VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES BA THESIS AN INVESTIGATION OF LINGUISTIC FEATURES OF SOME ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE ADVERTISING SLOGANS NGHIÊN CỨU CÁC ĐẶC ĐIỂM NGÔN NGỮ CỦA MỘT SỐ KHẨU HIỆU QUẢNG CÁO TRONG TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT Student : NGUYEN PHUONG ANH Student code : 621246 Major : ENGLISH Supervisor : NGUYEN THI NGOC THU, M.A HaNoi - 2021 VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES BA THESIS AN INVESTIGATION OF LINGUISTIC FEATURES OF SOME ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE ADVERTISING SLOGANS NGHIÊN CỨU CÁC ĐẶC ĐIỂM NGÔN NGỮ CỦA MỘT SỐ KHẨU HIỆU QUẢNG CÁO TRONG TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT Student : NGUYEN PHUONG ANH Student code : 621246 Major : ENGLISH Supervisor : NGUYEN THI NGOC THU, M.A HaNoi - 2021 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report entitled “An investigation of linguistic features of some English and Vietnamese advertising slogans.” submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor in English Language Except where the reference is indicated, no other person‟s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the text of the thesis Hanoi, 2021 Nguyen Phuong Anh Approved by SUPERVISOR (Signature and full name) Date:…………………… i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Hanoi, First, with the deepest and most sincere affection, allowing me to express my gratitude to all the individuals and organizations who have facilitated support and help throughout the learning and research process With deepest gratitude, sincerely thanks to M.A Nguyen Thi Ngoc Thu, my supervisor who gave me useful guidance and advice that helped me finish my research successfully Because of the continuous support of my B.A research proposal, for her patience, motivation, enthusiasm, and immense knowledge Her guidance helped me in all the time of research and writing of this thesis I could not have imagined having a better advisor and mentor for my B.A study Second, I would like to express thanks to all the teachers in the Board of directors of the Vietnam National University of Agriculture and the teachers of the Faculty of Education and Foreign Languages for creating a favorable condition for me to have the chance for being done with my B.A study Last but not least, I am grateful to my family for giving birth to me in the first place and supporting me spiritually throughout my life and all the lovely members in my B.A thesis group who contributed to help me complete my research I perceive this opportunity as a big milestone in my career development I will strive to use gained skills and knowledge in the best way to attain desired career objectives Sincerely, ii ABSTRACT Due to the extreme current strong demand, every product requires efficient strategies to present its image to its potential buyers and a great slogan is an amazing way of proceeding Advertising by slogans has gradually given great attention to the importance of its importance in the living conditions of people among various sorts of advertisements There are nonetheless distinctions in the language characteristics that need to be examined between English and Vietnamese advertising slogans The study “An investigation of linguistic features of some English and Vietnamese advertising slogans” is conducted to identify some distinguishing phonological, lexical and syntactic characteristics The total of 60 advertising slogans are collected from well-known English and Vietnamese newspapers and magazines, and analyzed to support the aim of the study The finding of the research emphasizes the similarities and differences in terms of phonological, lexical and syntactic features between English and Vietnamese advertising slogans The thesis was carried with the hope to implement some suggestions for teaching and learning business English, and some advice for advertisers iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Certificate of originality i Acknowledgement ii Abstract iii Table of contents iv PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale for the study Aims and objectives of the study Research questions Scope of the study Significance of the study Design of the study PART 2: DEVELOPMENT Chapter 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Review of previous studies (at home/abroad) 1.2 Review of theoretical background 1.2.1 Statement of theoretical framework chosen 1.2.2 Review of theoretical preliminaries employable as tools for conducting the thesis 10 1.3 Summary 11 1.3.3 Advertising Slogan as an Essential Part of an Advertisement 17 Chapter 2: METHODOLOGY 20 2.1 Research governing principles 20 2.1.1 Research methodology 20 2.1.2 Research setting/context 20 2.1.3 Procedures 21 2.1.4 The Analysis 22 iv Chapter 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 35 3.1 Findings and discussions on graphetic features 35 3.2 Findings and discussions on phonological features 35 3.3 Findings and discussions on lexical features 36 3.4 Findings and discussions on syntactic features 40 3.6.1 Similarities 42 3.6.2 Differences 43 PART 3: CONCLUSION 45 Recapitulation 45 Concluding remarks 45 Limitations of the study 46 Suggestions for further study 46 REFERENCES 47 APPENDIX I 49 APPENDIX II 51 v LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 3.1: Graphetic Features of English and Vietnamese Advertising Slogans 35 Table 3.2: Phonological Features of English and Vietnamese Advertising Slogans 36 Table 3.3: Lexical Features in English and Vietnamese Advertising Slogans 36 Table 3.4: Syntactic Features in English and Vietnamese Advertising Slogans 40 vi PART 1: INTRODUCTION RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY Nowadays, in a developed world, thousands of new products and services are introduced each day, which makes advertising become a real art - the art of informing and persuading customers In the context of a fiercely competitive market, the businesses allocate huge budgets to create their brand image Slogans can be considered the heart of advertisements wherever they appear Slogans are the most important and condensed messages advertisers would like to send to their customers Sharp and intelligent slogans can help advertisers leave unforgettable impressions on their potential customers‟ minds The slogan is the most commonly used text form that makes the brand appear compellingly unique among alternatives and it is a part of marketing that plays an important role in attracting customers As creating an attractive slogan is not an easy task, slogan designing has now become a lucrative industry It requires a sophisticated linguistic insight of phonology, lexicology, syntax as well as semantics and pragmatics On the other hand, what can be called a successful slogan is still a question The answer depends on the area of products and services the slogan is used for, the country or geographical regions it is used in and maybe the population of its target customers Therefore, choosing one kind of products or services to study the slogans used in it should bring more thorough and detailed results of aspects of language exploited Good slogans are easy to keep in mind, meaning that they should be short, easy to remember, and easy to know by heart According to Kevin J.Clancy, President and CEO of Marketing Consulting Copernicus, "Creating a slogan means finding two or three words or phrases and etching it into the consumer's mind If you succeed, people will unconsciously decide to buy your product and talk about it with other consumers." So that all official business slogans are produced carefully by professional slogan creators When making a successful slogan, they employ a wide variety of techniques to portray their message in a concise, informative and persuasive way However, the question of creating a good and successful slogan to bring in customers‟ minds the image of the product and encourage them to buy is not always at ease Therefore, “An investigation of linguistic features of some English and Vietnamese advertising slogans.” is intentionally carried out to provide some useful knowledge of language used in advertisements for English teachers and learners as well as Vietnamese advertisers in order to understand and use advertising language more effectively in the future work and integrate into the international environment The use of just a few words in a slogan proves to be harder than it appears Hence, the study on some successful slogans promises a lot of interesting facts in the art of using language among advertisers AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The aim of this study is to investigate the typical linguistic features including lexical, syntactic features and stylistic devices of advertising slogans in English and Vietnamese From those characteristics, we could find out the similarities and differences in the language features of English and Vietnamese To achieve this aim, two objectives are set Firstly, we analyze the linguistic features, the syntactic structures and the stylistic devices used in advertising slogans in English and Vietnamese (phonetics, lexicology, grammar, semantics, pragmatics) Secondly, the study will compare the slogans between English and Vietnamese to figure out the similarities and differences From this investigation and comparison, some hints can be drawn for Vietnamese advertising language in order to improve the effectiveness and profession of Vietnamese advertising RESEARCH QUESTIONS Due to the aims and objectives, the study is conducted to answer two following question: What are the linguistic features of English and Vietnamese advertising slogans ? As you can see, one-worded slogans are not used because they cannot express fully the rich and multi-layered meaning that a slogan wants to convey The six and eight worded slogans are preferred than the seven worded ones because the former generally uses a parallel or contrasted structure, so for each small sentence of the structure the length is just three or four words which is the most preferred length An interesting thing is that the number of two and three worded slogans in English occupies a very big share whereas this number in Vietnamese is zero An English advertising slogan only needs two words to express its rich meaning while a Vietnamese one requires at least four words Another thing is the difference in parallel structures between English and Vietnamese slogans English very much favors 3-6 structures in which each small phrase or sentence of the structure has words Vietnamese, by contrast, like 4-8 structures in which each small phrase or sentence of the structure is words long It seems that advertisers in Vietnam tend to create slogans with 4-8 parallel structures For example: Nhà xuất khoa học kĩ thuật Nâng tầm tri thức, vững tương lai Broadening the knowledge, securing the future Dệt kim Đông Xuân Khẳng định uy tín – Giữ trọn niềm tin Affirming prestige – Keeping trust Therefore, it is not surprising that there are 13 four-worded Vietnamese slogans, accounting for 43,29% of total investigated Vietnamese advertising slogans 39 3.4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS ON SYNTACTIC FEATURES Table 3.4: Syntactic Features in English and Vietnamese Advertising Slogans Syntactic features Use of short English simple 10 (33,3%) Vietnamese (3,33%) sentences Use of everyday (13,32%) (0%) expressions Use of phrases 18 (59,94%) 29 (96,57%) Use of questions (6,66%) (3,33%) imperative (3,33%) (6,66%) Use of sentences As shown in the table, the most dominating syntactic feature of both English and Vietnamese advertising slogans is the use of phrases However, the difference is that besides the structure of a phrase, English advertising slogans also employ the diversity of English sentences such as short simple sentences, everyday sentences, interrogative sentences and imperative sentences That explains why English slogans sound more interesting and exciting In comparison with English, Vietnamese advertising slogans seem monotonous which are either one-phrased structures or two-phrased structures For each small phrase of the structure the length is just three or four words which is the most preferred length Among 29 phrase-structured Vietnamese slogans, many sound similar: 40 GP Bank Cam kết thành công Commitment to Excellence Không ngừng vươn xa Vinaphone Keeping reaching further Techcombank Giữ trọn niềm tin Win the absolute trust …………………… And there are five slogans with parallel structures: Nhà xuất khoa học kĩ thuật Nâng tầm tri thức, vững tương lai Broadening the knowledge, securing the future Nhà xuất trẻ Nuôi dưỡng tâm hồn – Khơi nguồn trí thức Nourish the soul – Enlarging the knowledge Vinamilk Chất lượng quốc tế - Chất lượng Vinamilk The international quality – The Vinamilk quality Trà thảo mộc Dr Thanh Thanh lọc thể, không lo bị nóng Refreshing the body, pushing back the heat Dệt kim Đơng Xn Khẳng định uy tín – Giữ trọn niềm tin Affirming prestige – Keeping trust All Vietnamese brands follow the trend to create slogans which are phrases or parallel structures 41 3.5 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS ON SEMANTIC FEATURES In terms of semantic features, this study only examines two outstanding linguistic phenomena: word puns and semantic ambiguity There are English slogans using puns and with semantic ambiguity among 30 slogans accounting for a small proportion This finding proves the diversification, the complexity and the interestingness of English slogans Although Vietnamese advertising slogans try to inquire about the techniques that are applied by English ones, they remain simple and clear Among 30 Vietnamese slogans, no puns and ambiguity are found 3.6 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS ON THE SIMILARITIES AND THE DIFFERENCES 3.6.1 Similarities The similarities mostly lie in lexical and syntactic features In terms of lexicology, both English and Vietnamese advertising slogans use first and second person addressee “you”, “we” and “us” to shorten the distance between the producer and consumers It brings customers the feelings of being recognized, cared, believed and trusted Moreover, both English and Vietnamese advertising slogans use the words like melessness of the products It also satisfies the customer‟s desire to know the present state “every”, “always”, etc to emphasize the company‟s unswerving commitment and indicate the universal application of the products as well as include as many potential customers as possible Regarding the number of words, both English and Vietnamese advertising slogans are preferably created with four, five or six words One-worded slogans are not used because they cannot express fully the rich and multi-layered meaning that a slogan wants to convey Slogans with a lot of words are not favored because they are too long for customers to remember 42 Both English and Vietnamese advertising slogans are preferably in forms of phrases (noun phrases, verb phrases, preposition phrases, adjective phrases, etc.) They have no subjects; they therefore are more objective and more concise Finally, both English and Vietnamese advertising slogans use simple present tense to emphasize the universality and tiof the product he wants to buy In terms of phonology, rhyme is the best way to make slogans memorable That is the reason why both English and Vietnamese advertising slogans use rhymes Although there are not many similarities between English and Vietnamese advertising slogans, it can be seen that advertising slogans in general conform to certain rules You cannot create a like-no-other slogan which has nothing in common with others 3.6.2 Differences The result of the study has revealed big differences between English and Vietnamese advertising slogans: In terms of graphology: English advertising slogans are very flexible in font style to create successful slogans By contrast, Vietnamese slogans use the same font style all the time In terms of phonology: Vietnamese advertising slogans not employ alliteration as a technique to make them memorable In terms of lexicology: Most of English advertising slogans have the brand names in them By contrast, a few brand names appear in Vietnamese advertising slogans In terms of syntax: English advertising slogans are various in sentence structures: simple sentences, everyday sentences, phrases, questions and imperative sentences Vietnamese advertising slogans, however, are very monotonous in sentence structures: simple sentences and phrases There are two slogans constructed as simple sentences and the rest are phrases From the study, it can be seen that due to the use of graphetic features, phonological features, striking lexical features, various structures and puns as 43 well as semantic ambiguity; English advertising slogans sound more interesting, effective and concise Therefore, Vietnamese advertising slogans should bear these exciting linguistic features to be more successful in the future A successful slogan is a starting point for a successful business 44 PART 3: CONCLUSION RECAPITULATION The study aims at finding out similarities and differences in the language style between English and Vietnamese advertising slogans Firstly, the study chooses to analyze 60 advertising slogans of which 30 are English and 30 are Vietnamese They fall into four separated fields namely finance and banking; telecommunications, broadcasting and publishing; food and drinks; and fashion so that the comprehensive picture of advertising slogans in both languages can be seen Secondly, certain typical techniques which advertising slogans usually employ in terms of graphology, phonology, lexicology, syntax and semantics are analyzed Finally, the comparative job is done to find out the similarities and differences in the language style between English and Vietnamese advertising slogans CONCLUDING REMARKS Both English and Vietnamese advertising slogans share common stylistic features of an advertising slogan The similarities mostly lie in lexical and syntactic features In addition, both English and Vietnamese advertising slogans are preferably in forms of phrases, using simple present tense to emphasize the universality and timelessness of the products It also satisfies the customer‟s desire to know the present state of the product he wants to buy In terms of phonology, rhyme is the best way to make slogans memorable That is the reason why both English and Vietnamese advertising slogans use rhymes Although there are not many similarities between English and Vietnamese advertising slogans, it can be seen that advertising slogans in general conform to certain rules The result of the study has revealed big differences between English and Vietnamese advertising slogans English advertising slogans sound more interesting, effective and concise Therefore, Vietnamese advertising 45 slogans should bear these exciting linguistic features to be more successful in the future A successful slogan is a starting point for a successful business LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY The study just stops at investigating stylistic features of some English and Vietnamese advertising slogans Although 30 English slogans and 30 Vietnamese slogans are respectively distributed equally in each advertising category, there is no comparison among these categories The comparison is just carried out between English and Vietnamese slogans in general Because what is investigated in this study belongs to the surface of language, the social cultural factors are not presented It is necessary to take them into account SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY The research can be continued in a number of ways For example, there can be research investigating the social cultural features and psychological features between English and Vietnamese slogans Or it is possible to study the kind and structure of phrases in English and Vietnamese advertising slogans The comparison of linguistic features among the fields mentioned above may be an interesting topic 46 REFERENCES Cook, G (1989) Discourse Oxford: Oxford University Press Cook, G (2001) The discourse of advertising Oxford: Oxford University Press Dyer, G (1982) Advertising as communication Routledge Hermeren, L (1999) English for sale: A study of the language of advertising Lund University Press Bovee, CL (1992) Contemporary advertising Homewood: Illinois Richard D Irwin Churchill, G.A Jr & Peter, J.P (1998) Marketing – Creating Value for Customers Boston: Irwin McGraw-Hill Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (1995) Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press Charles, L.W (1955) Creative advertising New York: Holt Fiske, J (1990) Introduction to Communication Studies Routledge 10.Geis, M.L (1982) The language of Television Advertising New York and London: Academic Press 11.Nunan, D (1992) Research Methods in Language Learning Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 12.Saundra, H & Richard, L.W (1992) Communicating effectively New York: Mcgraw-Hill College 13.Seliger, H.W.& Shohamy, E (1989) Second Language Research Methods New York: Oxford University Press 14.Shannon, C E A (1948) Mathematical Theory of Communication Bell System Technical Journal, vol 27 15.Wisker, G (2001) The Postgraduate Research Handbook New York: Palgrave 47 16.XUE Hangrong (2003) Introduction to English Styles[M] Xi‟an: Xi‟an Jiaotong University Press 17.Hoang, T.T (2005) A thesis on advertising language used in trade studied Unpublished Thesis VNU-ULIS Hanoi 18.Bui, T.B.T (2008) An Investigation into the Style of the English Language Used in Advertising Slogans issued by some World-Famous Airlines Unpublished Thesis VNU-ULIS Hanoi 19.Tran, T.T (2007) Presupposition and Implicature in English and Vietnamese Advertising Slogans Unpublished Thesis VNU-ULIS Hanoi 20.Hoang, T & Nguyen, V T (2000) Quảng Cáo NXB Đại học Quốc gia Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh WEBSITE https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/the-secrets-to-a-great-slogan-creativityand-clarity https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Advertising_slogans#Airlines https://www.translationdirectory.com/article49.htm https://www.nytimes.com/section/business https://international.viettel.vn/customer/news/detail/viettel-tai-dinh-vi-thuonghieu-de-phu-hop-voi-su-menh-moi https://kenyayote.com/a-study-of-english-stylistics-theoretical-background-oflanguage-and-levels-of-language/ 48 APPENDIX I LIST OF ENGLISH ADVERTISING SLOGANS Finance and Banking Citibank Your Citi never sleeps ABN AMRO bank ABN AMRO Making more possible Allied Irish Bank Britain's best business bank HSBC Bank HSBC The world's local bank Natwest Bank To save and invest, talk to Natwest State Farm Insurance Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there Allstate Insurance You‟re in good hands with Allstate ManuLife Insurance For your future Washington Mutual banking and financial services Washington Mutual More human interest 10 Prudential Insurance Get a piece of the rock Telecommunications, Broadcasting and Publishing British Telecom It‟s good to talk Toyota Let‟s Go Places O2 See what you can T-Mobile Stick Together CNN The most trusted name in news 49 HBO It's not TV, it's HBO The Washington Post If you don't get it, you don't get it ABC Still the One The New York Times All the news that's fit to print Fashion, Food and Drinks McDonalds fast food Have you had your break today? Coca cola It‟s the Real Thing Nestle Aberfoyle Natural Spring Pure Life Water Heinz Heinz Meanz Beanz Mentos The Freshmaker! Nike Just it Stones Bitter There‟s no taste like Stones Levis Jeans Quality never goes out of style Calvin Klein Between love and madness lies Obsession 10 Carlsberg Probably the best beer in the world 11 California milk Got milk ? 50 APPENDIX II LIST OF VIETNAMESE ADVERTISING SLOGANS Finance and Banking Mang phồn thịnh đến với khách hàng Bring prosperity to customers Agribank Techcombank Maritime Bank, MSB MB Bank Vietcombank GP Bank Cam kết thành công Commitment to Excellence Vietinbank Nâng giá trị sống Improving the value of life Bảo hiểm dầu khí Việt Nam Bảo hiểm Pjico 10 Bảo hiểm toàn cầu Giữ trọn niềm tin Win the absolute trust Tạo lập giá trị bền vững Creating sustainable value Vững vàng tin cậy A steady trust Chung niềm tin, Vững tương lai Together for the future Ngọn lửa niềm tin The fire of trust Nếu bạn tìm vững If you look for stability Vì quyền lợi khách hàng để phát triển For customers‟ interests to go Telecommunications, Broadcasting and Publishing Viettel Theo cách bạn Say it your way/Your way 51 Mobile phone Mọi lúc, nơi Anytime, anywhere Vinaphone Không ngừng vươn xa Keep reaching further EVN Telecom Kết nối sức mạnh Connecting power VNPT Cuộc sống đích thực Real life FPT Telecom Cùng tới thành công Going on the path to success together VTC thể thao Kết nối cộng đồng Connecting people Nhà xuất khoa học Nâng tầm tri thức, vững tương lai kĩ thuật Broadening the knowledge, securing the future Nhã Nam Bởi sách giới Because books are the world 10 Nhà xuất trẻ Nuôi dưỡng tâm hồn – Khơi nguồn trí thức Nourish the soul – Enlarging the knowledge Fashion, Food and Drinks Nutifood Vì tương lai Việt For Vietnam‟s future 52 Vinamilk Chất lượng quốc tế - Chất lượng Vinamilk The international quality – The Vinamilk quality Trà thảo mộc Dr Thanh Thanh lọc thể, khơng lo bị nóng Refreshing the body, pushing back the heat Trung Nguyen coffee Khơi nguồn sáng tạo Inspire creation Café Việt Bạn đủ mạnh để thử? Are you strong enough to try? PNJ silver Lấp lánh ước mơ Sparkling with dreams VTEC Hãy cảm nhận sống Việt Tiến Feel the beauty of life with Viettien Bitis Nâng niu bàn chân Việt Embrace Vietnamese‟s feet May Nhà Bè NBC Vươn tầm giới Reaching the world class 10 Dệt kim Đơng Xn Khẳng định uy tín – Giữ trọn niềm tin Affirming prestige – Keeping trust 53