1. Introduction
Advertising is nonpersonal communication usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about product, services of ideas by identified sponsors through the various media .Its aim is to arouse consumers'attention to a commodity and induce them to use or buy it.But how to make the advertisement impressive is the main purpose of the advertisers. In order to enhance the appeal of an advertisement ,the choice of words or phases may make the advertisement attractive. In advertisement there are本论文由英语论文网/ many rhetoric features such as smiliar, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, repetition, contrast and pun. However, of all these features, pun is the most frequently used and loved by many people. It may leave a deep impression on people by its readability, wit and humor.As some linguists said, pun always can satisfy the requirement of advertisement characteristics--selling power, memory value , attention value and readability. Thus, pun is very popular in advertisement.
2. Types f Pun in English Advertisement
The defination of pun is "humorous use of a word that has two meanings or of different words that sound the same". A pun is a rhetorical device in which people use the polysemous or homonymous relation of a language to cause a word,a sentence of a discouse to involve two things of meaings.There are several types of pun ,such as pun on polysemy,pun on homonymy, pun on parody, pun on grammer, pun on illustrations and words.
2.1 Pun on Polysemy
"While different words may have the same similar meaning,the same one word may have more than one meanings .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."(戴炜栋,何兆熊,2017/7,p74-75). Pun on polysemy is used very widely,especially with the brand of the product such as the following examples:
(1)"Money doesn't grow on the trees.But it blossoms at our branches.
-----Lioyd Bank
It is the advertisement of Lioyd Bank ."Branch "means "part of a tree growing out from the trunk",but here it implies the division of bank.This advertisement encourages people to store their money in lioyd Bank and their money will be like the blooming flowers ,yielding more better fruits.After understanding its meaning,readers will figure out in mind that their money become more and more daily by daily ,just like the leaves in the spring.
(2)"The most sensational place to wear satin on your lips"
Here,"satin"means the lipstick of some kind.This sentence means if you wear this lipstick, your sexy lips will like satin which are smooth and glossy ,find and delicate.Thus women will be surely to show great interest to this lipstick.
2.2 Pun on Homonymy
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 words are identical in spelling, they are homographs.When two words are identical in both spelling and sound,they are complete homonyms.The following instances will explain it :
(1)"OIC"glasses may help you!
It is an advertisement of glasses."OIC"stand for "Oh, I see".It tells you that if you wear this glasses you will see the world more clearly. And the audience will be more willing to buy it .
(2)"Goodbuy Winter!
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