A Study On English Proverbs In Advertising Language From The Perspective Of Memetics

Proverbs are a part of national culture while English proverbs are the summaryof learning, life and work experience for the different national people in Englishspeaking countries, which can reflect life styles and habits for people in Englishspeaking countries in distinct social and historic episode of development. With moreand more English proverbs applied into advertising language, English proverbs havebecome an effective way to manifest advertising language. It is requested anddemanded that advertising language should be brief, humorous and strongly seditious;likewise, English proverbs encompass these language characteristics. The applicationof English proverbs in advertising language makes advertisements become morenovel and more attractive. As a type of proverbs, many English proverbs are appliedin advertisements over and over again; some English proverbs are also be utilized inadvertisements; others never get an opportunity to be put in use in advertisements.Then why does this kind of phenomenon come out?This study attempts to take advantage of the Memetic theory to make ananalysis of that phenomenon in order that we can find the reason of transmission andlong-existence of English proverbs in advertising language. English proverbs inadvertising language encompass their unique language features. Based on thedefinition of meme by Dawkins, any kind of conceptions and languages which can bereplicated and transmitted could be memes; English proverbs in advertising languagealways bear some selection criterion in the process of replication and transmission. Besides, English proverbs in advertising language can be replicated and transmittedby the means of peoples’ brain, so it could be said that English proverbs in advertisinglanguage are memes, so it possesses the same characteristics that meme has. Onlywhen English proverb memes adhere to the selection criteria of strong memes,including language’s novelty, simplicity, affection, utility, expressivity and publicity,can it be recanted and everlastingly live in culture in the four process of memereplication and transmission, including assimilation, retention, expression andtransmission.The author also makes a survey of the Memetic theory to interpret innermechanism within the English proverbs in advertising language, account for thereason for English proverb memes in advertising language to become strong memes,and explain how English proverb memes in advertising language are always carryingsome unique characteristics although something is always changing in the society.Firstly, the author tries to make an analysis of English proverbs from the perspectiveof meme theory and make a classification towards English proverb memes inadvertising language, which includes strong English proverb memes in advertisinglanguage, weak English proverb memes in advertising language, English proverbgenotype memes and English; Secondly, the author tries to make use of the Memetictheory to study replicating and transmitting ways, and communicating effect ofEnglish proverb memes in advertising language, which consists of direct transmission,polysemy, analogy of the same or similar sound, and analogy of the same structure.