Session Eight 六、 Frequent Use of Compar

ative Constructions

In our competitive society, how to get big salesis really an art. A comparison of products in anadvertisement can show the advantages of theadvertised product over others of the same kind.So, the copy-writer is inclined to use the com-parative construction in English advertisements.‘Comparative constructions abound in adverti-sing, and for good reason. They are used to say that some product is better than used to be,or that it is better than competing products, or that consumers will be better off if they use some

product than if they don’t. Comparatives arealso used in advertising to say that consumerscan get more of something for their money than they used to be able to, or to get more of something than before for less money thanthey used to have to pay. The fact that com-paratives are used so frequently in advertisingmakes the study of of advertising language very interesting, but it is how they are used and abused in advertising that makes them most interesting’ (Michael L. Geis, 1982:85 ).

Usually, in the simplest sort of case, a com-parative sentence contains two individual ob-jects or two types of objects along some dimen-sion. Let’s see the following examples. (1) Oranges are sweeter than lemons. Our oranges are sweeter than they used to be. (2) GILLETTE Sensor … Even rinsing is innovative. The new blades are 50% narrower than any others – allowing water to flow freely around and through them, for effortless cleaning and rinsing….

(3) You manage a business, stocks, bonds , people And now you can manage your hair For the first time, there’s a remarkable gel that can give your hair any look you want – sleeker, fuller, straighter, curlier, more natural,even wet- without a drop of alcohol or oil. It gets your hair into shape in the morning and keeps it under control all day. Whatever your management style, Maltplexx is for you. Get the full facts at the Aramis counter. ARAM MALTPLEXX natural hair gel for men.

In Example (1), oranges and lemons are com-pared along the dimension of sweetness in thefirst sentence; in the second sentence, two kinds of oranges---the oranges the speaker used to have and the oranges he or she now has---are compared also along the dimensionof sweetness. In Example (2), different types of blades, the new blades and any other blades,are compared along the dimension of proper-ties. In Example (3), the advertiser directly claims that the product possesses more effec-tive quality. He doesn’t point out the compared

object, so he can say boldly that his product is more effective. As it is well known, many of the comparativesemployed in advertising are complete sentences in that the compared object appears, but manyare elliptical in that the objective terms of com-paratives are not identified. In elliptical compa-rative sentences sometimes ambiguity is boundto arise. Let’s observe the following example. (4) All new Mitsubishi Galant has more power and economy, less weight and noise. The above example is taken from a car ad-vertisement. The comparative in it involves am-biguity, for it can be understood in different ways:

a) All new Mitsubishi Galant has more power and economy, less weight and noise than old Mitsubishi Galant. b) All new Mitsubishi Galant has more power and economy, less weight and noise than the same competing type of cars. c) All new Mitsubishi Galant has more power and economy, less weight and noise than old Mitsubishi Galant and the same competing type of cars. It is easy to see that the copy writer creates countless comparative constructions, many of which contain implied or ambiguous

comparison. But no matter how deep the implied comparison is, no matter how ambi-guous the comparison may be, the message of comparison is always positive, invariably in favor of the advertised product or service. Moreover, as implied and ambiguous compa-risons usually bring about profound thinking, and are capable of being understood in diffe-rent ways which are favorable to the adver-tised product or service, so they are condu-cive to creating a wonderful image of what is being advertised.

七、 Disjunctive Elements It is often observed that the advertising copy writer has a tendency to chop up sentences into shorter bits by using full stops, dash, semi-colon and hyphen, where ordinary prose would use commas or no punctuation at all. Leech (1966:90-7, 113-16,148-50, 170-4) refers to this phenomenon as ‘disjunctive syntax’. Dis-junctive elements which are widely used in English advertisements, have become a spe-cial phenomenon in English advertising lan-guage. e.g.

（ 1 ）… an automatic applicator gently smooth on soft crème or high-shine color for a smooth silky finish that lasts. And lasts. （ 2 ） colors that look lastingly tempting. Longer.… Finally. The convenience of Silver Stone combined with glass! It’s a cook’s dream true… (3) ….Italy’s masterpiece. A delightful liqueur created from wild peanuts, herbs and berries. Ah! Frangclico.

(4) The California Wine Festival December 5-8,1982. On the beautiful Monterey Peninsula. The oldest, most established wine event in the country. A sellout success over the years. For years of Wine testing. California’s Finest Wineries. Taste Hundreds of Select Wines. Extrava-Gant Gourmet Meals. Famous speakers fromthe world of Wine and Food. Complete Program,$250 per person. Special Festival rates at fineMonterey Peninsula Hotels.

Examples (1), (2), (3), and (4) contain dis-junctive elements: ‘And lasts.’; ‘Longer.’; ‘Fina-lly.’; ‘Italy’s masterpiece.’ and ‘Frangclico.’Each of these is separated from the precedingsentence by a full stop. In fact, each is an ele-ment or a constituent of the prec-eding sentence.The effect of this is to cut up the sentence into more informationunits. As each informa-tion unit is articulated in a stressed falling tone and, there-fore, emphasizes the message contained, more information units means more emphasized messages. It is easy to see that by frequently using disjunctive syntax

advertisers want to emphasize those key or important messages, to render them more attractive to the addressees and to achieve the purpose of promoting consumption. Exam-ple (4) advertises California Wine Festival. It introduces the unusual festival, telling and making attractive the time, place, activities, etc. of the festival through proper use and vertical arrangement of elliptical sentences and disjunctive elements. As can be seen from the examples, disjunc-tive elements or sentence fragments end in

full stops and look as if they were complete sentences. In fact, they are just parts of the sentences concerned. The separate parts are often the key ones that are emphasized in ad-vertising texts. They are very attractive. They are to be read in a stressed falling tone. Theyusually project or highlight the special features,or characteristics, or fantastic functions of the advertised product or service.

八、 Listing language Advertising is a style of immediate impact and rapid persuasion. In general, whether the medium is print, radio, television or Internet, the advertiser can rely on people’s attention for only a very short time. Therefore, the salesmessage must be short, clear, distinctive and memorable. In many English advertisements, the benefits, amenities, or advantages of the advertised products or services are listed in the form of a catalogue, or of an index, or in the form of a table. Let’s observe the printed advertisement below.

（ 1 ） What’s the best way to care for your skin? A. Take steps to help prevent skin cancer. B. Protect from pollution. C. Moisture. D. Promote healing. CABOT’S VITAMIN E. All Of The Above In today’s world, your skin demands extra special care. The kind you’ll find with Cabot’s Vitamin E. From extra rich moisture creams to smoothing masques and skin oil. Cabot’s

Vitamin E products give you all the skin care you need. In the above-quoted body copy of a cosme-tics advertisement, the steps for how to care for your skin are listed in the form of a cata-logue or index. The language style is indeed terse and concise, yet plenty of information is put across, and the message is clear at a glance. (2) An Equal Opportunity Employer How would you solve this problem? A. Deductive reasoning. B. Perseverance and dedication. C. A sword.

Mobil We like people with fresh ideas. In the above body copy of an employment advertisement, the requirements for the voca-tion are listed in the form of a catalogue. And they are made clear by short phrases. Listing language, by which I mean languagein the form of lists or tables or indexes, is mostcommonly witnessed in modern English adver-tising. This type of language is often used to list the features or advantages, or benefits of the advertised product or service and to

render them crystal clear at a glance. Accor-ding to Geoffrey N. Leech, the most straight-forward kind of advertisement is one which describes the special need the product can fulfill or the special advantage it can offer. In fact this kind of ads are ubiquitous: many briefads are entirely presented in catalogue or in-dex language while many long body copies consist of both paragraphs with complete stan-dard sentences and sections of short phrasesor very short sentences in the form of a cata-logue or table. Undoubtedly, such listing