A Study Of Rhetorical Figures In Advertisements From The Perspective Of Relevance Theory

With the rapid development of commercial economy, different styles and brandsof commodities appeared in market. In order to win in intense competition of the samekind of commodity, merchants introduce an important means of propaganda,advertising, which aims to stimulate consumers’ purchasing desire, to establish a goodcorporate image, expand the commercial impact, so as to gain economic benefits. If theadvertisements can attract the attention of consumers and arouse their desire to buy, thekey lies in the vividness and interesting of advertising language. Thus, advertisers use alarge number of rhetorical figures in the creation of advertisements, in order to enhancethe appeals of advertisements themselves and achieve the desired effects of advertising.Proposed by Sperber&Wilson, the Relevance Theory maintains thatcommunication is a cognitive process involving ostension and inference and thatcommunication is governed by the principles of relevance. Advertising is thecommunication between advertisers and audience, and it as a kind of special languagecommunication, belongs to the ostensive-inferential model. Therefore, based on theRelevance Theory, the thesis analyzes the comprehension of some rhetorical figures,such as metaphor, pun, parody, irony and hyperbole in Chinese and Englishadvertisements. This thesis consists of six chapters and the comprehension analysis ofrhetoric in advertising is the most important part. Through the analysis of somerhetorical figures in Chinese and English advertisements, it illustrates the effects ofostension, inference, the audiences’ cognitive environment, principles of relevanceand context in the process of interpreting rhetorical figures in advertisements. The sixthpart is a conclusion including major findings, implications, limitations and suggestionsof the study.The study of this thesis has some theoretical and practical significance. It not onlyexpands the effectiveness of interpretation of Relevance Theory, helps peopleunderstand advertisements better and thorough, but also puts forward somesuggestions to the audience in the interpretation of rhetorical figures in advertisements,and gets some implications for advertisers in the applications of rhetorical figures inadvertisements from the perspective of Relevance Theory, help them create moreattractive, more successful advertisements, and achieve desired advertising effects.