A Study Of Interpersonal Meaning In English Advertising Discourse

Advertising is a kind of concentrated, integrated and commercial language. As a kind of applied language, advertisement forms its special stylistic features. Many linguists have been studying English advertising from its language features and social functions effectively, however, the research of interpersonal meaning in advertising discourse is comparatively rare. Mainly based on Halliday's systemic-functional grammar and the theories of discourse analysis, this thesis explores interpersonal meaning of written English advertisements through five language elements: mood, modality, tense, imperative structures and pronouns, especially the use of the second-person "you". And it proves the multiple means to realize interpersonal meaning and the richness and the complexity of interpersonal meaning in advertising discourse. Through the study, the author finds that the advertisers use different kinds of mood adjuncts, modal auxiliaries to claim different degrees of certainty and uncertainty so as to make the advertisements convincing as well as revealing; the advertisers use the present tense to turn to the readers intermittently and to make implicit evaluations of their products/services along the way; use multiple means to realize the imperativeness in advertisements and they address the readers as "you" in advertising textual world to create the pull for the readers to get into the real situation. The findings of this thesis will facilitate teaching of advanced English reading and writing by acquainting students with insights into the relationship between grammar and discourse meaning (especially interpersonal meaning) and enable them to perceive the potentially complex relationship between the writers and the readers.