《中英语言与文化比较》课程论文

题目课程期末论文

课程名称中英语言与文化比较姓名学号

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所在学院

A Contrastive Analysis of Chinese and English advertising and

Their Deep Cultural Connotations

Abstract: Advertising is something that we are all exposed to and it is specialized in the pragmatic field for the language it uses. As a product of culture, advertising can reveal the relationship between language and culture.This paper aims to make a comparative study of the cultural values reflected in Chinese and English advertising. It is focused on the following three aspects: 1) the “passive acceptance”of fate by seeking harmony with nature in traditional Chinese ideology versus the “active mastery” in the person-nature relationship in western ideology; 2) traditional Chinese culture weights heavily collective value whereas western culture values the individual personality; 3) traditional Chinese culture emphasizes the worship of authority while western culture places primary faith in rationalism. These national cultural differences, as the paper support, may produce positive or negative effects on the persuasive functions of the advertisements.

Key words: Advertising; Cultural comparison; Ideology; Language

中英广告对比分析及其深沉文化内涵

摘要：广告语言已成为我们每天都有接触到的一门应用语言，有其独特之处。广告作为一种文化产物，在一定程度上揭露了文化与语言的深沉联系。本文主要对中英广告中体现的文化价值进行对比研究，主要涉及以下三个方面：（1）传统中国意识形态中对命运“被动接受”，寻求人与自然的和谐，而西方思想强调“积极掌握”人与自然的关系；（2）传统中国文化十分重视集体价值，而西方文化重视个人人格发展；（3）中国人强调对权威的绝对崇拜，而西方文化崇尚理智与事实。本文认为，这些文化差异，可能对广告功能带来正面的或负面的影响。

关键词：广告；文化比较；意识形态；语言

With the continuous development of global economy, transnational companies

based in western countries are expanding their markets in China. Advertising is a form of communication for marketing and is a cultural product as well. When the East meets the West without a conjoining point, the marketing costs borne by advertisers could be expectedly exorbitant. This paper visits the heart of the issue: the role of cultural values in Chinese and English advertising. Specially, it examines the three dimensions: human-nature relationship, individualism-collectivism and power distance.

1.Human-nature Relationship

Chinese culture regards human life as part of nature and so that the only way for us to survive is to live in harmony with nature. The fundamental significance of civilization lies in the creation of a peaceful world, which avoids conflict between humans and nature. Chinese also believe that heaven and humans mutually complementary and emphasize the unity of heaven and human-beings. This orientation is absolutely inflected in Chinese commercials:

天上彩虹，人间长虹。（长虹彩电）

善饮者为仙，善酿者为神。（小酒神酒业）

谷物天然，健康之源。（福临门调和油）

草原好奶造好糖。（金丝猴奶糖）

亲近阳光，新鲜自然。（阳光牧场乳品）

The preceding advertisements indicate that Chinese tend to believe that nature means good and in this vein, Chinese advertisers always associate their products with nature or heaven. On the contrary, when the English advertisements refer to nature, they usually encourage the ambition of conquering and remarking nature. For example:

Why grow old gradually? Fight it. (Olay lotion)

Take Toshiba, take the world. (Toshiba PC)

Engineered to move the human spirit. (Mercedes-Benz)

Ask for more. (Pepsi Cola)

Just do it. (Nike)

Western culture is adventurous and exploration based. The idea is reflected in

advertising, showing the worship of new knowledge and technique. For westerners, the progress of science and technology symbolizes the sublimation of human’s wisdom and their great mastery of nature. These advertisements focus on the spirit of conquering nature, the pursuit of freedom and the faith to create a better future. In that way, they inspire the consumers’ desire to try the product.

2.Individualism versus collectivism

Individualism and collectivism permeate every aspect of English and Chinese cultures, influencing their respective economies, politics, morals and communication patterns. Advertising, which is a combination of economy and communication, absolutely reflects this distinction.

From previous research, it is known that Chinese culture incorporates more collectivistic values and that westerners have an individualistic culture. Cultural differences do not only make people think differently, but also cause people to communicate differently. Although it is possible for cultural values to shift over time with societal changes, the collectivism-individualism distinct is embodied obviously in Chinese and English commercials. Take the famous Chinese advertising “大家好才是真的好（好迪啫喱水）”for an example. This advertisement is widely known in China and the slogan “大家好才是真的好”has gradually become an idiom among us. The brand “好迪”gained its fame rapidly after the broadcast of the TV advertising. Why was this advertisement such great a success? Generally speaking, it aims accurately at our orientation about collectivism. The same idea can be found in the following Chinese advertising:

让我们更亲近。（绿箭口香糖）

健康肌肤护全家。（舒肤佳香皂）

情系中国结，联通四海心。（中国联通）

清凉舒爽，全家共享。（六神沐浴露）

非常可乐，中国人自己的可乐。（非常可乐）

春都进万家，宾朋满天下。（春都火腿肠）

As these advertisements reveal, traditional Chinese culture weights heavily a person’s duties to family, clan and state. In the aspect of values, Chinese culture

thinks highly of selfless dedication and reflects their personal value in the dedication. In traditional Chinese culture, indiscriminate love, benevolence and filial piety are standards to measure a person’s virtue. For Chinese people, individual happiness and joy should match with the collective interests. Consideration and care for others are advocated. As a result, the care about the state, the household and all other things as well as the meticulous concern for others is considered virtue. Therefore, the shampoo that everyone of the family can enjoy always sells well and connection among friends worldwide is certainly important.

In contrast, western society lays stress on individual personality, personal freedom, self-development and personal motivation. To some degree, collective interests is based on individual interests. The category about individual rights advocated by bourgeois pioneers is more specific and wide. People’s privacy and liberty have been the attention of the society and become an indispensable component of the moral category. Hence, English advertisements often promote personal struggle, individual freedom and self-realization. For instance:

Obey your thirst. (Sprite)

To me, the past is black and white, but the future is always color. (Hennessy)

I’m lovin’it! (McDonald’s Plaza)

Break out of the ordinary. (Nestle)

Pepsi’s got your taste for life. (Pep si)

Time is what you make of it. (Swatch)

For the man who makes his own rules. (Premier whisky)

From the above advertisements, we can easily find some words with emphasis on uniqueness and difference, such as “I”, “your”and “own” . In cultures that tend toward individualism, competition rather than cooperation is encouraged; personal goals take precedence over group goals; people tend not to be emotionally dependent on organizations and institutions; and every individual has the right to his or her private property, thoughts and opinions. These cultures stress individual initiative and achievement, which is entirely different from Chinese culture. Obviously, these

advertising got success because they followed the value orientation.

3.Power distance

Power distance is put forward by Geert Hofstede in 1980 and is the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. Cultures that endorse low power distance expect and accept power relations that are more consultative or democratic. People relate to one another more as equals regardless of formal positions. Subordinates are more comfortable with and demand the right to contribute to and critique the decision making of those in power. In high power distance countries, less powerful accept power relations that are more autocratic and paternalistic. Subordinates acknowledge the power of others simply based on where they are situated in certain formal, hierarchical positions. As such, the power distance index Hofstede defines does not reflect an objective difference in power distribution, but rather the way people perceive power differences.

Chinese culture is deeply influenced by imperial power and imperial power is always associated with authority, honor and high quality. So there are quantities of advertisements that display some symbols of imperial power such as dragons and that relate the products to authority in order to catch the consumers’eyes. For example:

国窖，1573。（泸州老窖）

唐时宫廷酒，今日剑南春。（剑南春酒）

人民大会堂国宴专用。（椰树椰汁）

Another obvious feature of Chinese advertising is to list their honor and certifications. These advertisements always put their quality appraisal from the superior government departments and the authoritative technical institutions in a conspicuous position. Take the famous brand of toothpaste “高露洁”for example: 高露洁选用高档优质的洁齿材料，完全符合国家标准，更优于国际标准，不磨损牙齿，保持牙齿表面洁净光滑。高露洁牙膏在世界上受到超过40个牙医学会承认，更多中国口腔护理专家选用品牌，中国口腔医学会（CSA）、中华预防

牙医会（CPMA）推荐品牌。

In fact, “高露洁（Colgate）is a brand from USA but it is a big success in Chinese market. Why? The above advertisements can somehow give us an explanation. The ad uses almost every word to list its honor and certificate, which is very convincing to Chinese audiences. The identification proof means quality guarantee and reliable reputation. Authority worship deeply roots in the traditional concept of Chinese culture. The thousands of years feudal system fostered the solid ranking worship, affecting people’s perception. The principle of feudal moral was already abandoned as cultural dross and nonetheless its profound influence can not be overcome in one day. So, the honor awarded by government and certificate by technical departments have the inestimable market benefit. This is an outcome of the combination of the modern market economy and Chinese traditional authority worship.

Opposite to Chinese advertising, there is no such expression in English advertising. In the self-value primarily western culture, people don’t pursue the post, but individual interest. In this atmosphere, the practical spirit can be fully reflected in advertising. The advertising often uses the limited time or space to display the characteristics and quality of the product. A famous case is m&m: Melt in the mouth not in the hands. This advertisement fully shows the feature of the chocolate beans and easily attracts consumers. Other examples:

Good to the last drop. (Maxwell House coffee)

The taste is great. (Nestle Coffee)

Mosquito bye bye bye. (RADAR pesticide)

A diamond is forever. (De Beers)

Identifying and locating the core values of a culture is particularly important for a comparative study of culture. China and the West have their own traditional core values. Language is a reflection of culture. We can understand a nation’s development, aesthetic taste and value orientation through the language. Advertising is not only a economic phenomenon, but also a cultural phenomenon. Advertising language reflects a nation's values and thinking mode. However, the values are never fixed. In

contemporary society, every value system is open to influences from and spreads its own influences to other value systems. Thus, advertising are becoming more diversified with the update of cultural values.

References

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