A Study Of Advertising Language Deviation From A Perspective Of Relevance Theory

In order to achieve its communicative intention, advertisers try every means to maketheir advertising language attractive and appealing. The application of language deviationin advertising is one of the important ways. Deviation is a language phenomenon thatdeviates from norm and exists in various forms such as deviation at phonological level,lexical level, grammatical level, semantic level and etc. Owing to the limited space, thisthesis is to mainly focus on the study of three varieties of language deviation inadvertising including lexical deviation, grammatical deviation and semantic deviation. Tobe specific, most scholars have been conducted in the field of advertising languagedeviation from the perspective of deviated forms, pragmatic effects, the causes of thislanguage phenomenon and etc. It is a new attempt to study the language deviation inadvertising from the perspective of relevance theory.With the framework of optimal relevance and ostensive-inferential communication,this thesis regards the audience‘s understanding of language deviation as the process ofseeking reasonable interpretation and understanding by taking language deviation asostensive stimulus. It adopts Leech‘s classification of language deviation and correlatesthe three language deviation varieties with the following aspects: optimal relevance andostensive-inferential process through case study. The thesis holds that the understanding ofutterance is an inferential process by searching for optimal relevance. In advertisingcommunication, language deviation functions as an ostensive stimulus, which guarantees apresumption of optimal relevance. The audience is encouraged to search for optimalrelevance in processing this language phenomenon. The understanding process oflanguage deviation involves three sub-processes: recognition of language deviation,construction of contextual assumptions, and recovery of the implied meaning. Through thespecific case study, the thesis discusses how advertisers direct the audience to achieve theoptimal relevance and get the implied meaning through language deviation in advertising. In addition, this thesis indicates that the advertising communication is anostensive-inferential process. From the advertiser‘s point of view, communication is anostensive behavior in which the informative intention of advertisement could be properlyand accurately demonstrated in terms of language deviation. While from the audience‘sperspective, communication is an inferential process in which the audience can achievecontextual effect and obtain the advertiser‘s communicative intention resorting to theostensive stimuli and context assumption. The interpretation process of language deviationin advertising is an ostensive-inferential communication in nature. Language deviation inadvertising is used as an ostensive stimulus to attract the audience and bring their attentionon the informative intention and communicative intention of the advertiser. This thesisalso elaborates how the ostensive-inferential communication works in the understandingof language deviation in advertising.Through the study, we can find that optimal relevance and ostensive-inferentialcommunication has an explanation to the interpretation of language deviation inadvertising. Furthermore, combination of language deviation in advertising with relevancetheory can enrich the perspectives in the study of this language phenomenon. It can alsohelp the audience have a better understanding of the advertising information.