第一篇：淺談廣告英語的語言特色

Contents

Abstract………………………………………………………....21.Introduction…………………………………………………...2

2.Vocabulary Characteristics…………………………………..2

2.1 Written in simple…………………………………...........2

2.2 Creativity………………………………………………...32.3 Novel and unique………………………………………...3

2.4 Using adjectives………………………………………….3

3.Grammatical characteristics……………………………….3

3.1 Prefer to simple sentence and Ellipsis sentence………....43.2 The frequent use of imperative sentences…………........4

3.3 Extensive use of interrogative sentence……………….....4

3.4 Make good use of sigh sentence………………………....54.Rhetoric characteristics…………………………………….5

4.1 Simile, Metaphor……………………………………...…5

4.2 Hyperbole………………………………………………..5

4.3 Personification…………………………………………...5

4.4 Rhyming…………………………………………….…...6

5.Conclusion……………………………………………….….6 Bibliography.............錯誤！未定義書簽。

淺談廣告英語的語言特色

（中文概要）

摘要：廣告在國際市場競爭中十分重要。廣告翻譯愈來愈成為外貿活動中的一項重要內容。該文從詞法、句法及修辭手法三方面介紹了英語廣告的語言特征。本文通過介紹 英語 廣告的基本語言特征，用實例分析常用的幾種翻譯技巧。

關鍵詞：英語廣告;語言特色

引言： 廣告作為傳播信息的一種方式，作為一門集社會學、美學、心 理學、市場營銷學、語言學等于一身的綜合 藝術，其目的是說服人們購買某種產品或采取某種行動。當今隨著全球經濟一體化進程的加快和我國對外開放的進一步擴大，國際間的商品流通日益頻繁。在參與國際市場競爭時，國內外廠家都面臨同一個問題，即如何將自己的產品更好地介紹給目標市場的消費者。其中一個不可忽視的環(huán)節(jié)就是充分利用好廣告，為廠家贏得應有的利益。由此可見，廣告的重要性越來越突出。本文通過一些具體實例分析，就英語廣告的語言特征探討。

2．詞匯特色

廣告英語詞匯豐富，但選擇的每一個字和使用的每一個詞都為最終目標的銷售商品，所以他們往往有呼吁采取行動，并調用上訴.歸納起來主要為它們

2.1文字簡潔，淺顯易懂。（例如）

Coca Cola is it.(可口可樂廣告)

Just do it（耐克廣告）

A diamond lasts forever（鉆石廣告）

這些廣告里詞匯長度都不超過六個字母，其詞義是每個普通百姓都能明白的，體現(xiàn)了廣告英語淺顯易懂的特點

2.2.善于創(chuàng)新

廣告語言本身就充滿豐富的想象力和極大的創(chuàng)造性。英語廣告中常使用一些杜撰的新詞、怪詞來突出產品的新奇特征，進而滿足消費者追求時尚的心理。比如：The Orangemostest Drink in the world.這是一則飲料廣告，其中Orangemostest實際等于orange＋most＋est,most與est用在orange后，表示這種飲料是橙汁中的極品。

2.3生動形象，新穎別致。

廣告 英語 的特點之二是借助不同的修飾來增加語言的感染力以煽動消費者產生購買行為。套用人們熟悉的某個諺語、格言、名句，產生新的意義，以加深印象。例如：

Not all cars are created equal.（三菱汽車廣告）

這則廣告套用《美國獨立宣言》中的“All men are created equal”(人人平等。)

2.4巧用形容詞

英語廣告中使用的押韻常為頭韻（alliteration）和尾韻（rhyme）兩種，廣告詞瑯瑯上口，刺激其購物欲望。例如：

Bathing Beauty Discovered in Interior Decorator’s room。（瓷磚廣告）

頭韻詞“Bathing，Beauty，Bathing”和“Discovered，Decorator’s”讓消費者將裝修與美麗聯(lián)系起來,暗示了產品的神奇。

3.句法特色

3.1偏愛簡單句與省略句

廣告的篇幅有嚴格限制，必須以盡可能少的文字在第一時間內引起消費者的興趣，而且廣告不講究完整的語法結構，只求明白醒目、重點突出，因而常使用短小精煉的簡單句與省略句，既節(jié)省篇幅又引人思索。

例1：I love this game.(美國NBA廣告)。

Good morning World!

一個簡單的問候，是給我們的感覺，善良，友好，減少雙方的心理距離。長時間的問候給人留下難忘的印象。

3.2頻繁使用祈使句。

祈使句本身具有請求、命令和勸告的意思。它的這些功能正好與廣告的目的相吻合。因此廣告撰寫中經常使用簡短明快的祈使句，勸告人們采取行動，去購買廣告宣傳的產品。

例1：Get Met(Metropolitan Life Insurance).It pays.(人壽保險廣告)例2：So come into McDonald’s and enjoy Big Mac Sandwich.(麥當勞廣告)

麥當勞集團是全球快餐業(yè)巨頭，而大三明治就是麥當勞的代表

3.3大量使用疑問句。

疑問句能制造懸念，啟發(fā)讀者，引起共鳴，激發(fā)他們的好奇心，從而引誘消費。比如：Have you ever dreamed of ascending the steps of great temple built to the God?（旅行社廣告）

這是個旅游廣告, 激發(fā)了人們對旅游的興趣。每個人都有自己的夢想，但不一定都會實現(xiàn)。如果可以親眼看看自己的夢想，那也是一件很美好的事。

疑問句容易引起人們的反應，特別是廣告標題或身體在開始使用疑問句，能激發(fā)讀者的好奇心理，提高他們的閱讀興趣。

3.4善用感嘆句

感嘆句通常用于表達一些強烈的感情（例如玩笑，生氣，驚訝或難過等等）。而且也容易被理解，記住。目的是促進理解，依賴記憶，造成一個強大的嘆息和意外的結果

eg : My goodness!My Guiness!

My God！Guiness beer!

我的媽呀！是更常用的在我們的日常生活中，感嘆句，用于健力士廣告反映這種啤酒是好的，發(fā)展和消費

4.修辭特色

修辭是強大的武器，增強語言表達效果。作為一種語言具有很強的目的性，廣告英語中經常使用的修辭方法，是用在一些文獻，使自己的廣告建立一個新的學校，以吸引注意

4.1比喻（simile）

比喻是商業(yè)廣告英語中常用的一種修辭手法，它將抽象枯燥的事物與生動具體的事物進行類比，能極大地渲染語言的具體性和形象性，形成鮮明生動的意象，喚起消費者對產品美好的心理聯(lián)想，進而引起情感上的共鳴。例如：A computer that understands you is like your mother.這是一則帶有比喻的廣告。該廣告把電腦對人的理解比作母親對孩子的理解，顯得非常形象而又生動。

4.2夸張(hyperbole)

夸張就是用夸大的詞句來描述事物。英語廣告常用夸張，故意言過其實地渲染鋪飾所推銷的商品，但又在情理之中，使廣告的形象更加突出，給人以深刻的印象。比如：We’ve hidden a garden full of vegetables where you’d never expect.In a pie.這則廣告運用夸張的手法反襯出餡兒餅里蔬菜品種豐富，其品種之多，就像一個蔬菜園一樣。

4.3擬人（Personification）

擬人是一個整體的演講，無生命的物體或抽象的東西賦予人的素質還是具有人類形式表示為使用廣告人格化將賦予產品的人類情感，并使他們對用戶友好

Flowers by interflora speak form the heart –Interfora

On our classic varietal wines ,you will find the birthplaces of our chuindren--Almaden

4.4押韻(rhyming)

押韻原是詩歌中常用的修辭手法，英語廣告也常借用之，其運用語言的聲音規(guī)律使廣告讀起來抑揚頓挫，流暢回環(huán)，瑯瑯上口，便于吟唱，成為形式與內涵、視覺與聽覺的美妙組合。如：My goodness！My Guinness！這則啤酒廣告從結構上看感嘆詞goodness與品牌名Guinness排列整齊又相似，且兩詞既押頭韻又押尾韻，使廣告的內容與語言的韻律達到完美統(tǒng)一。

5.總結

廣告語言作為一種特殊的語言是非常不同的共同語言。它有其自身的特點，形態(tài)，句法和修辭。簡單的和有吸引力的是一般廣告英語的特點。因為有不同類型的廣告，他們在不同的寫作方式，根據其目標受眾，產品或其他方面，因此，我們必須分析的特點，不同類型的廣告，以便找到適當?shù)奈恢脼槲覀冏约旱膹V告，并選擇合適的最好方法。在統(tǒng)計的四組廣告我發(fā)現(xiàn)：消費者使用最廣泛的形式和設備，其主要任務是吸引讀者，鼓勵他們購買產品；商業(yè)廣告，反之，不需要很多精力放在吸引讀者的話，更實用；服務廣告類似的特征作為消費者的廣告用詞，總之，無論什么樣的結構，或內容，或是用在廣告，所有這些服務的目的是吸引讀者傳遞信息的廣告，給他們，并要求他們購買產品或使用服務。這是一個廣告，也就是廣告語言的功能。

第二篇：淺談英語廣告的語言特色及其翻譯技巧

淺談英語廣告的語言特色及其翻譯技巧

廣告語是一種商業(yè)文體，是銷售的最好媒介。隨著社會經濟的發(fā)展，廣告已深入到社會的各個角落，成為人們日常生活中不可缺少的一部分。廣告的目的是促銷產品。因此，如何讓廣告語更有吸引力成了廣告商首先考慮的問題。廣告英語作為一種應用語言，因其所具有的特殊效用，有別于普通英語而發(fā)展成為一種規(guī)范化的專用語言，形成它自己獨特的語言風格和特點。

一、英語廣告的語言特色

1．英語廣告的詞匯特點

為了使產品容易被普通大眾理解并很快接受，英語廣告通常都選用簡潔、明了的詞語。使用的普通名詞、單音節(jié)詞、動詞也多是日常生活中使用頻率最高的詞，諸如：buy，be，get，make，live，love，have，come，go，bring等。例如以下廣告句：Buyonepair，getonefree(買一贈一)。形容詞的使用可以給產品增添色彩，因此英語廣告里面較多地使用形容詞來描述產品的性能、質地等，特別是商家為了美化所述商品，加強描述性和吸引力，會采用大量的褒義形容詞，或用形容詞的比較級和最高級與其它產品進行比較，來抬高和突出自己的商品，增強消費者的購買信心。例如：

珠寶廣告：Shangha's first pearl dealer；Highestquality pearls with a widest selection of classic &creative designs；Excellent after-sales service；Fairprice to every customer本例廣告中使用了first，Highest，widest等多個褒義形容詞，非常具有吸引力。有時候也通過故意使用錯別字、杜撰新詞或錯亂搭配來拼造一些新詞怪語，以滿足消費者追求新潮、標榜個性的心理，起到意想不到的修辭效果。

釣魚廣告：What can be delisher than fisher?delisher是指delicious之音杜撰出來的，目的是與后面的fisher造成押韻的效果，突出釣魚的樂趣。

2．英語廣告的語法特點

廣告通常使用簡單句或省略句，既達到節(jié)約空間和省錢的目的，也一目了然，給消費者以深刻的印象，因此廣告語往往簡短精湛。例如：

可口可樂的廣告：Coca-colais it．(還是可口可樂好!)

鉆戒廣告：A diamond lasts forever．(鉆石恒久遠，一顆永留傳。)

英語廣告寫作可概括為一個KISS原則：即“Keep it short and sweet．”

為了縮小與讀者的差距，英語廣告還經常用疑問句和祈使句創(chuàng)造與讀者的親密感。如：

Who else can guide you to a successful meeting?(Holiday Inn)

Test us try us fly us(plane)

3．英語廣告的修辭特點

成功的廣告英語，語言優(yōu)美、和諧、生動、簡潔、幽默，使人過目不忘、回味無窮。而運用多種修辭手法，是實現(xiàn)廣告語言藝術的關鍵。這些修辭手段主要包括比喻、擬人、雙關、壓韻、重復等。如：

瓷器廣告：As thin as egg shell，as white assnow(薄如蛋殼，白如雪)。在英語廣告中運用擬人修辭，使冷冰冰的商品變得有人情味和親切感。

香煙廣告：I'm More satisfied!(我更滿意摩爾香煙。)此廣告中，一詞具有雙重含義，一為副詞“更加”之意，一為品牌“摩爾”。語義雙關語的運用，使音形義形成結合，加深了顧客對此品牌的印象。

索尼產品的廣告：Hi-Fi，Hi-Fun，Hi-Fashion，only from Sony(高保真，高樂趣，高時尚，只來自索尼)。本廣告中，Hi-Fi，Hi-Fun，Hi-Fashion分別押頭韻Hi和f，富有節(jié)奏，賞心悅目，印象深刻。

二、如何翻譯好廣告語言

當今社會國際間的商業(yè)往來日益頻繁，許多外國商品進入我國市場，外國商品的廣告更是鋪天蓋地，如何讓廣大的消費者看懂外國產品的廣告，進行理智的消費，廣告英語的翻譯就顯得很重要。那么怎樣才能準確無誤地翻譯好一則廣告呢?

1．必須正確地理解廣告內容。因為理解是表達的前提，沒有正確的理解就談不上確切的表達。正確地理解廣告英語，不僅要了解廣告英語的語言特色，還要對所引用的典故有所了解，這就要求我們有一定的文化背景知識。例如：

綠丹蘭系列化妝品廣告：Ludamlan cosmetics-Love me tender，love me true．(“綠丹蘭”——愛您一輩子)這則廣告源于美國的一首民歌：LoveMe Tender,Love Me True．

飲食廣告：I know you haveegg and bacon forbreakfast at home．but you are on the Continent youwill do in Rome as the Romans do andtake coffeeand rolls．廣告中的“do in Rome as the Romansdo”來自諺語“入鄉(xiāng)隨俗”。

2．廣告英語常?？刹捎靡庾g和音譯相結合的方法。翻譯是一門語言的藝術，好的翻譯給人們以美感，也直接影響廣告的效果。美國Coca-cola飲料傳到中國后被譯成“可口可樂”，這個譯名比其原文還要好，原文的Coca-cola只是兩種植物的名字，而漢譯的“可口可樂”卻把飲料的特點巧妙地融合在一起，美國Coca-cola公司對此譯名推崇備至。Good-year Tyre是一種輪胎，漢譯時據發(fā)音翻譯成“固特異輪胎”，“固”，“特”、“異”這三個字無疑將該輪胎的堅固耐磨，性能超群、不同一股的特點躍然紙上。以上都是廣告翻譯成功的先例，這些廣告的翻譯無不體現(xiàn)了音譯美。

3．廣告的翻譯有時要添詞、減詞和解釋。上面我們提到的鉆石廣告語“a diamond is forever”譯為中文：“鉆石恒久遠，一顆水流傳”，適當?shù)卦黾恿藥讉€詞，便使此廣告語顯得貼切自然，朗朗上門。當然在加字時一定注意所加的的字在意義和音色上都要于原文商標相宜，否則就會畫蛇添足，多而不當。

還有一些詞在漢譯時經常被譯成漢語的四字結構的詞組，如：good taste(味道純正)，handsomeappearance(造型美觀)，pretty and colorful(瑰麗多彩)，agreeable to taste(味鮮適口)，aromatic flavor(香味濃郁)。這些四字結構讀起來富有感染力，具有漢譯的美。這種在許多成功的廣告翻譯中都能發(fā)現(xiàn)。

Coca-cola公司于20世紀20年代推出的最具影響力的廣告口號“The Pause That Refreshes”被譯為“帶來清涼的瞬間”和后來推出的“You can't beat the feeling!”譯成“擋不住的誘惑”都非常精彩。

解釋指的是把原文中模糊的概念清楚明白地表達出來的一種翻譯方式。如有一則描述羊絨衫的廣告：“They are lustrous in color，supple，lightwarm and comfortable to wear”按詞逐譯不免使這產品的特征概念模糊，加以說明解釋可譯為：“本產品色澤鮮艷、手感柔滑、穿著舒適、輕便保暖等特點”這樣就清楚明了。

4．翻譯英語廣告時要充分考慮到英漢兩種文化的差異。翻譯時不能直譯，否則會鬧出笑話或起到相反的后果。比如，有一種名為poison的洗發(fā)香波，在國外市場很暢銷，poison的原義是“毒物”，用它命名符合國外不少女性崇尚野性的心理。但如果在中國市場把它直譯為“毒物”，恐怕就令消費者難以接受，而根據它的發(fā)音，把它譯成“百愛神”則符合中國的文化習慣。還有一個例子，一種出門的干電池的商標叫“白象”，翻譯成white elephant應該說是正確的，但是white elephant在英語中還意為“沉重的負擔”或“無用而累贅的東西”。這個廣告譯文在英美市場會帶來什么后果就可想而知了。

總之，英語廣告翻譯的目的是實現(xiàn)外來廣告的當?shù)鼗?，進而打開市場，促進銷售。因此，英語翻譯應擺脫傳統(tǒng)的翻譯老路，其原則應是一種基于廣告創(chuàng)意之上的再創(chuàng)造，它小心該拘泥于原語和降語形式和內容的對等，而應更注重譯文與原文功能或效果的對等。翻譯廣告語句有時候需要運用多種翻譯技巧，從不同的角度進行多層次的處理，這樣才能收到達意、傳神和表形的翻譯效果。

三、結語

廣告英語豐富多彩，新穎活潑，具有濃郁的生活氣息和強大的感染力。隨著時代的發(fā)展，廣告英語將會增添新的內容，更加具有自己的特色。認真研究和掌握廣告英語的語言特色及翻譯技巧，有助于把握英語發(fā)展的脈搏，跟上語言發(fā)展的步伐，提高英語的理解力和鑒賞力。

第三篇：談廣告英語的特色及其寫作技巧

談廣告英語的特色及其寫作技巧

摘要：廣告是一種公共性的信息交流活動，對產品的推廣起著及其重要的作用。英語廣告語言作為現(xiàn)代語言的重要組成部分，有其獨特之處。本文從詞匯和句法兩方面介紹了廣告英語的語言特色，并通過實例分析闡述了修辭手法和用詞兩個方面的寫作技巧。

關鍵字 ：廣告英語； 詞匯特色；句法特色；修辭手法；用詞

On the Features and Writing Skills of Advertisement English Abstract: Advertisement is a public activity for information communication, it is very important to promote production.Language for advertisement English is special as a significant component of modern language.This paper introduces its language features in terms of vocabulary and syntax, giving a tentative study on the writing techniques of advertisement English through use of rhetoric devices and selection of vocabulary.Key words: advertisement English;vocabulary features;sentence features;rhetoric devices;selection of vocabulary 第一章 前言

當今世界，隨著各國交往的不斷頻繁，世界經濟全球化的進程不斷加深，國際間合作也進一步加強。在參與國際市場競爭時，國內外廠家都面臨著同一個問題，即如何將自己的產品更好地介紹給目標市場的消費者。其中一個不可忽視的環(huán)節(jié)就是充分利用廣告，為廠家贏得應有的利益。由此可見，廣告的重要性越來越突出。本文擬通過一些具體的實例分析，就廣告英語的特色及其寫作技巧作一粗淺的探討。

第二章 廣告的概念

廣告是一種公共性的信息交流活動，它以付費的方式通過報刊、電視、廣播等向公眾介紹產品、服務或觀念，對一項產品的推廣起著及其重要的作用。廣告不僅是一種經濟活動，而且是傳播文化的主要媒介。廣告的目的是引導消費者進入豐富多彩的商品世界，激發(fā)他們的興趣，促使他們在接觸廣告之后就能產生強烈的購買欲望，進而實現(xiàn)消費者由Attention（注意）——Interest（興趣）——Desire（欲望）——Action（行動）的逐漸轉變。這就決定了廣告英語必須達到迅速影響和勸告的作用。廣告英語這種通過表意和移情而實現(xiàn)勸說功能的語言同講究生動形象、含蓄蘊藉與追求各種藝術效果的文學語言相比,以及同講究真實、簡明的新聞報道語言相比，可以說具有奇特的語言特色和寫作技巧。第三章 廣告英語的特色 3.1 廣告英語的詞匯特色

3.1.1 簡明扼要，淺顯易懂

首先，廣告的基本特點是讓有限的篇幅表達盡可能多的信息。廣告既要簡短，又要明白準確地體現(xiàn)廣告內容。因此廣告英語的特點之一是詞語短小、結構簡單、簡明扼要、淺顯易懂。

1）廣告英語中常用詞義淺顯的短語。例如：

The only car in its class.(1993VILLAGER汽車廣告)It gives me clear, plain paper faxes at a price I can afford..(Canon 復印機廣告)以上幾則廣告所用詞匯長度都不超過六個字母，其詞義是每個普通百姓都能明白的，體現(xiàn)了廣告英語淺顯易懂的特點。

2）廣告英語中廣泛使用祈使句和省略句。例如：

I love this game.(美國NBA廣告)Air Quality!(航空公司廣告)

Come to Life in Hawaii.（旅游廣告）

廣告英語很少使用復合句，正是這些結構簡單的祈使句、疑問句和省略句使廣告英語讀起來簡明扼要，聽起來輕松活潑。3.1.2 生動形象，含義深刻

廣告的目的是促進消費行動，廣告語言要刺激消費者的聯(lián)想，從而擴大注意、鞏固記憶。因此，廣告英語的特點之二是借助不同的修飾來增加語言的感染力。以真情，真心，真誠去感染消費者，贏得消費者的信任。或者通過深入消費者的內心，讓消費者看過廣告后，內心就有所出動，從而煽動消費者產生購買行為。

1）平行對照。這種修飾結構上對稱，意義上對照，形式整齊勻稱，內容既適合于中伏強調，又適合于反襯對照，音、形、義都富于形象感。例如：

Tear out！Fill in!Fax now?(Maclean雜志征訂廣告)Warehouse Clearance.Their Loss, Your Gain!(清倉甩賣廣告)Distilled from Rocky Mountain water and Canadian Prairie grain.(VODKA酒廣告)2）仿擬。仿擬是套用人們熟悉的某個諺語、格言、名句，使其產生一種新的意義，從而達到標新立異、加深印象的效果。例如：

Not all cars are created equal.（三菱汽車廣告）

這則廣告套用了《美國獨立宣言》中的“All men are created equal”(人人平等)。

Quality breeds success.(福特汽車廣告)這則廣告套用了諺語“Familiarity breeds contempt”（各自識老底，互相瞧不起）。

3.1.3 詼諧幽默，富于美感

廣告是藝術含量很高的一種宣傳手段，給消費者以美的享受是廣告的一個功能。廣告的設計是按照整齊、一律、均衡、對稱、和諧等原則進行的。因此，廣告英語的另一個特點是以優(yōu)美的音韻增加廣告的魅力。標新立異，出其不意，用特效烘托氣氛。

1）頭韻。頭韻是兩個或兩個以上的詞的首字母的發(fā)音相同而產生的音韻。在廣告中使用頭韻看起來醒目，讀起來悅耳。另外，某些音位的組合所具有的特定聯(lián)想意義能體現(xiàn)語言與事物的有機聯(lián)系和內在和諧。例如：

Export fair set for foreign-funded firms.（博覽會廣告）

這是一則外資企業(yè)出口產品博覽會的廣告，7個詞中有5個（fair, for , foreign, funded, firms）互押頭韻。聽起來好象是博覽會在文質彬彬地迎接眾多外資企業(yè)。

Bathing Beauty Discovered in Interior Decorator‘s room.（瓷磚廣告）

這則廣告中有兩組頭韻詞（Bathing，Beauty，Bathing和Discovered，Decorator’s），讓消費者將裝修與美麗聯(lián)系起來，暗示了產品的神奇效果.2)尾韻。尾韻是兩個或兩個以上的詞的尾元音及后的輔音相同而產生的音韻。在廣告中使用尾韻，能加強廣告的音樂性，突出廣告的聲律美。例如：

Emergency Medical Insurance and Assistance.（保險廣告）

這則廣告中的“Insurance ”與“Assistance”押尾韻，讓投保者聯(lián)想到“保險”與“幫助”之間的必然聯(lián)系。

Special Offers for ALRMILES Collectors and Maclean Subscribers.(Maclean’s 雜志廣告)這則廣告里三個詞互押尾韻。讀起來有一種節(jié)律美，能在消費者記憶里留下較深的印象。

3.2 廣告英語的句法特色 3.2.1 簡單句多

廣告的職能就是用最吸引人的方式介紹商品的質量，清楚地說明購買該商品的作用，引起消費者對它的注意和好感，并產生購買的欲望。為此，廣告英語通過使用簡單的句式來表達所要傳達的意思，有助于闡明信息，使消費者易于閱讀、接受。例如：

Fresh up with Seven-up.（七喜飲料廣告）

Start ahead.（飄柔洗發(fā)水廣告）

Enjoy Coca-Cola.(可口可樂飲料廣告)3.2.2 并列句多

在廣告中使用大量祈使句，不僅簡潔明了，易于理解，更是容易被消費者記住，加深印象，引起消費者的購買欲望。例如：

Introducing FITNESS magazine．It’s about health, it’s about exercise, it’s about your image, it’s about your energy and your outlook．（《健康》雜志廣告）

No business too small, no problem too big.（國際商用機器公司廣告）

3.2.3 省略句多

廣告的篇幅有嚴格限制，必須以盡可能少的文字在第一時間內引起消費者的興趣，而且廣告不講究完整的語法結構，只求明白醒目、重點突出，因而常使用省略句，既節(jié)省篇幅又突出特色。例如：

You’ll enjoy relaxed sunny days． Warm crystal clear lagoons． Cool green foliage． Waterfalls． Flowers． Exotic scents． Bright blue skies． Secluded beaches． Graceful palms． Breathtaking sunsets． Soft evening breezes． And food that simply outstanding．

這則廣告中，從“Warm crystal clear lagoons”到“ Soft evening breezes”一連串的名詞性短語代替了“You’ll enjoy??”的句子，不僅簡潔緊湊，而且又鮮明有力。3.2.4 祈使句多

祈使句本身具有請求、命令和勸告的意思。它的這些功能正好與廣告的目的相吻合。因此廣告 中經常會使用簡短明快的祈使句，勸告人們采取行動，去購買廣告宣傳的產品具有強烈的鼓動色彩。例如：

Get Met Metropolitan Life Insurance.It pays.(人壽保險廣告)So come into McDonald’s and enjoy Big Mac Sandwich.(麥當勞廣告)3.2.5 否定句少

即使使用否定句，也是為了用其它商品來反襯，或從反面突出產品的特性。例如：

We would never say the new Audi A4 is the best in its class.We don’t have to.（奧迪汽車廣告）

We lead, others copy.（理光復印機廣告）

第四章 廣告英語的寫作技巧 4.1 修辭手法的使用技巧

4.1.1 押韻

壓韻本是詩歌中的寫作技巧，然而在英語廣告中卻常常加以移植，它使句子語氣連貫，韻律頓挫，節(jié)奏和諧，感情奔放，將其運用在廣告中能體現(xiàn)出一種音韻美，從而增加了表現(xiàn)力。例如：

Go for Gold.（Gold Seal酒廣告）

這則廣告中不僅充分利用了“Gold”一詞的意義，使人覺得這酒 相金子一樣富貴，而且李永樂它與“go”頭韻相同的特點，使得廣告簡明生動，節(jié)湊平衡，容易上口。又如：

Wing your way with wings waiting for you.（韓亞航空廣告）

這種廣告中有5個詞（wing，way，with，wings，waiting）互押頭韻，讓人很容易從“翅膀”聯(lián)想到“飛機”，而且讀起來朗朗上口，更是增強了語言的節(jié)湊美。

4.1.2 雙關

雙關就是有意識地利用語言中的同音異義或一詞多義現(xiàn)象使一句話產生兩層不同的意思，即“一語雙關”。這樣不僅能使廣告引起消費者的聯(lián)想，又能使廣告語言簡潔風趣，從而達到表達的絕妙效果。例如：

The Unique Spirit of Canada.(加拿大酒廣告)上述廣告中的“spirit”是個多義詞，如作“烈性酒”解，全句可理解為“別具風味的加拿大酒”;如作“精神”解時，全句則意為“加拿大獨特的國民精神”?！皊pirit”在廣告中具有上述雙重意義，令讀者無法排斥其中任何一個，別具一格。又如：

The offspring of Spring.（皮瑞爾礦泉水廣告）

這里的“Spring”很關鍵，有“春天”與“泉水”雙關語義，意境優(yōu)美。而“offspring” 則有“后代”的意思。整句可譯為“掬自春泉”，使人聯(lián)想到礦泉水的清純、潔凈，富于春天的氣息。

4.1.3 排比

排比句本身不僅使句子簡化而且重點突出給讀者造成一貫而下的氣勢。廣告英語使用排比句讀起來節(jié)奏性強、音韻對稱既突出了產品質量優(yōu)先的優(yōu)點，又使讀者享受了廣告語言的美。例如： When you are cool, tea will warm you When you are hot, tea will cool you When you are sad, tea will cheer you When you are excited, tea will calm you

以上這則廣告富有節(jié)奏感，有利于強調語勢，突出重點，激發(fā)消費者對茶葉的激情，產生購買的欲望。

4.1.4 比喻

比喻是一種不把要說的事物明確真實地說出來、而用與之有相似點的事物表現(xiàn)的修辭方式。它使廣告英語精煉、形象、生動，變抽象為具體, 變模糊為鮮明, 變虛幻為實在。例如：

What’s on your arm should be as beautiful as who’s on it.這是Citizen表的廣告文句，廣告圖是男女手臂相挽的特寫,表現(xiàn)出一種剛柔相濟的和

諧美感。文句與畫面相得益彰、明喻的運用使廣告形象生動迷人，易于打動人。

4.1.5 擬人

擬人是指把東西或其他生物當作人來描寫的修辭法，這種修辭手法給商品以生命，使它變得有人情味，給消費者一種親切感。例如：

Flowers by BEAUTY spread from the heart.(鮮花廣告)Peony stands out for taste..(香煙廣告)上述廣告中，無論是鮮花(flowers)還是香煙(peony)都被描述為能說會道、像有生命的人一樣，這無疑會在商品和消費者之間產生一種親近感，引起人們的興趣。

4.2 用詞的使用技巧

4.2.1 多使用形容詞及其比較級、最高級

為了美化產品，吸引顧客，廣告中大量使用褒義色彩的評價性形容詞及其比較級和最高級來增強廣告的魅力。例如：

Famous world-wide gourmet cuisine． Excellent daily specials and mouthwatering desserts．（某餐廳廣告）

What a Good time for a Good taste of a Kent?（Kent煙廣告）

上面兩則廣告就連續(xù)使用了幾個具有褒義色彩的形容詞（famous，world-wide，excellent，mouthwatering，good），具有強烈的贊揚色彩的感情色彩，極易打動人心，引起消費者的消費欲望，從而達到廣告的目的。

4.2.2 創(chuàng)造新詞、怪詞

廣告語言表示就充滿豐富的想象力和極大的創(chuàng)造性，所以在英語廣告中常使用一些杜撰的新詞、怪詞，以引起新奇感，突出產品的新奇特征，進而滿足消費者追求時尚、標榜新潮的心理。例如：

The Orangemostest Drink in the world.這是一條飲料廣告。其中“Orangemostest”實際來源于“Orange”+“most ”+“est”，其中“most”與“est”都表示形容詞的最高級，在此與“orange”連用，借以表現(xiàn)這種飲料的“高質量, 高純度，口感好”，是橙汁中的極品，給人豐富的聯(lián)想。4.2.3 多使用重復的詞匯

詞匯的重復是一種常用的技巧，可以起強調、渲染的作用，而這恰恰是廣告語言所要追求的效果。例如：

Easy to use, easy to clean, easy to assemble.（日光牌簡便燒烤架廣告）這則廣告中連用了三個“easy”，不僅突出了其產品的特點，吸引消費者的眼球，而且讀起來朗朗上口，易于理解。4.2.4 多使用縮略詞和復合詞

廣告的基本特征就是在有限的篇幅內盡可能多傳遞信息，因而為了縮短篇幅，英語廣告中大量使用縮略詞和復合詞。例如：

For Rent: 1-bdm.mod.furn.210/mo.A/C avail.After Xmas.這是一則關于出租房屋的廣告，中間的“bdm.”、“mod.”、“furn.”、“mo.”、“A/C”、“avail.”、“Xmas”分別指“bedroom”、“modern”、“furniture”、“mouth”、“air conditioning”、“available”和“Christmas”。相比之下，使用縮略詞可以大大縮短篇幅，降低成本。

復合詞比較靈活，具有極強的表現(xiàn)力和旺盛的生命力，適合英語廣告對新奇的追求。例如quick-frozen food（速凍食品）、top-quality bulbs（高品質燈泡）、up-to-the-minute fashion（最新款式的服裝）等。4.2.5 “雅”“俗”平分天下

廣告中多使用簡單、易懂的“俗”語，便于理解，傾向于口語化，消費者也易于接受，當然在一些大型的房地產廣告中則使用比較正式、書面化的“雅”語。例如：

The home of your dreams awaits you behind this door． Whether your taste be a country manor estate or a penthouse in the sky you will find the following pages filled with the worlds’ most elegant residences．

這則房地產廣告中的“await”、“be”、“manor”、“elegant”、“residence”都是正式場合下才使用的“雅”語詞匯，它們在這里代替了“俗”語的“wait”、“is”、“house”、“nice”、“place”，讓人耳目一新，引發(fā)無限遐想。第五章 結語

總之，廣告英語是一種具有商業(yè)價值的實用文體，常常運用各種修辭和詞匯的差異來實現(xiàn)其商品目的。它不僅可以引起讀者的聯(lián)想，開拓讀者的豐富信息，引發(fā)讀者對商品產生興趣，而且可以增強廣告的鼓動性、說服性，從而達到廣告的目的，也讓人欣賞到廣告語言的魅力。

第四篇：英語廣告語的語言特色及形式

廣告語言的特色及形式

“廣告”的意思是“喚起大眾對某事物的注意，誘導于一定方向所使用的一種手段?！焙蜐h語中“廣而告之”的意思相吻合。因此廣告也就具有了告知、說服和備忘的功能。這些功能決定了廣告用語要簡潔、生動、形象、富有感情色彩和強烈的感染力(Advertising language should be concise, vivid, image, rich emotion and strong appeal)。

廣告語言在形式上多種多樣，不拘一格，或極具鮮明特色，或行文工整、對仗押韻，或節(jié)奏感強、瑯瑯上口，或富于創(chuàng)新，耐人尋味(Advertising language in a variety of forms, not to stick to one pattern, or very distinct characteristics, or the antithesis neat, strong sense of rhythm, rhyme, or easy to pronounce, or innovative, afford much food for thought.)。

二、廣告標題、口號Advertising title, slogan，簡潔明了、引人注意Concise, attractive

廣告標題是表現(xiàn)廣告主體的短文，是一則廣告的核心。它精煉地概括產品的主題，語言簡潔、直接，以強化人們對其產品的印象，維持廣告宣傳的連續(xù)性。不少的廣告口號都是從標題演變而來的。

因此，廣告的標題或口號中多用直接式廣告語，它往往一語道破天機，精煉地將商品的主題表達出來，把最重要的信息和情感直截了當?shù)母嬖V人們。最常見的方式是以商品名稱和廣告商名稱命題，并多采用短句形式，便于上口記憶Advertising title name of propositions, and uses the phrase form, convenient upper memory.，既能引發(fā)消費者的好奇心，又能區(qū)別于其他同類商品。如:威力洗衣機的廣告:“威力，威力，夠威夠力”;《時代》雜志：“閱讀《時代》，就能理解時代”;海飛絲洗發(fā)水:“頭屑去無蹤，秀發(fā)更出眾”;耐克鞋：“Just do it.(隨心所欲)”。而美國公司的Coca-cola is it.(還是可口可樂好)就更為經典了。再如，七喜飲料的 Fresh Up with Seven Up!(君飲七喜，精神倍增)。上訴廣告語都極力用最精煉的語言，將自己產品的名稱或特點作為主打廣告語，以正面形象不失時機地傳遞產品信息，語言簡潔明了，內容突出鮮明The content of outstanding and bright

三、創(chuàng)新拼寫，增強吸引力

在英語廣告中，用詞往往更富于創(chuàng)新，廣告創(chuàng)意人員根據英語的構詞規(guī)則，創(chuàng)造一個能為讀者理解的詞，以加強廣告的新鮮感和吸引力In advertising English, words tend to be more innovative, creative personnel based on English word formation rules, create a reader to understand words, in order to strengthen advertising freshness and attraction他們或者錯拼，或者加上前綴后綴，雖然新詞與原詞形態(tài)不同，但意義尤存They fight or wrong, or with the Prefix suffix, although new and original words in different forms, but it is。如： We know eggsactly how to sell eggs.“eggsactly”是 “exactly” 的變形，并在形態(tài)上與 “egg” 相對應，達到了幽默Humor中間機智的效果。這類“構詞游戲”可謂匠心獨運，大大增加了廣告的新鮮感和吸引力。再如：Introducing the new Infinia with Intouch.(Toshiba--Intouch)(Infina全新(續(xù)致信網上一頁內容)登場，好時機就在身旁)。這則廣告中的故意錯拼也達到了突出產品品牌吸引讀者閱讀的目的。

四、運用多種修辭技巧，語言生動形象 Advertising language use various rhetorical skills, vivid language在廣告如林的時代，為使廣告能夠獨樹一幟，惹人注目，廣告撰稿人會利用多種修辭手段，以增強廣告的說服力，感染力。這些修辭手段通常包括比喻、擬人、雙關、重復、夸張、押韻等。Advertising copywriter will use various rhetoric means, in order to enhance the advertising persuasion, infectivity.These rhetorical devices typically include metaphor, personification, pun, repetition, exaggeration, rhyme etc

1.比喻

比喻是廣告中常用的修辭手法之一。運用比喻可使所描繪的事物形象生動，貼切恰當?shù)谋扔鬟€可以突出產品的特點或特色，很容易被消費者所接受The use of metaphor can make the things described a vivid image, appropriate metaphors can also highlight the product's features or characteristics, being easily accepted by consumers。比如:有如您第二層皮膚（牛仔褲廣告）;

隱形的手套（護手霜的廣告）;Light as a breeze, soft as a cloud;輕柔如風，舒軟如云（服裝廣告）;Ride like a feather in your pocket.(汽車廣告);A room for five toes.（推銷鞋的廣告）;The most sensational place to wear satin on your lips.這是一則推銷口紅的廣告，把口紅比喻成“緞子”，涂抹在最富有激情的地方，好似給紅唇穿上光亮柔滑的綢緞一般。這樣的比喻恰當貼切，極具感染力和誘惑力Such an analogy is apt, extremely powerful and seductive.2.擬人

廣告中的擬人是把所宣傳的產品人格化，從而賦予它人所具有的情感、感覺，它能使原本呆板冷漠的產品頗具人情味，使消費者讀起來倍感親切In the advertisement personification is added to the advertised product personality, thus giving it the people with emotion, feeling, it can make the original mechanical cold products more human, make consumer reads more cordial例如：

We are proud of the birthplaces of our children, the grapes of Almaden.On our classic various wines, you will find the birthplaces of our children.(Almaden 廣告)

又如：The most thoughtful Nikon of all time.No one cares more about your image than Nikon.（有史以來最體貼人的尼康;沒有人能像尼康那樣關心您的形象）在這則廣告中，沒有生命的尼康相機被擬人化地賦予了生命，使消費者在廣告中看到的是“關心”、“體貼”人的和最關心人形象的尼康。

3.雙關

雙關語是利用語言文字的同音或同義、同音異義的關系，使某些詞語在特定環(huán)境下具有雙重意義。雙關語在廣告文案中應用最為廣泛，也是最有效的修辭手段之一。雙關使用得當?shù)脑挘苁拐Z言產生幽默風趣的效果Pun used correctly, can make the language to produce a humorous effect

請看臺灣“箭”牌口香糖的廣告：一“箭”鐘情，一“箭”如故。區(qū)區(qū)八個字生動形象地通過“見”與“箭”的諧音，既起到了傳情達意的效果，又顯示出該產品質量優(yōu)秀，深受喜愛，并且還暗含了箭牌口香糖可以傳達友誼的功效，促銷效果甚佳。Only

eight words vividly through the “see” and“ arrow” homophonic, which took the Chuanqingdayi effect, and shows that the product of excellent quality, popular, and also implies arrow chewing gum can convey friendship, sales promotion effect is very good.再看中國聯(lián)想集團的廣告口號：“沒有聯(lián)想，世界會是什么樣子？”這里“聯(lián)想”是一語雙關，精煉明確，鼓動性強。

同樣，在英語廣告中雙關語的運用也是見仁見智，風格獨特。

比如：A Deal with US Means a Good Deal to You!這則廣告的妙處在于把“a good deal”的常用意義“許多”和廣告的特殊意義“一樁好買賣”有機的結合在一起。

再看一則“Weight-Watcher”冰激凌廣告的標題?！癝poil yourself and not your figure.”(放心吃吧，別擔心體重)就是巧妙的利用了“spoil”一詞的雙重含義。既表到達了“spoil yourself”(盡情享受)，又向消費者傳達了“not spoil your figure”(不會破壞體型)的這層含義。通過 “spoil”這一雙關語，營造了一種輕松幽默的氣氛，自然能為消費者所接受Through the“ spoil” which is a pun, create a relaxed humorous atmosphere, will naturally be accepted by consumers.4.重復在廣告語言中，為了突出某種產品和信息，撰稿人往往采用重復某些詞語或句子的方法，以加強讀者的印象In the advertisement language, in order to highlight certain products and information, writers often use of repetition of phrases and sentences, to reinforce the reader's impression.例如：No ordinary number.No ordinary taste.(非凡的數(shù)字，非凡的口味)

這是英國“555”牌香煙的廣告，通過對 no ordinary(不同一般，非凡的)的反復，進一步突出了“555”香煙非同尋常的品味。

再看著名的東方快車的一則廣告。Train of kings.King of trains.(眾王之車，眾車之王)廣告文案中僅有三個單詞，但是通過三個單詞在不同位置上的重復，卻產生出氣勢非凡的效果Advertising copy in only three words, but by three words at a different location on the repeat, but produce extraordinary momentum effect.除上述幾種常用的修辭手法之外，采用幽默夸張的修辭手法，也能制造出奇制勝的效果The humorous hyperbole rhetoric, also can produce satisfactory effect.。美國芝加哥一家美容院的廣告牌上曾寫道;“不要對剛剛從我們這里出來的姑娘使眼色，她很可能是你的奶奶噢。”語言夸張幽默，真是讓人過目難忘。英語廣告中還常常使用押韻的手法，使其讀起來瑯瑯上口，節(jié)奏感強烈，體現(xiàn)出一種韻律美English advertisement also often use rhyming techniques make it easy to pronounce, read, a strong sense of rhythm, reflect a rhythm.。請欣賞如下廣告：

Impossible made possible.使不可能變成可能——佳能打印機（尾韻）

No business too small, no problem too big.沒有不做的小生意，沒有解決不了的大問題。——IBM（頭韻）Hi-Fi, Hi-Fun, Hi-Fashion, only from Sony.高保真，高享受，高時尚，只來自索尼。（頭韻）

五、借用詩詞文化，促進廣告宣傳 Borrowing poetry culture, promotion advertising廣告的文化魅力，其價值是無形的，價值量常常難以衡量。河南酒業(yè)就是一個很好的例子。河南人硬是通過文化，打開了酒業(yè)渠道，使河南酒在市場上占有一席之地。

新加坡假日酒店的廣告，也借用了“條條大路通羅馬”這句眾所周知的西方諺語This is the sentence as everyone knows the western proverb，推出了“All roads lead to Holiday Inn”。

總之，通過對上述引例的分析鑒賞，我們可以看到廣告語言的特點和魅力，也為企業(yè)管理人士和廣告創(chuàng)意人員提供一些借鑒與啟迪，具有很強的現(xiàn)實意義It has the very strong practical significance

第五篇：涉外合同的英語語言特色

摘要

實務中有不少涉外經濟合同糾紛是因各方對合同文字的理解不一而引起的,究其原因,主要是起草者對合同語言的特殊性缺乏應有的了解,結果導致合同語言的模糊性和不確定性。本文從詞法、句法及應用等三個層面對英文經貿合同語言的特殊性及其變化規(guī)律進行探討,以期能有助于對此類合同的閱讀和起草。

關鍵詞：涉外合同；語言特征；閱讀和起草

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ABSTRACT In practice, the occurrence of inconsistency in interpretation of the contract English has resulted in a good few cases of disputes.In essence, it is largely due to the draftsman's failure to have a deep-in understanding of the underlying features of the contract language, which might lead to the ambiguities and uncertainties of the contract wording.This paper tries to analyze the linguistic features of English business contracts at the morphological, syntactical and discourse levels respectively with a view to rendering a help in the reading and drafting the contracts.Keywords：contract English;language features;reading anddrafting

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Contents 1.Introduction......................................................................................................................1 2.Literature review..............................................................................................................2 2.1 Study of contract..............................................................................................................2 2.2 Study of legal English......................................................................................................3 2.3 Study of contract English.................................................................................................3 2.4 The study of the stylistic features of contract English in China......................................4 3.The language features of contract English.....................................................................6 3.1 The lexical features..........................................................................................................6 3.1.1 Formal words................................................................................................................6 3.1.2 Archaic Words...............................................................................................................7 3.1.3 Synonyms......................................................................................................................8 3.1.4 Abbreviations................................................................................................................8 3.2 The syntax features..........................................................................................................9 3.2.1 Active voice...................................................................................................................9 3.2.2 Present tense................................................................................................................10 3.2.3 Shall+verb...................................................................................................................10 3.3 The sentential features....................................................................................................11 3.3.1 Declarative sentences..................................................................................................11 3.3.2 Long sentences............................................................................................................12 3.3.3 Conditional clauses.....................................................................................................13 4.Implications....................................................................................................................15 4.1 Implication for reading contract English.......................................................................15 4.2 Implication for drafting contract....................................................................................16 5.Conclusion.......................................................................................................................17 Acknowledgements.............................................................................錯誤！未定義書簽。References...........................................................................................................................18

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1.Introduction

Language is much more than merely a means of communication.It is also a way of signaling, consciously or unconsciously, that we come from a particular area, or belong to a certain social group.[1]51 Every field of expertise develops its own language features.[2]36 The language of English used in contracts, or contract English, is an important branch of legal English.Legal English means the language of the law of England, America, and some other countries whose official language is English.These common law system countries have a history about several hundred years to express law in English.Legal English is a type of legal language with overlap of linguistics and the science of law.[3]6

With China's carrying out the policy to promote reform and opening to the outside world, the establishment of market economy, the rapid development of our communication with foreign countries and China's entry to the WTO, there are more and more opportunities for us to communicate with those countries whose official language is English.When communicating with individuals, legal persons or other organizations from the English speaking countries, we often need to sign English contracts with them.Contract plays an important role in international economic and trade activities, as all achievements thereof will be finally embodied in it.How to correctly draft and understand contract language is of great importance to individuals and business organizations.There are a few books and papers dedicated to general principles of stylistic features of English for law, but none addresses questions of contract English in sufficient detail to be of significant practical use to the English contract learners in China.My dissertation attempts to present a comparatively detailed analysis of stylistic features of contract English with the expectation to better help contract learners or businessmen understand and draft English contract.中國最大的論文知識平臺www.tmdps.cn

2.Literature review 2.1 Study of contract

Contract English, like English as a whole, is not static.It has undergone and is still undergoing enormous changes.The definition of contracts given by Karla C.Shippey[4]155: A Commercial Contract, in simplest terms, is merely an agreement made by two or more parties for the purpose of transacting business.In the eye of scholars the word contract is used in common speech, which simply refers to a writing containing terms on which the parties have agreed.Contract is often used in a more technical sense to mean “a promise, or a set of promises for the breach of which the law gives a remedy, or the performance of which the law in some way recognizes a duty.” Put quite simply, a contract is an agreement which the courts will enforce.[5]5

A contract, in the simplest definition, is a promise enforceable by law.The promise may be to do something or to refrain from doing something.The making of a contract requires the mutual assent of two or more persons, one of them ordinarily making an offer and another accepting.If one of the parties fails to keep the promise, the other is entitled to legal recourse against him.The law of contracts has to do with such questions as whether a contract exists, what the meaning of it is, whether a contract has been broken, and what compensation is due the injured party.[6]6 Many contracts use the word agreement in the title.In some contexts the two words, contract and agreement, are synonyms and can be used interchangeably.While contract and agreement may both be used to mean a formal and legally enforceable arrangement, agreement may also refer to an informal arrangement not supported by consideration, such as an agreement between friends to play tennis on Saturday morning.So an agreement is really the main ingredient of a contract.But it is not every agreement that becomes a contract.To be a contract, that agreement must be enforceable in taw.中國最大的論文知識平臺www.tmdps.cn

2.2 Study of legal English

When we move into the domain of legal English, we must consider another continuum, the so-called general English.What precisely is general English is difficult to define.The concept is often left unspecified and regarded as an implicit norm, apparently based on intuitive knowledge of what is common use.[7]12 Special English, of which legal English is one example, is often understood as being in some significant respects deviant from general English.That's to say, legal English is based on the general English with its own stylistic features.More recently, some linguists have begun to analyze certain language varieties in terms of sublanguages.One definition of this term is a “l(fā)anguage used in a body of texts dealing with a circumscribed subject area in which the authors of the documents share a common vocabulary and common habits of word usage，The term carries with it the idea that the sublanguage is a subset, or part, of the language as a whole.Some characteristics that have been attributed to sublanguages include: they have a limited subject matter;(2)they contain lexical, syntactic, and semantic restrictions;(3)they allow ”deviant“ rules of grammar that are not acceptable in the standard language;and(4)certain constructions are unusually frequent.[1]142-143 Most of these features seem to apply to legal English so we can also say that legal English is a sublanguage of English.2.3 Study of contract English

Generally speaking, contract English is an important branch of legal English, which is the language of the contract of England, America, and some other countries whose official language is English.Since English is universally accepted as a commercial language, it is a usual practice in our foreign trade to conclude contracts in both English and Chinese languages;that is first to draft a contract in one language and then to render it into the other.There are a number of worthwhile guides to forensic linguistics in general, given their broad scope they are of great help to the English contract learners.Lord Mansfield[8]3, one of the most famous English judges, once observed that ”most of the

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disputes in the world arise from words“.He told us the significance of language.If one can command contract English quite well, it may be easier for him to read the English contract.It is highly possible that he could study and understand English contracts better than those who know little about contract English.A contract refers to an agreement establishing, modifying and terminating the civil rights and obligations between subjects of equal footing.The language for contract is different from that for basic English or literature.In the Five Clocks, the American linguist Martin Joos[9]36 advances the five stylistic varieties in English: the Frozen Style, the Formal Style, the Consultative Style, the Casual Style and the Intimate Style.The style of Contract English can be considered as the first one, which is the Frozen Style because the language habits of the profession cause lawyers(contract drafters)to frequently choose one means of expression over other possibilities.There are a few books and papers dedicated to general principles of stylistic features of English for law, such as the field's main journal, Forensic Linguistics[8], books as Investigating English Style written by David Crystal[10] , The Elements of Legal Style written by Bryan, A.Garner[11], so on and so forth.2.4 The study of the stylistic features of contract English in China

For many years, the study of the stylistic features of contract English is limited.In our country, there are few books or articles talking about the language of contract.However,with China's carrying out the policy to promote reform and opening to the outside world and China's entry the WTO, there are more and more opportunities for us to communicate with those countries whose official language is English.When communicating with people or other organizations from the English speaking countries, we often need to sign English contracts with them.English contracts are becoming more and more important in our daily life.And people began to do more study on contract English.The language of contracts is not easy to understand.Wu Weiping [12] points out, “Most people know it difficult reading legal documents(in a narrow sense).In fact non-legal documents like contracts, trade brands are also difficult to read.” Due to the importance of contracts and difficulty of contractual language, more and more people have been turning their attention to them.Many school students, especially those majoring in business English are learning English of contracts and at the same time many scholars take profound interest in the study it.Many books and articles are

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published and provide assistance in students’ learning of the variety of English.Chen Jingying[13] describes the syntax features of the contract English.Hu Genshen[14] points out that many Latinate words are adopted in every possible case to replace synonyms of ordinary English to display formality and preciseness.Besides, Liao Yin[6] says that in business contracts, complicated prepositional phrases are often used insteadof ordinary ones.For example, the participants in the joint ventures shall commence discussion with regard to the extension of the period of existence of the venture and in the event of their agreeing upon such extension, they shall record such agreement in a written document signed by all of them not later than three years prior to the expiry of the current period.According to Fu Weiliang[15]，long sentences in English business contracts can define the rights and obligations of the concerned parties in an exact way, thus avoiding any possible misunderstanding and ambiguity.中國最大的論文知識平臺www.tmdps.cn

3.The language features of contract English English is now established as the leading international language.Legal English, as everybody knows, is playing a significant part in our Chinese people's life.With the development of the technology and economy and with the deepening of the policy of opening door to the outside world, frequent foreign exchanges and business transactions are increasing day by day between China and foreign countries.Inter-personal and inter-entity relations involved have to be defined and bound by contracts.In the business field, the staff concerned is required to execute the contract to cooperate with the foreign transactions.Thus, we can succeed in building our country into a prosperous one.One of the keys to the better command of contract is to acquire a deep and comprehensive realization of its stylistic features.Based on studies done by home and abroad researchers, the following part is trying to present a relatively comprehensive analyisis on the stylistic features of contract English.3.1 The lexical features

The goal of contract English is not the beautiful language, but the precise logic and professional statements, as well as clearly and rational thinking.The lexicon of contract English contracts is characterized by precision, formality and clarity.This part, based on the analysis of typical examples, attempts to explore English contracts from the aspects of formal words, archaic words, synonyms and abbreviations.3.1.1 Formal words

Formal words also called as literary words or learned words, mainly appearing in formal writings, such as theoretical works, formal addresses and legal documents.Compared with general English, contract English is very formal.There are a lot of formal words, which are rarely used in general English, but used in contract.Here we list just a small sampling:

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Formal Words

Informal Words Purchase

Buy Modify/alter

Change Terminate

End Proceed

Go Render

Make Commence

Start/begin Approximately

About Demonstrate

Show Notify

Tell

[16]322

In the following three sentences, commence, terminate, at the commence of, upon the completion of, with regard to, in the event of, prior to mean respectively: begin, end, at the beginning of, at the end of, about, in case of, before.The former words are more formal than the latter ones, which make the contract sound formal.(1)The Agreement shall commence on this day and automatically terminate upon the bankruptcy or insolvency of either of the parties hereto.(2)Party A shall pay to Party B forty per cent of the total price for work, i.e., two hundred and eighty thousand(280,000.00)U.S.dollars only at the commence of construction work of Party A's plant;and sixty per cent of the total price for work, i.e., four hundred and twenty thousand(420,000.00)U.S dollars only upon the completion of the work.(3)The participants in the Joint Venture shall commence discussion with regard to the extension of the period of existence of the Venture and in the event of their agreeing upon such extension, they shall record such agreement in written document signed by, all of them not later than three years prior to the expiry of the current Period.3.1.2 Archaic Words

Contract English has long been featured by a prominent archaic trait: words composed by ”here“, ”there“ and ”where“ followed by one or several propositions.In these words, ”here“ means ”this“, ”there“ equals ”that“, while ”where“ refers to ”what“ or ”which“.For example: Archaic words

Modern meaning

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Hereafter

After this Hereby

By means of this/By that means Hereof

Of this Hereinafter

Later in this contract Thereafter

After that Thereinafter

In that part of contract Whereof

Of which Whereby

By what;by which[16]365-366 Look at the following sentence: The parties to the contract shall, in accordance with the principle of good faith, execute the rights and perform the obligations hereof.[17]42.The contract is not defensible and is in danger of leaks without ”hereof “.The word ”hereof “l(fā)eads to economy of expression since it replaces the longer phrase ”of the contract“ in the example to modify and limit ”rights and obligations“.3.1.3 Synonyms

Using synonyms in legal English occurs very often.The purpose of this kind of use is not only to respect the tradition, but also to seek exactitude and completion of meaning.As it has been mentioned by many linguists, legal English adheres much to tradition.There are many more such synonymous pairs: terms and conditions, settle claims and debts, import duty and tax, customs and usages, missing and disappeared person, willful and malicious injury, elderly and aged, able covenants, libel and slander, goods and chattels, etc.For examples:(1)They declared the contract null and void.(2)The packing and wrapping expenses shall be borne by the buyer.3.1.4 Abbreviations

When draftsmen draft contract, they use lots of abbreviations in order to make full use of simple, quick and efficient method to rush at the commerce opportunity.Therefore, the use of abbreviations is becoming wilder and wilder and the scope is

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larger and larger.We can find abbreviations in everywhere such as politics, economy, trade, law, transportation, insurance for the sake of expressing more conveniently.Generally speaking, abbreviations are capitalized.In drafting contract, abbreviations prove to be helpful for spelling but at the same time cause the trouble in understanding.Abbreviations are typical features of business contract.In our samples, we have many:(1)The price shall be based on CIF basis.(CIF= Cost, Insurance, Freight)(2)In case by M/T or T/T.(M/T=metric ton)(T/T= telegraphic transfer)(3)On FOB-basis.(FOB= free on board)(4)W.P.A.(WRA= with particular average)(5)L/C.(L/C= letter of credit)

3.2 The syntax features 3.2.1 Active voice We can easily find that active voice is the dominance in foreign contract.In foreign contract, active voice is a very striking feature.Because contract is an agreement, enforceable by law between two or more people or groups.Foreign contract also serves to concentrate the minds of the parties in deciding a number of important things, such as who bears a particular risk, who should insure against that risk, who should perform some tasks and who should do other tasks, and so on.[16]235 It is required that the language has logical clarity and precise reasoning so as to be understood by the public.In order to achieve the conciseness, the business contract is generally expressed in a straightful way with lots of active voice.Active voice involves the speakers as 'private person' with their own thoughts, feelings and experiences, and not as 'public persons'.Active voice denotes the sense of unaffectedness, unequivocality, directness and powerfulness.For examples:(1)The sellers shall send together with the shipment one copy each of the above-mentioned documents.(2)Sellers agree to sell the undenmentioned goods on terms and conditions stipulated Below.(3)Whereas Party A agrees to sell to Party B products.(4)The ”effective date“ as used herein shall mean the date determined under Article 10

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hereof.Compared with the active voice, passive voice is not used as frequently as active voice.Passive voice is primarily non-personal or factual, it doesn't involve the speakers as 'private persons'.The emphasis is on the facts and events and not on the speaker's involvement in them.3.2.2 Present tense

In English, there are only two tenses: simple past and simple present.We commonly assume that the tense of a verb tells us when the action it refers to takes, took, or will take place.Present-tense implies a lack of distance between the narrator and the events.It is not true that the English present tense exclusively, even refers to events which are actually happening at the time of speaking or writing.The simple present tense is the most predominant tense of the 12 traditional verb tenses in business contract.This tense is used frequently in contract drafting.It is noticeable that the simple present tense is mainly utilized to denote the concept of ”timeless“ and ”generalizations“.[18]56 General statements suit for any particular time frame.In business contract, the present tense indicates that the law is always speaking.Many examples can be found in the samples:(1)The sellers shall present the following documents to the paying bank for negotiation.(2)Party B guarantees that the machines and equipment are unused.(3)Party B desires to obtain such technical data.(4)The terms and conditions of this contract are breached by either party.3.2.3 Shall+verb

The word, shall, typically expresses the future.Traditionally, it is used only in the first person(I shall and we shall).A contract is a legal document that defines the rights and liabilities of the parties concerned.”Shall“ confers a duty to do an affirmative act.It implies a type of legal right or duty rather than the future tense or the modal meaning of volition.[19]22

Commonly, the modal ”shall+verb“ is used to express obligations, which serves to detail the obligations of one or more parties to a contract.In Chinese, 應該or 得is

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often used in defining the rights and liabilities,while in English ”shall+verb“ is often used.Of course there are other words such as should or will also have a similar meaning.However, shall is more compulsive and emphasized and means a legal liability.If one fails to fulfill something, it will result in a legal enforcement and remedy.Business contract tends to use the structure ”shall+verb“ more frequently.Like the following examples: 1)The persons employed Party A shall be responsible to the Manager of Party A.甲方雇傭的一切人員都必須向甲方的經理負責。

2)Party A shall, at most favorable prices, supply Party B with spare parts of the leased equipment.甲方應以最優(yōu)惠的價格向乙方供應所租設備的備件。

3)This Contract shall become effective upon and from the date on which it is signed.本合同簽字之日起開始生效。

4)The Seller shall have the right to increase the price of the goods specified in this contract at any time.賣方有權隨時提高本合同的貨物價格。

3.3 The sentential features 3.3.1 Declarative sentences

In terms of function, all sentences can be divided into four groups :(a)Declarative sentences: to make a statement, to state a factual event.(b)Interrogative sentences: to ask a question.(c)Imperative sentences: to give commands or instructions.(d)Exclamatory sentences: to show strong feelings towards something.[20]56

As we know, contract relates to agreements or promises it should be objective and show no personal emotions.Thus declarative sentences are used to make statements, give explanation and make judgments.They make up the most part of the total.In English contracts there is no necessity for inquiry, therefore interrogative and imperative sentences are seldom found.For examples:(1)This Agreement is made and entered into by and between ABC Co.and XYZ Co..(2)The L/C shall be valid until the 15th day after the shipment.中國最大的論文知識平臺www.tmdps.cn

(3)The Seller shall deliver the goods before July 31,1997.(4)The period of Lease is two years beginning from the date the Lessee accepts the

equipment on examination.3.3.2 Long sentences

Long sentences with complex structures can express complicated opinions.A mild variation in sentence length shows the writer's emotional state of mind and his objective way of narrating.[20] In contract, sentences trend to be extremely long.When people reading a contract, it's not easy for them to find many short sentences.There are two advantages to use long sentences in contract: First, the long sentences can make the contract more formal and logical.Second, long sentences with some adverbial or attributive clauses can be used to define the rights and obligations of the Parties.Therefore, a large number of information has been compressed into a single sentence, which accounts for its length and grammatical complexity.Look at the following sentence: In case that one or both parties are impossible to perform the duties provided herein on account of force majeure, the party(or Parties)in contingency shall inform the other party(or each other)of the case immediately and may, provided the case is duly verified by the competent-authorities, delay in performance of or not perform the relevant duties hereunder and may be partially or entirely exempted from the liability for breach of this agreement.[1]57

This sentence has 76 words, accounting for its length and grammatical complexity,it express a huge amount of information.At the very beginning, it is an adverbial clause introduced by in case that.The predicate of the principal clause is composed of three coordinate parts: shall inform...，and may...delay...or not perform…and may be...exempted from....In the adverbial clause, the past participle phrase provided herein is the attribute used to modify the duties.In the clause, the prepositional phrase on account of force majeure is used to express the cause.In addition, the second predicate followed by a conditional clause introduced by provided.All that is mentioned above proves that the long, complex sentence can express complicated meaning logically.[1]57-58

In contract, there are also short sentences which can express the idea precisely and clearly.So the combination of long and short sentences makes the language of

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contract vivid and full of change.3.3.3 Conditional clauses

Contracts are written documents indicating the agreement between the parties on their rights and obligations.Usually, there are various conditions when carry out these rights and obligations.Only these conditions are met can the rights and obligations be carried out.So many conditional clauses are used in contracts.There are usually four kinds of conditional clauses:(a)Condition of supposition: This type of clauses usually led by ”if“, ”should“, ”in case/in case of', “in the event of/that” to expressthe supposed conditions on which each party to the contract can enjoy the rights or should perform the obligations.The emphasis here for these kinds of sentences is on the main clause.If any products or any part of the products is not in compliance with the standards of quality as the result of the inspection, the Manufacturer shall supply the buyer free of charge with replacement for all parts not complying with the standards of quality.[16]394

經檢驗，發(fā)現(xiàn)產品的任何部分的質量不合格，制造商必須免費更換所有質貨物。

(b)Condition of prerequisite: This type of conditional clauses is usually led by “provided(that)” to indicate a kind of possibility.When translating such clauses into Chinese version, “provided(that)” is usually translated into “如果.........”.They express the specific condition whose existence is a precondition on which each party to a contract may carry out some activity.Thus the emphasis for these kinds of sentences is on the subordinate clauses which are more important.Looking the following sentence:

The Seller, provided that Buyer so agrees, may retain the whole or part of the said incomplete equipment, fabricated or unfabricated parts, work in process, and other material referred to in paragraph(D)of this Article the amount to be paid by the Buyer shall be reduced by a sum equal to the value of the property so retained.[16]403

如果買方同意，賣方可以部分或全部地保留上述未完成的設備、已加工好或未加工好的零件以及正在進行的工作和本條(D)款所述的其他材料，這將因此使買方少支付這部分貨物的費用。

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(c)Condition of exception: This type of conditional clauses are usually led by “except”, “with the exception that”, “in the absence of” and “unless”.They express that one party to a contract can be free from the restriction of some articles or clauses of the contract under some special conditions.From pragmatic viewpoint, such conditional clauses usually can complement the provisions and imply disjunctive meaning.Except for reason of force majure, the plant shall operate for more than 10 days in a month.[16]412

除因人力不可抗拒之原因外，工廠每月開工應多于10天。

(d)Condition of fact: clauses of this type are usually led by whereas, in consideration of and subject to to express some conditions that already exist.中國最大的論文知識平臺www.tmdps.cn

4.Implications

4.1 Implication for reading contract English

When reading the English contracts, many people feel that it is very difficult for them to understand completely.If they can know something about the language features of contract English, the following difficulties can be overcome.(1)Difficulty in reading the long English contract

Compared with Chinese contract, English contract is longer.English speaking countries are common law countries.In these countries the statutory laws are not as many as in China.In order to avoid the disputes or have the disputes satisfactorily solved in future, the rights and obligations of Parties are written in much greater detail in contract in common law countries than those in China, which makes the contract very long.The following two points can help people overcome the difficulty in reading long English contract:(i)To divide the contract into parts

When a long contract is divided into small parts, which will be comparatively easy to read and understand.As a complete and valid contract, in general, there are three components: the head, the body, and the tail.When we read a contract, it's very important for us to recognize the head and the tail because the body of the contract is located between the head and the tail, and the head and the tail of a contract, with their obvious characteristics, are very easy to find.(ii)To read the body of the contract clause by clause.The body of a contract is broken into sections, each of which may in turn consist of one or more subsection.Furthermore, one can subdivide the text of any section or

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subsection into “enumerated clauses.” Subdividing the body of a contract, taking the form of sentences as clause, makes it neat, much easier to read.In this way, we can read the contract step by step.(2)Difficulty in reading the long and complex sentences

The sentences in an English contract are very long and complex, some of which are written in several lines even several pages.To deal with this problem, there is no way out, just to analyze the components of the sentence patiently, to know the functions of different components, and to find where the principal clause is, where the subordinate clause is and what kind of subordinate clause it is, etc.(3)Difficulty in interpreting the archaic words

There are a great number of archaic words in contract.These archaic words, such as whereas, hereby, thereto, in witness whereof are very difficult to interpret even after we look them up in the dictionary.When we see this kind of words in contract, we should know that the use of these archaic words can avoid the repetition of something which has been mentioned above or before and makes the description more precisely.The detail information can refer to 3.1.2 of the thesis.4.2 Implication for drafting contract

In Davidson's book Precedents and Forms in Conveyancing, [21]70 he lists five principles in drafting contract.The forth one is “The ordinary and accustomed forms of documents and technical language should be used”.And “Legal language should be precise and accurate.Every phrase should have a clear meaning and all the phrases should be so connected as not to give rise to ambiguity.Aim at accuracy.Omit superfluous phrases.Give correct references and adhere strictly to the rules of grammar as by the use of apt words.” is the fifth one.[22]129-130

In Contract Law, Tay Swee Kian and Tang See Chim mentioned the two problems should be solved in drafting contract:

One is the use of long uncommon words or long sentences in contract.The other is the use of too many archaic words.They say, “Such archaic word or expressions as whereby，hereinafter that are not customarily used in everyday life should be replaced by words in current use.It is not wise to have too many of them.” [22]129-130

From my point of view, the long sentences, archaic words and technical terms are the features of contract English, without them the contract English is not different

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from the general English.Short sentences cannot always be used in legal documents because technical legal expressions may sometimes have to be used in preference to short sentences and the archaic words, if carefully but not superfluously used, can be an aid to exact expression.5.Conclusion

The language of legal English is generally complicated and technical, and, therefore, difficult for the people to understand.Contracts have no exception.The idea of making legal language easier to read and understand is not new.The lexicon features of business contracts can be summarized as adoption of formal words, usage of archaic words and synonyms.The syntax features of business contracts can be summarized as adoption of declarative sentences, long sentences, passive voice, and present tense.China, as a member country of the WTO, is playing an increasingly important role in international business.It is almost certain that the study of business contracts will become an important topic in China.In this thesis, apart from elaborating on the language features of English business contracts from the lexicon and syntax levels, the author proposes the criteria for understanding and drafting of English business contracts.中國最大的論文知識平臺www.tmdps.cn

References

[1] TIERSMA M.Legal language[M].Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999.[2] GIBBONS J.Forensic Linguistics[M].Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2003.[3] Garner A.The Elements of Legal Style[M].Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991.[4] KARLA S.A Short Course in International Contracts [M].California: World Trade Press, 2002.[5] MELLINKOFF D.The language of the law[M].Boston: Little Brown, 1963.[6] 廖英.合同與合同英語[M].杭州: 浙江大學出版社, 2004.[7] HILTUNEN R.Chapters on Legal English[M].Tiedakatemia: Academic, 1990.[8] GIBBONS J.Forensic Linguistics[M].Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2003.[9] JOOS M.The Five Clocks[M].London: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1961.[10] CRYSTAL D.Investigating English Style[M].London: Sweet&Maxwell Limited, 1997.[11] GARNER A.The Elements of Legal Style[M].Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991.[12] 吳偉平.語言與法律[M].上海: 上海外語教育出版社, 2002.[13] 陳靜英.外經貿合同的語言特點及篇章結構[[J].成都大學學報, 1998(2): 74.[14] 胡庚申.合同英語[M].天津: 天津科技翻譯出版公司, 2002.[15] 傅偉良.對外經濟合同英文寫作課程建設研究與實踐[M].北京第二外國語學院學報, 1999(5): 57-62.[16] 胡庚申.國際商務合同起草與翻譯[M].北京: 外文出版社, 2004.[17] 傅偉良.對外經濟合同英文寫作[M].北京: 石油工業(yè)出版社, 2000.[18] SIMON D, JONATHAN M.Contracts, Co-operation, and Competition: studies in economics, management, and law[M].London: Oxford University Press, 1997.[19] ADAMS A.Legal Usage in Drafting Corporate Agreements [M].Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001.[20] 李蕾.外經貿合同的語言特點及篇章結構[J].外經貿合同語言特點及篇章成都大學學報（社科版）, 1998.[21] CHARLES D.Precedents and Forms in Conveyancing[M].London: W.Maxwell, 1876.[22] 葛亞軍.合同英語手冊[M].天津: 天津科技翻譯出版公司, 2002.中國最大的論文知識平臺www.tmdps.cn