摘 要

语言和文化之间有着千丝万缕的联系。任何一种语言都是其文化的载体，而文化又决定并制约着存在于其中的语言。作为一种宣传口号的广告语或许给人仅是种经商手段的印象，其实不然。作为一种应用语言，广告语也同样与文化息息相关。纵使广告语是一种劝说，其主要目的是产品的促销，在我们每日所见的广告语中却不乏众多或一语双关或别出心裁抑或意味深长的经典话语。中国与西方国家有着不同的社会背景与文化底蕴，她们在广告语这一方面也展现着各自独一无二的魅力。本文旨在以广告语作为切入点来窥探中西方文化差异的一隅。本文首先分析中西方广告语中不同方面的差异，如创意立足点的差异、表现形式上的差异、情感上的差异等来对中西方广告语进行一个宏观全面的了解与对比；随后将逐步分析造成中西方广告语中这些差异的原因，如所处不同语言体系、不同社会价值观以及不同思维方式等都决定了这些差异；最后简析广告语对中西方之间文化传播中所做出的贡献并做出总结。
  
关键词：广告语；文化；差异；
 
Abstract

Language and culture are inextricably linked to each other. Every language is the carrier of a culture in which it exists. Meanwhile, every culture decides and restricts its language. As a means of propaganda slogan, advertising language may give people the impression as merely a means of doing business. However, as an applied language, advertising language also reflects a certain culture. Undoubtedly, advertising language is a way of persuasion, aiming to achieve sales promotion. Yet among all the advertisements we see everyday, there are millions of excellent advertising slogans. They may include a pun, a deep meaning between the lines or some classic words which are worth reading more than once. With different social backgrounds and cultural heritage, the advertising languages in China and western countries show their own respective and unique charm. This thesis aims to explore the differences between Chinese and western cultures from the perspective of advertising language. It discusses several aspects of the differences between Chinese and western advertising languages, such as different footings of creativity, different forms of expression, and differences in emotion. Then the reasons of these differences are displayed, such as different language families they belong to, social values, and modes of thinking. Then the article gives a brief introduction of the contribution that advertising languages make to cultural transmission.

Keywords: advertising language; culture; differences;

Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1 History of Advertising
According to historical documents, the word advertise derived from Latin word adverture. Its original meaning is notification, inducement and disclosure. Later, the word adverture evolved to advertise in Middle English (about AD1300-1475), and its meaning got widened. It meant making someone know about something. During middle and late 17th century, as Englishmen began to run business on a large scale, the word advertise became popular. As people have an increasingly deep understanding of advertising, it is endowed with a modern meaning and more frequently used in the economic dimension. In ancient Chinese, there was no such a word as “广告”. This word was not translated into Chinese until the twenties of the 20th century.