A Contrastive Study Of Discourse Patterns In English And Chinese Public Service Advertising Texts

The discourse pattern refers to the macro structure of discourse organization.Advertising is divided into commercial advertising and non-commercial advertising.The previous studies on the discourse patterns in advertising texts focus more on commercial advertising.However,the study on the discourse patterns in noncommercial advertising,especially Public Service Advertising(PSA),still needs to be further explored.The present study serves as a supplement to the current research of the discourse patterns in advertising texts.The research questions of this thesis are as follows: 1)How are discourse patterns distributed in English and Chinese PSA texts? 2)What are the characteristics of the discourse patterns in English and Chinese PSA texts? 3)What cultural differences can be reflected? Twenty English PSA texts and twenty Chinese PSA texts are collected.The distribution and characteristics of the discourse patterns in these advertising texts are analyzed based on systemic functional grammar,Hoey's discourse pattern theory and Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis.Besides,the reflected cultural differences between the two cultural groups are also explored.The major findings of the study are presented as follows:(1)The discourse patterns of the English and Chinese PSA texts are divided into two classes: single discourse pattern and multiple discourse pattern.The problemsolution pattern is the most widely distributed discourse pattern in both Chinese and English PSA texts.The desire arousal-fulfillment pattern and the question-answer pattern are more widely distributed in the Chinese PSA texts.The distribution of the discourse patterns is more diversified in English PSA texts.The opportunity-taking pattern and the gap in knowledge-filling pattern are found in the English PSA texts,which are hardly seen in the Chinese PSA texts.Regarding the multiple discourse pattern,it is distributed more widely in Chinese PSA texts.(2)The characteristics of the discourse patterns in the Chinese and English PSA texts are presented mainly from four aspects: Firstly,the problem of the discourse pattern in Chinese PSA texts involves moral cultivation,which is hardly seen in the English PSA texts.The problem-solution pattern in English PSA texts often directly begins with the problem.However,the problem-solution pattern in Chinese PSA texts usually begins with the situation and then indicates the problem of the pattern.Secondly,as for the goal-achievement pattern in the English PSA texts,the goal tends to focus more on personal goals.However,the goal of this pattern in Chinese PSA texts tends to focus more on common goals.Thirdly,multiple discourse pattern is more frequently used in Chinese PSA texts than that in English PSA texts.The most popular combination of the multiple discourse pattern is the question-answer pattern and the problem-solution pattern.The answer in question-answer pattern always indicates the problem in the problem-solution pattern.And the solution of the problem-solution pattern in Chinese PSA texts often involves a process from abstract to concrete.Fourthly,the discourse patterns in PSA texts always involve an element---advocation at the end of the discourse patterns,which is closely correlated with the functions of Public Service Advertising.The element advocation often appears as imperative sentences,which serves to give the public suggestions,encouragement or warning.(3)In terms of the reflected cultural differences between the two cultural groups,there are mainly two aspects: collectivism vs individualism and indirectness vs directness.China is a country with a collectivistic cultural background,while the English tend to be more individualistic.The English PSA texts tend to be direct,which is influenced by the Anglo-European culture and Platonic-Aristotelian thinking patterns.However,the Chinese PSA texts tend to be indirect,which is influenced by the traditional Confucius culture.As we can see,the distribution and characteristics of the discourse patterns in Chinese and English PSA texts are different between the two cultural groups.Besides,the discourse patterns in PSA texts always involve advocation.Public service advertising serves to educate and encourage the public to do things good to individual,group and society.The discourse patterns of texts are not only closely related to cultural factors but also functional factors.This thesis makes a contrastive study on the discourse patterns between English and Chinese PSA texts so as to promote the communication of different cultural groups and contribute to second language teaching.