[Abstract] The advertisement is an indispensable part in the society. So the researches on the English advertisements are becoming more and more useful and important. At the beginning of the thesis, the author holds the definition, the effect and the component of the advertisement. And then the author states something about discourse analysis from its definition, components, and levels. Discourse analysis is the process of description, explanation, illustration, and evaluation. The understanding of the text is the low level, but the high one is evaluating the text. Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG) is proved that it is more suitable for discourse analysis than any other theories. It consists of systemic grammar and functional grammar. Systemic Grammar claims that language is a system network of meaning potential or that it is a semiotic system. Functional Grammar is classified language function into three parts: ideational metafunction, interpersonal metafunction, and textual metafunction. Finally, the author puts these theories into the practice of analyzing the English advertisement. With the discussion and analysis, it is proved that SFG can develop the relationship between them further, and English advertisement can be understood clearly.
[Key Words] English advertisement; discourse analysis; systemic functional grammar; functional grammar [摘要]广告现在已经成为社会生活不可缺少的一部分，对广告语篇略论有其存在的必然性。论文首先论述了广告的定义，作用以及其文案的组成部分。接下来论述了对于语篇略论，从语篇略论的概念，组成部分，以及两个层面。语篇略论是一个描写，解释，法语论文题目，说明，评估的过程，对语篇理解了还要会做出评论。而系统功能语法被指出这个语法比其他语言学框架更适合用来略论语篇，所以论文接下来描述了系统功能语法的理论内容去支持语篇略论，系统功能语法包括系统语法和功能语法。系统语法核心思想是认为语言是有个意义潜势的系统网络。功能语法从语言的功能的角度总结出语言的三大元功能：概念功能，人际功能，语篇功能。最后作者用以上的相关理论对一个法语广告实例进行了具体略论。通过以上论述和略论，法语论文范文，作者证明了系统功能语法指导语篇略论的可行性。作者也望两者能更加的完善，以至能更系统地略论理解广告语篇。
[关键词] 法语广告； 语篇略论； 系统功能语法； 功能语法
1. Introduction
Since the 1960s, Halliday, the Professor of linguistics, develops a systematic and comprehensive theory of language, called “Systemic-Functional Grammar (SFG)”, and publishes his book “An Introduction to Functional Grammar” in 1985 and 1994. Many scholars also published a number of books and papers on systemic grammar. The research of Systemic Functional Grammar begins in 1970s and become popular in the late 1980s.
English advertising begins in the medieval times and the advertising-boom appears in the 1920s. Today advertising has become an indispensable tool for modern companies and institutions. So the discourse analysis of English advertising is very necessary. With the analysis, people can understand the advertisement completely and supply the further improvement with some evidence.
Now few people have tried to use the theories of the SFG to analyze English advertisements. But Professor Huangguowen makes a detailed study on the combination of the SFG and the analysis of English advertisement in his newly published book “Theory and Practice of Discourse Analysis---A Study in Advertising Discourse (2001)”.
The thesis will make a tentative endeavor to apply the theories of the SFG to the analysis of English advertisements, hoping to prove that the theories of SFG can be used to analyze English advertising and are actually effective.
2. Advertising
2.1 The definition of advertising
Most of the scholars hold that “Advertising” originates from the Latin word “Adventure” which means arousing people’s interest to take action. In 1300 to 1475, it was changed to the medieval English “Advertise”, which meant, “Someone pays attention to something”. The first newspaper advertisement is said to have appeared in 1704 in the Boston News Letter in America. During the 18th century advertising grew in popularity both in Britain and the American colonies.
Before 1890, in the western, the definition of advertising is generally called, as “Advertising is a piece of news about the product or the service.” In 1948, The Committee on Definitions of the American Marketing Association defines: “the non-personal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, service or idea by identified sponsors through the various media.” American Sponsors Association hold: Advertising is the paid communication for the masses, and its final purpose is to transmit messages, change the attitude, induce people to take action and benefit identified sponsors. The Encarta Encyclopedia defines “advertising” as “a form of commercial mass communication designed to promote the sale of a product or service, or a message on behalf of an institution, organization, or candidate for political office”.[1]
Now, draw the following conclusion: “Advertising is a paid, mass-mediated attempt to persuade”. Firstly, identified sponsors need to pay for it. Secondly, it is delivered through a communication medium designed to reach more than one person. Thirdly, it is the public communication designed to change or reinforce the attitude and the action.
2.2 The effect of advertising
Advertising can make a contribution to sales---along with the right product, the right price, and the right distribution. It can not only create social wealth directly and provide lots of jobs, but also promote the development of other industries. And advertising is related to GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in that it can contribute to levels of overall consumer demand when it plays a key role in introducing new products. Advertising can have a stabilizing effect on downturns in business activity.
Advertising is alleged to stimulate competition and therefore motivate firms to strive for better products, better production methods, and other competitive advantages that ultimately benefit the economy as a whole.Due to the economies of scale produced by advertising, consumers actually realize less—expensive products. As broad-based demand stimulation results in lower production and administrative costs per unit, low prices are passed on to consumers. The pressure of competition and the desire to have fresh, marketable products stimulate firms to produce improved products and do some innovations. All of these can contribute to the standard of living and quality of life in a society.
Advertising educates consumers, equipping them with the information they need to make informed purchase decisions. Consumers become more educated regarding the features, benefits, functions, and value products. Further, consumers can become more aware of their own tendencies toward being persuaded and relying on certain types of product information. According to the above, better-educated consumers enhance their lifestyles and economic power through astute marketplace decision-making.
In all, with the development of the technology and the diversity of the mass media, advertising has influenced people pervasively in the daily life. Advertising plays an important role in the society. Foreign countries (especially American) have developed the advertising for a long time, so Chinese need to use the experience of other countries for reference. That is the study of English advertising has its necessity. The study of analysis of English advertising is meaningful.
2.3The components of copywriting
“Copywriting is the process of expressing the value and benefits; a brand has to offer, via written or verbal descriptions.” A complete piece of copywriting generally consists of headline (including sub-headline), body copy, slogan, and supplementary items.
The headline is the most important part, which is the leading sentence used at the top or bottom of the advertising. It should arouse interests and attract attentions. It can make people keep on reading and get to know more about the product being sold. It must be short, simple word about not more than 10 words, but it includes enough information, the name of brand and so on. Subhead is an additional headline usually appears above or below the headline. It includes important brand information not included in the headline. Like the headline it transmits key selling points or brand information quickly. It should reinforce the headline and serves as a transition to the body copy.
Body copy tells a more complete story about the product or service, only one out of 10 readers read the body copy, so it will arouse people’s interest and more information for people to know of. Generally it includes emotional copy and reason-why copy.
Slogan, its structure is similar to the headline. A slogan is a short phrase used to help establish an image, identity, or position for a brand or an organization. It can provides continuity across different media and between advertising campaigns. It expresses advertising message with brief, repeatable, and memorable statement. That is, it can make consumers take actions. Take some famous slogans for example: “Just do it! (Nike)”, “Fresh up with seven-up (Seven-up)”, “Things go better with Coca-cola (Coca-cola)”.
Supplementary items are the complete instructions of advertising content. It includes illustration, trademark, and name of commodity, logo type, address, telephone number, price, accounts number, box and panel, seal and so on. Illustration and trademark are very important in them. Most of people read ad following the order: illustration, headline, and body copy. So illustration is the most important part for a successful ad. Illustration arouses interest to read the headline, identify the subject of the ad, clarify claims made by the copy, and create a farmable impression of the information. Trademark includes brand name, corporate or store name and visual symbol. It maybe use in shortening. A well-known brand name is worthy and therefore is of great importance to a corporation. The features of the trademark are describable and remarkable,such as “Ford”, “Adidas”.
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