Abstract

Punning is regarded as one of the most beloved rhetoric tools in English advertising because of its concise language and rich connotation. In a word, the using of puns makes advertising language novel, humorous, attractive and hence persuasive. The first chapter demonstrates the basic knowledge of English advertising, which includes a brief introduction to English advertising as well as the pun; the second chapter reviews the previous research achievements; the third chapter mainly talks about the rhetoric functions of puns in English advertising; chapter four explores the application of puns in English advertising by using some specific examples, thus drawing a conclusion of the study that  the puns in English advertising have the functions of aesthetics, humor or satire, persuasion and carrier storage. The applications of homophonic puns, homographic puns, grammatical puns and idiomatic and slangy puns enhance the attraction of advertising language effectively so as to appeal consumers to buy certain products.

    Key words: puns; English advertising; rhetorical functions; application

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1 Introduction-1

1.1 The Brief Introduction to Advertising English-2

1.2 The Brief Introduction to Puns-3

2 Literature Review-4

2.1 Overseas Research Status-4

2.2 Domestic Research Status-6

3 The Rhetoric Functions of Puns in English Advertising-7

3.1 The Function of Aesthetics-7

3.2 The Function of Humor or Satire-8

3.3 The Function of Persuasion-8

3.4 The Function of Carrier Storage-8

4 The Application of Puns in English Advertising-9

4.1 Homophonic Puns-9

4.2 Homographic Puns-10

4.3 Grammatical Puns-12

4.4 Idiomatic and Slangy Puns-12

5 Conclusion-14

References....-15