Study on Pragmatic Presupposition in
English Beverage Advertising
Abstract
Advertising language has received a thorough study from different aspects. With the development of linguistics, the studies on advertising language are inclined to the relationship between language and context. In this case, pragmatic presupposition appears to be the very tool for its sensitive nature to context. In addition, common ground and appropriateness of pragmatic presupposition also make great contribution to the concise and economical advertisement. However, other properties like one-sidedness, subjectivity and latency are equally noticed. Proper exploitation of these features may develop useful market strategies. Therefore, it is of great significance to study advertising language from pragmatic presupposition perspective.
The thesis focuses on the phenomenon of pragmatic presupposition in English advertisement for beverage. Based on the foundational theory, the classifications and functions of pragmatic presupposition are exposed by qualitative study method. Meanwhile, a case study is conducted to tentatively explore the distribution and frequency of each type by quantitative analysis. Research findings show that pragmatic presupposition occurs in 94% of the collected 100 drinks advertisements; the state presupposition accounts for the largest percentage (40%) among all five classifications , followed by belief presupposition, behavior presupposition, existential presupposition and fact presupposition, for 22%, 14%, 13%, 5% respectively.
Key Words: advertising language pragmatic presupposition function classifications description
摘要
广告语言的研究一直以来都备受各个领域学者们的青睐。在语言学领域，语言学的发展使得广告语言的研究逐渐趋向于语言与语境的关系的研究。于是，对语境敏感的语用预设便成为了分析广告语言的理想工具。语用预设的共知性和合适性简化了广告的语言，节省了广告的费用。另外，语用预设本身还具有单向性、主观性和隐蔽性。巧妙运用这些特征可以衍生出有效的广告撰写策略。因此，从语用预设的视角研究广告语言是很有意义的。
本文主要致力于研究英文饮料广告语言的语用预设现象。作者以语用预设作为研究基本理论，结合定性研究和定量研究方法，通过分析语用预设在饮料广告中的类型和功能，同时对各预设类型在英文广告中的分布和出现频率也进行调查研究，力图探讨语用预设在英文饮料广告中运用的深度和广度。
调查结果发现：语用预设在英文饮料广告中的运用程度极高，在收集的100条广告语中呈现出94％的高频率。与此同时，状态预设在五种语用预设类型中出现的频率最高，达到40％。其余的信仰预设、行为预设、存在预设和事实预设分别占22％、14％、13％和5％。
关键词：广告语 语用预设 功能 分类描写
目录
Abstract 1
摘要 2
Chapter 1 Introduction 3
Chapter 2 Literature Review 4
2.1 Previous studies on pragmatic presupposition abroad 4
2.2 Previous studies on pragmatic presupposition at home 5
Chapter 3 Theoretical Foundations 6
3.1 The definitions of pragmatic presupposition 6
3.2 The characteristics of pragmatic presupposition 7
3.2.2 Subjectivity 7
3.2.3 Latency 7
3.3 The classifications of pragmatic presupposition in print advertisement language 8
3.3.1 Existential presupposition 8
3.3.2 Fact presupposition 8
3.3.3 State presupposition 9
3.3.4 Belief /value presupposition 9
3.3.5 Behavior presupposition 10
3.4 Functions of pragmatic presupposition in drink advertisement language 10
3.4.1 Concise function 10
3.4.2 Euphemism function 11
3.4.3 Persuasive function 11
Chapter 4 Case Study 11
4.1 Research aims 11
4.2 Data collection 12
4.3 Data analysis 12
4.3.1 Statistic numbers 12
4.3.2 Analysis findings 14
Chapter 5 Conclusion 15
5.1 General summary 15
5.2 Limitations of present study 15
5.3 Suggestions for further research 16
参考文献Bibliography 16
