1、.Pragmatic Function and Translation of Pun in English AdvertisementAbstract: Advertising English is characterized by its originality, flexibility of language usage and the diversity of the forms.Apart from the distinguishing features at lexical and syntactic levels, rhetorical vehicles, as decorativ
2、e devices of language, are frequently employed in advertising English. Punning, a concise way to express humor and wit, is particularly favored by advertisers to enhance the appeal of language. Drawing on existing studies in the field,the author offers five strategies in the translation of puns in a
3、dvertisement, i.e. preservation, creation, compensation, explication and omission.The author argues that each of the five strategies is not always applied on its own, and sometimes two or more stratrgies are jointly employed in advertisement translation in accordance with the principle of optimal re
4、levance depending on the situation.Key words: Advertisement ; Pun; Pragmatic Function; Translation广告英语中双关语的语用功能及其翻译摘 要: 广告英语的独特性在于其新颖、灵活的语及其形式多样化，除了在词汇和句法方面别具一格外，修辞手法也被广泛地运用来润色广告语言。双关，一种集幽默与智慧于一身的语言表达形式，因其独特的语言魅力而倍受广告商的青睐。结合大量的实例分析，本文详细地探讨了双关语在英文广告中所起的作用及其分类。通过分析与归纳，作者提出了广告双关语翻译的五种策略：保留、再造、补偿、解释说明以及
5、省略不译。译者在翻译过程中可以选择一种或者多种策略以达到译文的最佳关联。关键词：广告；双关语；语用功能；翻译.IntroductionThe definition of advertisement by AMA(American Marketing Association): Advertising is the nonpersonal communication usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services of ideas by identified sponsors through t
6、he various media. It is a device to arouse consumers attention to a commodity and induce them to use it. In modern age, people find themselves surrounded by various advertisements each day. An American writer writes: “ we find advertisement of all kinds everywhere, for example, glittering neon signs
7、 on top of high buildings and a long main streets, colorful pictures painted on buses pamphlets sent to very house, advertisement jammed between TV programs various advertisement glutting, newspaper and radio broadcast; etc.” Facing so many advertisement, how to make the advertisement impressive is
8、the main purpose of the advertisers. In order to enhance the appeal of an advertisement, advertisers pay much attention not only to such expressive devices as plates, color and the layout of a printed page, but also to the choice of words or phrases, to make an advertisement beautiful and attractive
9、. In the practice of the advertising English, people pay more attention to pun to make the advertisement succinct, accurate and vivid and to provide rich imagination and plentiful associations for readers so as to stimulate their desire.The frequent and wide use of figures of speech is an important
10、characteristic of advertising English, which is an effective way to make the advertisement attractive. Among the figures, pun is loved deeply. Oxford Advanced Dictionary defines pun as “humorous use of a word that has two meanings or of different words that sound the same” 1. A pun (also known as pa
11、ronomasia) can be understood like that it is a deliberate confusion of similar-sounding words of phrases for rhetorical effect, whether humorous or serious. It leaves a deep impression on readers by its readability, wit and humor. It can satisfy the requirement of advertisement characteristicssellin
12、g power, memory value, attention value, and readability. So pun is very popular in advertisement. The article just wants to present the pragmatic function and translatability of pun in advertisement.海量英语论文尽在英语论文网，免费下载网址：http:/ QQ 253771735.1 Definition and classification of pun in advertisement1. 1
13、Definition of pun Looking at the same issue from different perspectives, we may often come up with different definitions of the thing under discussion. And, not surprisingly, pun can be thus defined in many ways. There is such a humorous explanation about pun: “punning to torture one poor word ten t
14、housand ways (John Dryden)”. In Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, pun is defined as “An amusing use of a word or phrase that has two meanings, or words with the same sound but different meanings”. According to The Oxford English Dictionary, pun is defined as “the use of word in such a way
15、as to suggest two or more meanings or different associations, or the use of two or more words of the same or nearly the same sound with different meanings, so as to produce a humorous effect”. In Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics, pun is defined as “A figure of speech depending upon a sim
16、ilarity of sound and a disparity of meaning”. From the above definitions, we can see that homonyms, homophones, and homographs all are available to construct puns with.1. 2 Types of pun in advertisement1. 2. 1 Pun on Polysemy“While different words may have the same of similar meaning, the same one w
17、ord may have more than one meaning. This is what we call polysemy, and such a word is called polysemic word. Historically speaking, polysemy can be understood as the growth and development of or change in the meaning of words.” Pun on polysemy is used widely, especially with the name of the product
18、such as the following examples:“From sharp minds. Come sharp products.” The example is an advertisement for the Sharp copier. The word “sharp” praises the consumers brightness, but also refers to the Sharp product. The advertisement praises the consumers who are sharp to buy the product which is sha
19、rp. The vanity of the audiences is aroused and they want to use it to show their wise, and also they believe the product is really sharp.“Money doesnt grow on the trees. But it blossoms at our branches. Lioyd Bank.” .It is the slogan of Lioyd Bank. “branch” means “part of a tree growing out from the
20、 trunk”, but here it implies the division of bank”. The slogan encourages people to store their money in Lioyd Bank, and their money will be like the blooming flowers, yielding better fruits. After understanding its meaning, readers will figure it out in mind that their money will become more and mo
21、re daily and daily, just like the leaves in spring.1. 2. 2 Pun on Homonym“Homonymy refers to the phenomenon that words with different meanings have the same form, i.e, different words are identical in sound or spelling, or in both. When two words are identical in sound, they are homophones. When the
22、 words are identical in spelling, they are homographs. When two words are identical in both spelling and sound, they are complete homonyms.” The follow instances will explain that:“ VIPs an atomical comfort.Variable Impact Pressure Sole” The advertisement of sportshoes uses the homophonic word “VIPs
23、”. As we know, VIP usually stands for “ very important persons”, while, here, it stands for “Variable Impact Pressure Sole”. It implies if you use VIPs, you will be a VIP. The word “VIPs motivates the audiences vanity and induces them to buy the product.“Trust us. Over 5000 ears of experience.” It i
24、s an advertisement for audiphone. The literal meaning is that the product has experienced a lot of texts. While “ears” and “years” are a pair of homophone. So it implies that the product has a long history and has high quality.“Goodbuy Winter! 100% cotton knitwear $40” It is an advertisement for the
25、 sale of winter clothes. The advertisement seems to people that it s a good and cheap to buy cotton knitwear. But when the audiences read “goodbuy winter” together, they will understand the good use of pun. “Goodbuy winter” sounds the same as “goodbye winter”. The advertisement use homophone to show
26、 two meanings: it is a good business to buy the cotton knitwear now, and winter has passed away. Naturally, people will associate the situation happening every year that when they say goodbye to winter, the clothes will have a great discount and it is good time to buy them.“More sun and air for your
27、 sun and heir.”.The advertisement is for a bathing beach. The advertiser uses homophone skilfully, sun vs. son, and air vs. heir. The advertiser encourages people to bring their son and heir to the bathing beach to get sun and air to keep fit. Each couple hopes their son and heir will be healthy all
28、 their life. Pun makes the advertising language sound sweet, fluent and persuasive.1. 2. 3 Pun on Parody“Parody is a piece of speech, writing of music that imitates the style of an author, composer, etc in an amusing and often exaggerate way” 2. Pun on parody uses the outfit of saying, apothegm, pro
29、verb or idiom to form new meanings. English has a lot of well-known phrases, idioms and sayings. They are important part of everyday language spoken by the English speakers, and have become one of the aspects of the English culture. The advertisement designers are sharp-minded and imaginative. They
30、change a part of the expressions and put their ideas into them to achieve sensational effect. And most of them achieve a remarkable success. The transformations are not only eye catching, but also easy to be accepted by the common, who will do according to the tradition. As the sayings of idioms hav
31、e been one part of the tradition, the people will be easily persuaded by the advertisement works of this kind. So pun on parody is popular in advertisement.“A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play.” It is the slogan of Mars chocolate company. Looking at this advertisement, people will associate i
32、t with two idioms: “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” and “ All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. From the meanings of the two idioms, the watchword tells people that a Mars chocolate a day will make you not be a dull boy (make you wise) and keep the doctor away (keep fit). “Try our sweet
33、 corn, youll smile from ear to ear.”It is taken from the advertisement for a kind of sweet corn. The word “ear” has double meanings: the organ of hearing and the seed bearing part of a cereal. The idiom “ from ear to ear” also is a pun. One meaning is that people are satisfied with the product. The
34、other one is that the consumers eat one ear by another. So the advertisement implies that the sweet corn is very delicious, and you will enjoy it and eating one by one. How can people refuse such delicious food?.“All is well that ends well.” This is an idiom, but here, it is taken from an advertisem
35、ent of a cigarette. “End”, as a verb, means “finish”, while, as a noun, means “cigarette butt”. The sentence means that if the cigarette ends are good that the cigarette is good. 1. 2. 4 Pun on GrammarMany advertisers use pun produced for grammar problem to attract the audiences, such as ellipsis or
36、 word with different grammar functions. If this type of pun can be used properly, it will achieve unexpected effect.“Which lager can claim to be truly German? This can.” It is an advertisement for Lager beer. “Can” is a modal verb. But in the advertisement, a can of beer beside it reminds people “ca
37、n” has another meaningtin. Also “Lager” refers to the name of beer. With the illustration, the whole advertisement brings a humorous effect and impresses the audiences deeply. The Coca-cola company also uses “can” to do their advertisement.“Coke refreshes you like no other can.” Just like last examp
38、le, “ can ” has double meanings, so the sentence can be understand like that Coke refreshes you like no other (can; tin, drink) can (refresh you). It implies their product is the best one. Of course, people like to buy the best one.1. 2. 5 Pun on Illustration and WordsA lot of advertisement associat
39、es with illustrations and words to achieve better effect, especially on TV, because people are more easily attracted by pictures than words. The illustrations and words can help people to understand the advertisement fully. Pun in the advertisement must be connected with illustrations and words, so
40、people can understand the implied meanings. For instances:“50% OFF.” It is a shopwindow advertisement of E-spirit exclusive shop in Shanghai from 2001 and spring festival. The illustration is a picture with six lights, three on and three off. From the illustration, people know it does not only mean
41、a half of the lights are off, but also means the whole sale discounts 50%. The illustration and words are vivid, and attract the passers-by attention more easily. “Stop at two.” .It is the title of an public service advertising (PSA) which the Population and Community Development Association ( PCDA)
42、 of Thailand uses to advocate the couple to have children no more than two. The illustration is the photo of Wistern Churchill who formed a “V” letter with his forefinger and middle finger. The gesture “V” means victory. So people also can understand that it is a victory to have only one child. This
43、 picture is famous, so people will remember it easily. To achieve the success of their country, people may more like to control the population.海量英语论文尽在英语论文网，免费下载网址：http:/ QQ 2537717352 The pragmatic function of pun in advertisementPun has a lot of advantages such as conciseness, wit and humor, novel
44、ty and vividness. It produces a particularly rhetorical and pragmatic effect when people use the language creatively in a specified context. The proper use can make the advertisement impressive and attractive.2. 1 Wit and humorPun, the game of word, produces wit and humor effect to attract the audie
45、nces attention and inspires their association. In the age of rapid rhythm, advertisement with pun like a spice makes people enjoy themselves in the advertising atmosphere, and reduces their pressure in a relaxed environment.“When the wind has a bite and you feel like a bite then bite on a whole Nut.
46、” The word “bite” has several meanings: grip, food, and eat. The whole sentence means that when the strong wind hurts you and you are very hungry, just eat some Nut. After day working, people would feel tired and hungry, while the advertisement is just the situation of them. Therefore, they would be
47、 attracted to buy the product, so they will not suffer hunger after work. Also, the sentence sounds like tongue twist.“Excellent Taste!” It is a word in an advertisement for a whiskey productJamson. In the advertisement, when the hero drank the Jamson whiskey that the heroine introduced to him, he s
48、aid, “Excellent Taste”. Generally speaking, “taste” means “favor”, but here, another meaning is “the ability to appreciate what is beautiful”. So the advertisement means: .this kind f whiskey as good flavor; the heroine has high appreciation. The advertiser uses pun to praise both the product and th
49、e consumers who choose their product. It caters for people vanity and induces them to buy the product.2. 2 Creativeness and originalityThis is typical of advertising language. An advertisement has a high demand of diction every word playing an important role. If human emotions have to be inspired, the words, strong in expressing emotions, will be chosen. In advertisement, originality is king. A new way of sending message can set a brand apart from copycats and also-rans. So it is important to use so
