order to increase the sense of participation of customers, the advertising English also use many personal pronouns, for examples, use the first person to indicate the advertiser, the second person to refer to customers and the third person to refer to people familiar by readers.

Sixth, Flexible Use of Indefinite Article

For catering to the group psychology of customers, advertising English sometimes choose indefinite pronouns like all, everyone, none, nothing and so on so as to embody the extraordinary features of certain goods and widely accepted by most customers.

Seventh, Adopting a Large Number of Compounds

The compounds are very flexible in their forms and can express meaning clearly and therefore frequently used in advertising English, such as best-looking, fresh-tasting, brand-new and etc.

Beside the above mentioned features of advertising English, there are many other important characteristics, such as, using prefix and suffix, repeating key words and creating new words.

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