英语广告语篇中的省略探析

1 A Study on Ellipsis in English Advertising Discourse （20141181 韦盼盼） Abstract: As an important cohesion device, ellipsis is a vital phenomenon in the language use. Especially it is widely used and plays a crucial role in the advertising discourse. This paper will analyze the basis, characteristics and functions of ellipsis in the English advertising discourse, in order to show that ellipsis is not only the important cohesion device for discourses but also can meet the needs of text rhetoric in advertising. Key words: ellipsis, English advertising discourse, cohesion

1. Introduction Ellipsis is an important language phenomenon, and a vital means of language cohesion in English. It can be simply defined as “ substitution by zero”. Main functions of ellipsis are saving words, avoiding repetition, and making the texts concise. Meanwhile, ellipsis is a means of rhetorical devices which belongs to syntax structure. The major function of advertisements is to persuade readers instantly. In general, an advertisement should express the most information in a limited length. It should simplify the less important information, and employ elliptic sentences which can make the texts clear, prominent, compact and eye-catching. Therefore, employing ellipsis can make an advertisement more eye-catching. Elliptic sentences are the most typical form and feature of advertisements. This paper will analyze the English advertisements, and try to find the ellipsis in the advertisements, which may provide some suggestions when we are reading the English advertisements.

2. Ellipsis According to Halliday & Hasan(2001, 88), “ Ellipsis as the omission of an item, it can be interpreted as that form of substitution in which the item is replaced by 2

nothing”. Where there is ellipsis, there is a presupposition, in the structure, that something is to be supplied, or “understood”. This is not quite the same thing as saying that we can tell from the structure of an item whether it is elliptical or not. An item is elliptical is its structure does not express all the features that have gone into its make-up ----all the meaningful choices that are embodied it. In other words, ellipsis occurs when something that is structurally necessary is left unsaid; there is a sense of incompleteness associated with it. And the essential characteristic of ellipsis is that something which is present in the selection of underlying options is omitted in the structure--whether or not the resulting structure is in itself „incomplete‟. Moreover, ellipsis is a relation within the text, and in the great majority of instances the presupposed item is present in the preceding text. That is to say, ellipsis is normally an anaphoric relation(Halliday, 2001, 146). Ellipsis can be normally divided into nominal, verbal and clausal ellipsis.

2.1. Nominal Ellipsis By nominal ellipsis we mean ellipsis within the nominal group. Under certain circumstances the common noun may be omitted and the function of Head taken on by one of these other elements. This is what is meant by nominal ellipsis. For example, (1) Four other Oysters followed them, and yet another four. In the second line, four is a Numerative and acts as a Modifier, where the Oysters are omitted. And here four is upgraded to function as Head. (2) Which last longer, the curved rods or the straight rods? --- The straight are less likely to break. In this example, straight is an Epithet, functioning as Modifier in the question but as Head in the response. Therefore, both another four and the straight are elliptical nominal groups. So an elliptical nominal group may always be replaced by its full, non-elliptical equivalent form. In this case, the presupposed items are restored. 3

2.2 Verbal Ellipsis By verbal ellipsis we mean ellipsis within the verbal group. An elliptical verbal group presupposes one or more words from a previous verbal group. Technically, it is defined as a verbal group whose structure does not fully express its systemic features--all the choices that are being made within the verbal group systems. For example, (3) a. Have you been swimming? ---Yes, I have. (4) b. What have you been doing? ---Swimming. In these two examples, the two verbal groups in the answers, have (in yes I have) in (a) and swimming in (b), are both instances of verbal ellipsis. Both can be said to „stand for‟ have been swimming, and there is no possibility of „filling out‟ with any other items. In the verbal group, there is only one lexical element, and that is the verb itself like swim in the above examples. 2.3. Clausal Ellipsis We have seen that verbal ellipsis often entails the omission of other elements in the clause besides verbal ones. We can take the clause as the point of departure. The clause in English, considered as the expression of the various speech functions, such as statement, question, response and so on, has a two-part structure consisting of modal element plus propositional element, for example, (5) The Duke was going to plant to row of poplars in the park. (Modal element) (Propositional element) The modal element consists in turn of the Subject plus the finite element in the verbal group. The propositional element consists of the residue: the remainder of the verbal, any Complements or Adjunct that may be present. Therefore, we can get two examples from (5). a. What was the Duke going to do?--Plant a row of poplars in the park. b. Who was going to plant a row of poplars in the park?--The Duke. In the answer of (a), the Modal element is omitted: the Subject and, within the verbal group, the finite operator was. Hence there is operator ellipsis in the verbal group. In