A Study on Ellipsis in English Advertising Discourse
（20141181 韦盼盼）
Abstract: As an important cohesion device, ellipsis is a vital phenomenon in the language use. Especially it is widely used and plays a crucial role in the advertising discourse. This paper will analyze the basis, characteristics and functions of ellipsis in the English advertising discourse, in order to show that ellipsis is not only the important cohesion device for discourses but also can meet the needs of text rhetoric in advertising.
Key words: ellipsis, English advertising discourse, cohesion
1. Introduction
Ellipsis is an important language phenomenon, and a vital means of language cohesion in English. It can be simply defined as “ substitution by zero”. Main functions of ellipsis are saving words, avoiding repetition, and making the texts concise. Meanwhile, ellipsis is a means of rhetorical devices which belongs to syntax structure.
The major function of advertisements is to persuade readers instantly. In general, an advertisement should express the most information in a limited length. It should simplify the less important information, and employ elliptic sentences which can make the texts clear, prominent, compact and eye-catching. Therefore, employing ellipsis can make an advertisement more eye-catching. Elliptic sentences are the most typical form and feature of advertisements. This paper will analyze the English advertisements, and try to find the ellipsis in the advertisements, which may provide some suggestions when we are reading the English advertisements.
2. Ellipsis
According to Halliday & Hasan(2001, 88), “ Ellipsis as the omission of an item, it can be interpreted as that form of substitution in which the item is replaced by
1
nothing”. Where there is ellipsis, there is a presupposition, in the structure, that something is to be supplied, or “understood”. This is not quite the same thing as saying that we can tell from the structure of an item whether it is elliptical or not. An item is elliptical is its structure does not express all the features that have gone into its make-up ----all the meaningful choices that are embodied it. In other words, ellipsis occurs when something that is structurally necessary is left unsaid; there is a sense of incompleteness associated with it. And the essential characteristic of ellipsis is that something which is present in the selection of underlying options is omitted in the structure--whether or not the resulting structure is in itself ?incomplete?. Moreover, ellipsis is a relation within the text, and in the great majority of instances the presupposed item is present in the preceding text. That is to say, ellipsis is normally an anaphoric relation(Halliday, 2001, 146). Ellipsis can be normally divided into nominal, verbal and clausal ellipsis.
2.1. Nominal Ellipsis
By nominal ellipsis we mean ellipsis within the nominal group. Under certain circumstances the common noun may be omitted and the function of Head taken on by one of these other elements. This is what is meant by nominal ellipsis. For example,
(1) Four other Oysters followed them, and yet another four.
In the second line, four is a Numerative and acts as a Modifier, where the Oysters are omitted. And here four is upgraded to function as Head. (2) Which last longer, the curved rods or the straight rods? --- The straight are less likely to break.
In this example, straight is an Epithet, functioning as Modifier in the question but as Head in the response. Therefore, both another four and the straight are elliptical nominal groups.
So an elliptical nominal group may always be replaced by its full, non-elliptical equivalent form. In this case, the presupposed items are restored.
2
2.2 Verbal Ellipsis
By verbal ellipsis we mean ellipsis within the verbal group. An elliptical verbal group presupposes one or more words from a previous verbal group. Technically, it is defined as a verbal group whose structure does not fully express its systemic features--all the choices that are being made within the verbal group systems. For example,
(3) a. Have you been swimming? ---Yes, I have. (4) b. What have you been doing? ---Swimming.
In these two examples, the two verbal groups in the answers, have (in yes I have) in (a) and swimming in (b), are both instances of verbal ellipsis. Both can be said to ?stand for? have been swimming, and there is no possibility of ?filling out? with any other items. In the verbal group, there is only one lexical element, and that is the verb itself like swim in the above examples. 2.3. Clausal Ellipsis
We have seen that verbal ellipsis often entails the omission of other elements in the clause besides verbal ones. We can take the clause as the point of departure. The clause in English, considered as the expression of the various speech functions, such as statement, question, response and so on, has a two-part structure consisting of modal element plus propositional element, for example, (5) The Duke was going to plant to row of poplars in the park. (Modal element) (Propositional element)
The modal element consists in turn of the Subject plus the finite element in the verbal group. The propositional element consists of the residue: the remainder of the verbal, any Complements or Adjunct that may be present. Therefore, we can get two examples from (5).
a. What was the Duke going to do?--Plant a row of poplars in the park. b. Who was going to plant a row of poplars in the park?--The Duke.
In the answer of (a), the Modal element is omitted: the Subject and, within the verbal group, the finite operator was. Hence there is operator ellipsis in the verbal group. In
3
(b), there is a omission of the Complement and the Adjunct, and, within the verbal group. So it is the ellipsis of the Propositional element.
In brief, modal ellipsis is associated with a context where there is no choice of mood in the clause--mood, the choice of declarative, interrogative, imperative and their subcategories, is the realization of speech function, and is expressed by the Modal element. Typically, modal ellipsis occurs in response to a WH- questions asking ?what...do?? For example, c. What are they doing?--Singing.
Propositional ellipsis is associated with those instances where the mood are the principal components of the message: typically, response to the statements and yes/no questions, where the subject is presupposed by a reference item, as in d. Has the plane landed?-- Yes, it has.
It is also found in response to WH- questions where the unknown element happens to be the Subject, as in
e. Who taught you to sell?---Father did.
3. Ellipsis in English Advertisements
3.1. English Advertisements
At the beginning of the 20th century, Albert Laser, generally regarded as the father of modern advertising, defined advertising as “salesmanship in print, driven by a reason why”. Today, definitions of advertising abound. Journalists, for example, might define it as a communication, public relations, or persuasion process; business people see it as a marketing process; economists and sociologists tend to focus on its economic, social, or ethical significance. Advertising is a type of communication. It is a very structured form of applied communication, employing both verbal and non-verbal elements that are composed to fill predetermined space and time formats that are controlled by the sponsor. Advertising is paid non-personal communication from an identified sponsor using mass media to persuade or influence an audience. We can say: “Advertising is a persuasive communication attempt to change or
4
reinforce one?s attitude about certain product or brand”. The role of advertising is to inform, persuade, and remind groups of customers, or markets, about the need-satisfying value of the company?s goods and services. 3.2. Motivations of Ellipsis in Advertisements
In ads, the elliptical sentence is one of the most attractive and typical structures. The reason why ads employ ellipsis is mainly depends on the characteristics of elliptical structures.
Firstly, ellipsis meets the economic principle of ads. In general, there are time limit and space limit of ads, so it is necessary to keep its form short and affect the consumer?s desires for the goods. Therefore, the appropriate ellipsis in the ads can save the time and space, which don?t affect the promotional effects. Due to this principle, the ellipsis is a good choice for the ads making. Secondly, during the ads making, the business usually make the most of ellipsis for the best benefit. By this point, the ads have to express the most information through the least words. This is just meet the economic principle of ads. The elliptical elements are always the known information, so it won?t lessen the integrity of the ads. At the same time, it can emphasize the unknown information, which enhance the effect of the pass of information.
Secondly, ellipsis agrees with the Cooperative Principle, which make your conversational contribution such as required at the stage at which it occurs by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged. There are four maxims of CP, which are the maxim of quantity, the maxim of quality, the maxim of relation, the maxim of manner. The maxim of quantity describes that, make your contribution as informative as is required, and do not make your contribution more informative than is required. Ellipsis just conform to this principle. In the maxim of manner, it says that communication should be avoid obscurity and should be brief, so that communication can be perspicuous. In the communication, in order to achieve short and clear, the speaker use his known knowledge to get his unknown information, which can omit the information that doesn?t influence listeners? understanding. This ellipsis can reduce the redundancy information of the discourse,
5
英语广告语篇中的省略探析
