Linguistic and stylistic features of modern english-language advertising

Background. Advertising has become an integral part of economic, social and cultural life of modern society. This fact makes it necessary to apply a multi-aspect approach to study advertising communication, the participants of which are the advertiser, the author of the advertising text and the target audience. The success of advertising communication depends on various factors, including the relevant choice of linguostylistic techniques and language means. These must comply with the cultural norms and values of the target audience, correspond to the genre and stylistic features of the advertising discourse and fit the goal of advertising communication – to produce the desired effect on the consumer.

The purpose of the study is to systematize the linguostylistic features of advertising communication in modern English.

Materials and methods. The study was conducted on the material of advertising texts of two thematic groups: perfumery products and watches. The authors used the continuous sampling method to analyse 61 advertising message and identified 144 examples of stylistically marked expressive means and stylistic devices at the phonetic, morphemic, lexical and syntactic levels of the language. The main methods used in the research include the communicative-pragmatic analysis which helped to study argumentation as a fundamental aspect of advertising, and the method of stylistic analysis.

Results. The research described the features of various expressive means and stylistic devices at all levels of the language. The authors identified the effective tools used by authors to increase the persuasion of an advertising message and have the emotional impact on a potential consumer. The findings showed that the relevant feature of advertising communication is the frequency of using lexical stylistic means to deliver the author’s idea to the addressee. This can be explained by ample opportunities of the lexical level for creating vivid imagery that affects the consumer’s imagination, which is exceptionally relevant to advertising. The study of advertising communication allowed us to identify culturally significant norms and values to which the advertising text appeals. Thus, the research proved that the linguistic component of the advertising message is a significant tool that affects the consciousness, emotions and behavior of consumers.