Abstract

Sperber and Wilson’s relevance theory focuses on a cognitive approach to the interpretation of human communication. According to this theory, a variety of possible implicatures can be derived from one utterance, which does not occur to the hearer simultaneously. They require the hearer to find the optimal relevance by themselves. Based on these assumptions, Feng Chuoji analyzes the cognitive process of understanding metaphor in advertising, which covers three steps: recognition of metaphor, construction of contextual assumptions and recovery of implicatures. This thesis attempts to analyze metaphors in English advertising with the three steps in cognitive process of understanding metaphors. It is concluded that metaphors in advertisements guarantee a presumption of optimal relevance; that the cognitive process of understanding metaphors in English advertising does follow the three steps: recognition of metaphor, construction of contextual assumption, and recovery of implicatures; that Feng’s cognitive process is applicable in the analysis of metaphors in English advertising.

Key words: Metaphor  Advertising  Relevance theory  Assumption  Implicature
 
摘 要

斯波伯和威尔逊的关联理论旨在解释人们的交际活动。他们认为一个话语可以衍生出无数个隐含意义，但受众不可能同时理解这些隐含意义。要理解这些隐含意义，需要受众自行调取关联内容并加以理解。基于这些假设，冯婥姬分析了广告中隐喻理解的认知过程，由三个步骤构成，包括隐喻的识别、语境假设的构建、隐含的获得。本文试图用隐喻理解的认知过程来分析英语广告中的隐喻。结果发现广告中的隐喻是最佳关联假设的保证；隐喻理解的认知过程确实遵循三个步骤：隐喻的识别、语境假设的构建、隐含的获得；冯婥姬的隐喻理解认知过程适用于分析英语广告中的隐喻。

关键词：隐喻 广告 关联理论 假设 隐含

1 Introduction
In modern societies, there is no exaggeration that advertising has spread over every corner of our lives. It has been widely employed in commerce and widespread all over the world since it came into being because of the rapid development of international trade and global economy. As a special form of communication, it is a bridge linking advertisers with audiences, which influences and persuades people to believe and buy the products. It is worth mentioning that metaphor is frequently employed in English advertising as a kind of rhetorical device to help advertising more persuasive and powerful. However, the usage of metaphors in advertising sometimes leads to the opposite result, with audiences unable to understand the flow of message completely.