Abstract:Puns, a concise and humorous way to enrich the effect of language expression to a great extent, are widely used in English advertisements as a rhetorical device whose application is conducive to the dissemination of advertising and the realization of advertising items. As a special style of writing, advertising language should not only fully convey the product information and establish the product image, but also meet the psychological needs and aesthetic tastes of the consumers, thus arousing the strong interest of the broad masses of consumers in the products. Stimulate their strong desire to purchase until the final purchase behavior. How to properly use and understand the language of English advertising and achieve the purpose of advertising is a realistic problem facing the majority of advertising creators and consumers. Therefore, advertising designers use a variety of rhetorical devices to achieve novel, vivid and eye-catching effects. Puns, as a common rhetorical device, are favored by advertisement creators. Pun is to use a word or sentence to express two different meanings, to make the language lively, interesting; Or use the theme to play, bypass, say this meaning, full of sense of humor, to achieve the effect of aftertaste, so that the promotion and sales of products to achieve twice the result with half the effort. The paper will start with the analysis of the reasons for the use of Puns in English advertisements and the main types of puns involved and also discussed about the advantages and disadvantages of Puns in English advertisements.

Key words: Puns; Puns in English advertisements 

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

Introduction-1

I. Reasons for Punning in English Advertisements-2

A. The Nature of Business-2

B. Psychology of Consumption-2

1. Interest and Curiosity-2

2. Persuasiveness and Trustworthiness-3

3. The Desire to Associate and Explore-3

C. Principles, Characteristics and Functions of Advertising Media-4

1. Advertising Principle-4

2. Dual Attributes of Advertising Media &Audience as Commodity-4

II. The Main Types of Puns and Their Application and Pragmatic function in Advertisements-6

A. The Main Types of English Puns-6

B. The Main Types of Puns and Their Application in English Advertisements-6

1. Homophonic Puns(谐音双关)-6

2. Homographic Puns(语义双关)-7

3. Grammatical Puns(语法双关)-8

4. Association Puns(联想双关)-8

5. Mixed Puns（混合双关）-8

C. Pragmatic function of Puns in Advertisements-9

1. To Satisfy People’s Demand for Beauty-9

2. To Meet the Needs of Society-9

Ⅲ. Notes on the Use and the Translation Application of Puns in Advertising Language-11

A. The Establishment of Pun Context-11

B. Translation Methods of Puns in English and Chinese Advertisements-11

C. Elimination of Indecent Ambiguity-14

Conclusion-15

Bibliography-16

Acknowledgements-17