LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 22:1 January 2022
ISSN 1930-2940

Editors:
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         T. Deivasigamani, Ph.D.
         Pammi Pavan Kumar, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Managing Editor & Publisher: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.

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Analysis of Linguistic Devices in Contemporary Indian Advertising Slogans

Bablu Ray, Ph.D.

Abstract

Advertisement slogans play an integral role in seeking attention of the potential customers. These also persuade the potential customers to go for buying the advertised products. The act of seeking attention and persuading the potential customers are achieved through using particular kind of language in the advertisements slogans. In fact, the language use in the advertisement slogans appears to be quite creative and innovative and hence it is important to identify and analyse the linguistic aspects of the same. The present study focuses upon analysing linguistic devices as identified in the contemporary Indian advertising slogans. The sample of the study consists of approx. 60 adverting slogans collected from the various sources of print and electronic media advertisements on the random basis. The findings of the study identified and revealed the use of several linguistic devices such as rhyme, alliteration, assonance, consonance, affixations, neologisms, hybridizations, reduplications, code-mixing, use of small and catchy phrases, parallelisms, simile, metaphor, hyperbole and personification at different levels of linguistic analysis in the language of contemporary Indian advertising slogans. The research paper advocates the fact that it is the use of linguistic devices that make the language of the advertising slogans captivating and memorizing to potential customers.

Keywords: contemporary Indian advertisements, linguistic analysis; linguistic devices; linguistic features; advertising slogans.

1. Introduction

Advertising slogans are the most important part of the advertisements used in advertising products or services. Leech (1972) considers an advertising slogan as a short phrase which is used by the company in its advertisements to promote the identity of the brand. Slogans are more powerful than companies’ logos and can be easily remembered and recited by people (see Duboviciene and Skorupa 2014: 63). Scholars have emphasized the importance of considering catchy and small phrases to promote the identity of brands as well as to also capture the attention of the customers (see: Leech 1972, Rein 1982, Godin 2005, Kohli et. al. 2007, Clow & Baack 2012, Duboviciene & Skorupa 2014, and Skorupa & Duboviciene 2015). Scholars have also suggested that advertisements slogans should not only be small and catchy to attract the attention of the potential customers, but it should be also memorable to them (Rein 1982; Clow & Baack 2012). In fact, the act of seeking attention and persuading the potential customers by making any slogan catchy, attractive and memorable to the potential customers lies in the creative and innovative use of language in the advertising slogans.

The language of the advertising slogans employs several linguistic devices. Research on advertising language has suggested that advertising language is a “loaded language” (Leech 1972). It has also been compared to “poetic language” (Myers 1997; Cook 1996). Further, it is also considered as “rule breaking”, and is considered as a tool in the hands of advertisers to make their products more attractive (Leach Samaru-Charles 2001). Therefore, linguistic analysis of the language of the advertising slogans needs to be done to reveal the use of linguistic devices through which the language of the advertising slogans is made powerful to seek the attention of the potential customers and to promote the identity of the brands.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Bablu Ray, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Linguistics
Doctor Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya, Sagar
Madhya Pradesh
babluray@gmail.com
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