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DOI: https://doi.org/10.18454/RULB.2020.23.3.3
ФУНКЦИОНАЛЬНЫЙ АСПЕКТ ВЕРБАЛЬНОГО САМОУТВЕРЖДЕНИЯ В РЕКЛАМЕ (НА МАТЕРИАЛЕ
АНГЛОЯЗЫЧНОГО РЕКЛАМНОГО ДИСКУРСА)
Научная статья
Лимарова Е.В.*
Всероссийский государтсвенный институт кинематографии им. С.А. Герасимова, Москва, Россия * Корреспондирующий автор (rgsu-lin[at]mail.ru)
Аннотация
В данной статье рассматривается функциональный аспект вербального самоутверждения в рекламе. Главное внимание обращено на практическое применение вербальной манипуляции реципиентом в рамках вербального наполнения рекламных материалов. Подробно рассматривается стратегия вербального самоутверждения, применяемая в целях убеждения адресанта о необходимости совершения потребительских действий. Актуальность данного исследования заключается в исследовании вербальных манипуляций в рамках рекламного дискурса, поскольку данная тема является недостаточно изученной современной лингвистической наукой.
Ключевые слова: вербальное самоутверждение, вербальная манипуляция, вербальные стратегии, рекламный дискурс.
FUNCTIONAL ASPECT OF VERBAL SELF-AFFIRMATION IN ENGLISH ADVERTISING DISCOURSE
Research article
Limarova E.V.*
All-Russian State University of Cinematography named after S. A. Gerasimov, Moscow, Russia * Corresponding author (rgsu-lin[at]mail.ru)
Abstract
This article discusses the functional aspect of verbal self-affirmation in advertising. The main attention is paid to the practical application of verbal manipulation to recipient as part of the verbal filling of advertising materials. The verbal self-affirmation strategy, which is used to convince the addressee about the need for consumer actions, is examined in detail. The relevance of this study lies in the study of verbal manipulation in the framework of advertising discourse, since this topic is not sufficiently studied by modern linguistic science.
Keywords: verbal self-affirmation, verbal manipulation, verbal strategies, advertising discourse.
Introduction
The influence exerted on modern society by the media has led to an interest in studying advertising discourse. This type of discourse is considered as institutional, which indicates that it is limited by the social framework and rules adopted in the society where it operates. Of particular interest are the cognitive mechanisms of advertising discourse influence on the consumer.
The analysis of self-affirmation as a specific speech-psychological phenomenon is considered based on the psycholinguistic methodology. Verbal self-affirmation in advertising discourse is considered as a communicative strategy, which is a tool for manipulating the human mind. Being a means of exerting influence, verbal self-affirmation is realized by semantic, grammatical, and logical rules for constructing a statement with the goal of exerting the greatest perlocative effect.
Method
Research methods are determined by the purpose and objectives of the study. These include the method of structural and functional analysis of advertising discourse, the method of verbal self-affirmation contextual analysis in advertising discourse, translation transformations comparative analysis of expressions containing an element of verbal self-affirmation, used in English and Russian-language advertising videos.
Discussion
Currently, advertising has penetrated into almost all social spheres. A person faces advertisements everywhere. Often it is impossible even to notice how people enter into advertising discourse, how advertising affects our consciousness, and how persons are dependent on it. It is important to understand that the communicative act in the field of advertising "is one of the most common areas of mass verbal interaction" [9, P. 437].
The success of advertising at the social level is facilitated by the fact that it serves the most important human needs: for example, the desire for possession, the desire to become better, and finally, the desire for self-affirmation [2].
Advertising discourse contributes to the creation of stereotypes that firmly settle in the human mind. In an effort to get a high mark on his qualities, a person compares his personal actions with prevailing stereotypes. With the advent of information technologies in the field of communication, the person's need for self-affirmation has increased, and this has been caused by the associative relations between the broadcast media images and the personal characteristics of the consumer.
The self-affirmation strategy in advertising discourse is considered effective, because the subject, satisfying the need for self-affirmation, can achieve real results, and can only create the appearance of being the person that he or she would like to be. It can be said that advertising discourse is a conductor in the formation of the desired image.
From the addressee's point of view to the advertising message, the use of a self-affirmation communicative strategy in the advertising discourse guarantees the advertiser and the manufacturer of the goods a high result, since the human consciousness
is manipulated. Manipulation is a psychological impact that leads to the latent manifestation of the manipulation intentions that are distinct from his existing desires. According to the definition of O. G. Filatova, manipulation is "the hidden control of the consciousness and behavior of people with the aim of forcing them to act or inaction in the interests of manipulators, imposing the will of the manipulator on the manipulated in the form of hidden influence, including certain methods and using certain means, among which the leading role play the media" [8, P. 102]. It is important to understand that the manipulation of human consciousness is possible only when environmental factors do not contradict the knowledge, beliefs and ideological principles of the individual.
In the 21st century, in a developed society, manipulation is carried out using language means. The essence of linguistic manipulation is to select and use the means of the language when presenting information in such a way that the person to whom the act of manipulation is directed takes the opinion imposed on him as his own. As noted by E.S. Popova, "when the hidden possibilities of the language are used by the speaker in order to impose on the listener a certain idea of reality, to form the necessary attitude towards it, to provoke the emotional reaction necessary for the addressee, we are talking about language manipulation" [7].
It is possible to consider suggestion, which from English is translated as a hint or an advice, as one of the fundamental mechanisms of manipulating consciousness. From pragmatic point of view, suggestive influence, unlike persuasion or verbal argumentation, allows in a hidden form to circumvent the control of consumer consciousness. A characteristic feature of the manipulative impact is "conscious and purposeful use of the features of the device and use of the language" [3, P. 42]. In advertising suggestion strategies include hypnosis and neuro-linguistic programming.
Verbal self-affirmation refers to productive manipulative effects. In advertising discourse, the use of suggestive manipulation leads to actions on the part of the addressee against the background of his positive emotional state. The communicative strategy of self-affirmation is realized in such a way that it can be attributed to a manipulation tool.
The verbal self-affirmation used in advertising discourse generates motivation, that is, the recipient of an advertising text has a desire or motive to get one or another product to satisfy its needs. Consumption of goods performs the function of personality formation. The fact of possession of a particular product determines the position of a person in society, emphasizes his individuality. The advertised product is a display of a specific status. A vicious circle occurs: the recipient, through the acquisition of the product is able to meet the criteria of status, and the product, in turn, appears to be able to satisfy the recipient's need for self-realization in society.
There are many advertising videos of perfume smells on television, on the example of which we consider verbal self-affirmation as a means of manipulation, on the one hand, and motivational appeal, on the other. The heroes of such videos in most cases are well-known personalities, icons of beauty. This is also kind manipulation, as the way what they say: it is often a slogan at the end of the video that acts as a call to action. For example:
"I can, we will" says Zendaya in an advertisement for the Idole fragrance by Lancome.
"And you? What did you do for love?" asks Natalie Portman in an advertisement for Miss Dior eau de toilette.
"We are gold," says Charlize Theron, advertising the perfume of J'ador Dior.
Simple, short statements of self-affirmation give the advertising message an expressive and dynamic character, which enhances its perlocative effect:
"Things go better with Coke" (Coca-Cola fizzy drink advertisement).
"You are not alone. Millions of people love the Big Mac" (McDonald's fast food chain advertisement).
"This is an occasion to walk along the street beautifully, let them admire you" (advertisement for O'stin coat).
As you can see, in advertising discourse, the sender of the message does not seek to characterize the advertised product, to demonstrate its qualities and positive properties. More precisely, he does it in a hidden way, appealing to the feelings and needs of a potential consumer. This is the art of advertising discourse. The effectiveness of advertising discourse depends on correctly selected language techniques, communication strategies and speech tactics.
A communicative strategy of self-affirmation as one of the dominant is designed just to create a positive impression of the advertised product. The purpose of this strategy is to convince the buyer of the advantages of positioned products and to form a need for the purchase of this product. Consider the following examples:
"Excellance заботится обо мне и той, кем я хочу быть" (L'oreal advertisement) [Excellance takes care of me and who I want to be].
"L'oreal - ведь Вы этого достойны" (slogan of the L'oral advertising campaign) [L'oreal - you deserve it].
"Все в восторге от тебя, а ты от Maybelline" (slogan of the Mabelline advertising campaign) [Everyone is delighted with you, and you are delighted with Maybelline].
At first glance, manipulation from the point of view of influencing the recipient's consciousness is negative, since it involves its narrowing and limitation. Genres, means and methods of manipulative influence intentionally focuses the listener's attention on an object that is beneficial only to the speaker. However, manipulation containing verbal self-affirmation "stimulates the consciousness of the addressee to go beyond the given initial situation and makes him free, strong and optimistic [1]. For instance:
"Почувствуй силу нового топлива" (Rosneft gas-station advertisement) [Feel the power of a new fuel].
"Обретая гармонию, обретаешь себя" (Greenfield Tea advertisement) [When you find harmony, you find yourself].
It is important to say that verbal self-affirmation in advertising discourse is more empathetic than manipulative. Empathy is a cognitive phenomenon that is based on an emotional response. Empathy is sincere feelings, it encourages you to do good. Advertising videos themselves, where there are expressions containing self-affirmation, can be described as effective, creative, stimulating, easy, cheerful and optimistic.
Verbal self-affirmation in an advertising discourse creates an atmosphere of trust, because the addressee projects onto himself the image that the addressee offers him. According to Dove representatives, their mission is to unleash the natural
beauty potential of every woman. In this regard, on television, the social videos of the Dove Self-esteem project, in which women tell what they would like to be, appear as advertisements:
"Be your beautiful self!".
"Можно быть красивой и необязательно в платье или накрашенной" [You can be beautiful and a dress or makeup is optional].
"Женственность может быть сильной" [Femininity can be with power].
"Это важно - перестать себя чувствовать странной и непохожей на других" [It's important to stop feeling weird and different from others].
From this follows that verbal self-affirmation is characterized by imperativeness. The authors of advertising texts, while promoting their product, avoid totalitarian imperativeness, while using a compromise option — the infinitive, which refers to the means of expressing hidden modality. G.K. Krasnukhin writes about the opposition of the imperative and the infinitive: "a preception is an assumption, one's own will is another's will (often super-subjective is the will of the law or custom), an unconditional prescription is a conditional prescription. Thus, the infinitive, one of the basic meanings of which is an unrealistic, impracticable action, expresses a stronger imperative than 3 litters imperative" [4, P. 345]. An example of the use of the infinitive in expressions of self-affirmation in advertising discourse can be a replica: "не тормози - съешь сникерс" [don't slow down: eat snickers].
The communicative-pragmatic properties of the infinitive constructions is revealed by N.A. Pechnikova, arguing that the semantic load in them is created "due to the implicit expression of the modal meaning, due to the absence of time indicators and due to the regular absence of the name of the subject of the action, which is possible due to the fixed structure for the situation of 1 person" [6, P. 21]. Also, infinitive constructions with the semantics of self-assertion are most often used in the form of an advertising slogan:
"Всегда желать большего" (Ford Focus advertisement) [Always want more].
"Жизнь хороша, когда пьешь не спеша" (Mirinda advertisement) [Life is good when you drink slowly].
The semantic-communicative task of advertising discourse - to induce action - determines the predominant use of verbs in comparison with other parts of speech.
In self-affirmations, the speaker emphasizes personal and possessive pronouns. The use of pronouns creates the effect that the advertising message is intended personally for the listener, and not targeted to the masses.
The grammatical structure of the sentences of verbal self-affirmation is also made up of adjectives that gives expression. The most used adjectives in Russian advertising videos include: особый, богатый, свежий, первый, отличный, удивительный, необычный, революционный [special, rich, fresh, first, excellent, amazing, unusual, revolutionary]. English-speaking adjectives are the following: mysterious, natural, the best, good, special, free, passionate, rich, great, extra and others. The use of adjectives and adverbs allows to convey the qualities and advantages of the advertised product that associate the product in the minds of the consumer with a way to declare themselves. Such adjectives in their semantics contain a component of success, attractiveness, and isolation from the mass of people.
Results
The self-affirmation strategy in advertising sphere should cause a positive attitude among the buyer, therefore the main language means are words with positive semantics. Verbal self-affirmation in advertising discourse is such a unique means of symbolic programming of the listener's actions. Verbal self-affirmation in advertising discourse is used to highlight the advertised object among competing products and attract consumer attention.
On the basis of verbal self-affirmation negative conclusions associated with value judgments are blocked. This is due to a communicative strategy of self-affirmation, which leads to the creation of argumentation that make the assessment fair and socially acceptable.
Conclusion
The communicative strategy of self-affirmation in advertising discourse consists in intentionally designated lexical units of the language that form an emotional psychological reaction in the mind of the potential buyer, as a result of his irresistible desire to match the language code of the advertised product to his needs.
Конфликт интересов Conflict of Interest
Не указан. None declared.
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