About the Book
Among all modern ways of communication in which language is used, advertising is one of the most striking to arouse strong feelings. Language empowers the advertising massages. The book takes interest in the subtleties of advertising communication and unravels the different intricacies of hidden messages in advertisements. No matter how innocent an advertisement may appear, profound meaning and messages are continuously played out. To reinforce Chomsky’s thesis, “while the surface structure is identical <P> in all interpretations, the deep structure is not”. <P> Advertising, in a way, is a process of educating our sensibilities. The book takes a different approach based on communication perspectives starting from a wide variety of analytical frameworks such as social theory or mindset. Advertising is not just a vigorous marketing module but also an integral element of modern society and cultures. Not only its activities justify and transform a huge range of symbols and ideas, its enchanting communication power recycles cultural models and practices through the multiple media exposure. <P> The various chapters dig up the layers after layers of linguistic marvels at syntactical, psychological, semantic and semiotic level seen in the advertising message. It also delves into the sociolinguistic setting of Arunachal Pradesh, power of code mixing in advertising and the sexist language of advertising. <P> The book makes a novel and lively commentary on the linguistic creativity and playfulness of advertising communication which makes it simple for a common man to comprehend the ‘potential linguistic googlies’ bowled in each advertising message.
Contents
Introduction : Language, Society and Culture
1. Language and Advertising Communication
2. The World of Advertising: How to Hook a Customer
3. The Sociolinguistic Base of Advertisements
4. The Psycholinguistic Base of Advertisements
5. Discourse Analysis of Advertising Language
6. The Semiotics of Visual Communication in Print Advertisements
7. Information Technology and Advertising Language
8. English versus Hindi: A Brief Analysis of Advertisements
9. Conclusion
Appendices
About the Author / Editor
Gajendra Singh Chauhan is Assistant Professor of English and Communication at Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani. He has been teaching business communication and technical English topics for over ten years. His areas of interest include advertising communication, applied linguistic, ELT, media and culture, and sociolinguistics. Besides presenting papers at various national and international conferences, he has published articles in various journals and anthologies and also delivered radio talks on various educational issues. He is also a member of various professional bodies. He serves as the reviewer for an international journal “New Media & Society” and has recently co-authored the book “Communication in a Globalized World: Challenges & Remedies.
