The Flexible Use Of Idioms In Chinese Advertisements: A Perspective Of Contextual Adaptation

Based on Jef Verschueren's adaptation theory, the present study analyzes how the advertiser achieves the purpose of advertising in the flexible use of idioms in Chinese advertisements, from the perspective of correlates of adaptability of contexts. The purpose of the study aims at finding out the contextual factors and the pragmatic strategies used in the flexible use of idioms in Chinese advertisements. As far as the research methodology is concerned, the present study is mainly a qualitative one.The theoretical framework of the present study consists of two parts, namely, Verchueren's (2000) contextual adaptation perspective and the generation of the pragmatic strategies used in the flexible use of idioms in Chinese advertisements. Verschueren's (2000) point of view on the contextual adaptation could be generally summarized as follows: linguistic context and non-linguistic context. Only the social world and the mental world within the range of non-linguistic context as well as linguistic context will be discussed in the present study. According to Verschueren (2000), the social world involves person deixis, attitudinal deixis, social settings or institutions, culture etc.; the mental world involves personality, emotions, beliefs and so forth; and the linguistic context includes conjunction, highlighting, ellipsis, repetition, intertextuality etc.Altogether 117 data are collected in the present thesis. As a part of the theoretical framework, in the part of generation of the pragmatic strategies, through seven steps, the data are roughly classified into two categories: the form-unchanged type and the form-changed type. Based on this classification, the data collected are analyzed.On the basis of the theoretical framework of the present study, the present study finds that the advertiser's use of person deixis, culture and belief in the non-linguistic context of adaptation as well as ellipsis, repetition, highlighting and intertextuality in the linguistic context of adaptation are prominent in the data. It also finds that both using personification and commendatory use of derogatory meaning are shared by these two categories. Meanwhile the pragmatic strategy of using homonym, using pun, using exaggeration, using homophone, using parody, using reverse order or using word-splitting can only be found in one of these two categories.The results of the study, on the one hand, can testify the interpretation power of Verschueren's contextual adaptation in adaptation theory; on the other hand, it can provide positive suggestions for future advertising; furthermore, it may help to improve our understanding of the flexible use of idioms in Chinese advertisements.