the discourse of arabic advertising

8/12/2019 The Discourse of Arabic Advertising

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Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies

THE DISCOURSE OF ARABIC ADVERTISI!"

#RE$I%IAR& IVESTI!ATIOS'()

Adrian Gully

E*ETER

[ABSTRACT:] This article explores the discourse of commercial consumer advertising in the writtenand visual media of Egpt! After setting advertisements in the context of genres and schemas" it

focuses mainl on the relationship #etween language and cultural representation within the discourse ofadvertising! The paper places special emphasis on the role of intertextualit within the advertising

framewor$! %t also assesses the effectiveness of using different language levels in a given advertisementor commercial" and loo$s at the deploment of rhetorical devices to reinforce the advertising message!

&An ad is not a tangi#le or sta#le entit' it is the dnamic snthesis of man components" and comes

into #eing through them&![(]

1. Introduction

The copwriter who is responsi#le for commercial consumer advertisements mustma$e a num#er of conscious decisions to enhance the selling potential of a product:

for instance" the presentation of image' the most efficient use of time when

advertising through the spo$en media" or space when advertising in the written press'

and" of course" the most effective use of language! Ever individual is a consumer at

some point in his or her life" so it is no surprise that in a competitive product mar$et"

advertising techni)ues '+)are often fundamental to the success of a product! At the

forefront of these techni)ues is the &memora#ilit&factor *+eech ,-..:(-/! 0ow man

of us who were exposed to British television advertising in the ,-123s" for instance"

can still recall the famous &Bean4 5ean4 0ein4& endline*i#id!:6-/[7]for the

&0ein4&Ba$ed Beans advertisement!

%n addition to a general interest in the language and techni)ues of commercial

advertising"[8]there were two principal reasons which inspired the present writer to

examine more closel the discourse of Ara#ic in commercial advertisements! 9irstl"

some time ago % discovered a $itchen apron in a local store! rinted on this apron was

an advertisement in Ara#ic for a #rand of corn oil containing the following noun

phrase:

zayt dhura af! &pure corn oil&

Although the advertisement was in a mainl &standard& form of written Ara#ic" this

particular phrase seemed to contain a mixture of standard and dialect forms' in other
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words one would normall have expected the word &pure& to read af(in) in this

context![6]

Secondl" during m teaching career % have consistentl found advertisements to #e

an effective teaching medium! ;wing to their conciseness" the often contain an

a#undance of recurring grammatical structures which fre)uentl trou#le the learner ofAra#ic at all levels! Examples of these are:

i/ the tamyz &specification& construction" used mainl as a comparative or

superlative! %t often occurs in car advertisements" for instance" to emphasi4e that a

ma$e of car is &the most comforta#le and the most luxurious& *al-akthar rahatan wa

l-akthar fakhamatan/ of its $ind!

ii/ the idafa ghayr haqqiyya&the unreal *or 3ad


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to the present writer" however" is that the copwriter appears to have #orrowed a

slogan which is used in British advertising to promote a well>$nown #rand of

alcoholic lager #eer" although one would not expect the Egptian viewer to ma$e this

connection![-]The success of this slogan in promoting the #rand of lager #eer in

Britain has pro#a#l persuaded '0)the copwriter of its potential to promote a widel>

consumed commodit in Egptian societ!

The advertising techni)ue emploed in this example leads us to thin$ immediatel of

the concept of intertextualit which was introduced earlier! %ntertextualit has #een

descri#ed neatl as &texts [which] are recognised in terms of their dependence on

other relevant texts& *0atim and 5ason ,--2:,(2/! Essentiall it amounts to &the

relationship #etween a text and the various languages or signifing practices of a

culture and its relation to those texts which articulate for it the possi#ilities of that

culture& *i#id!:,7," )uoting Coward and Ellis/! Therefore" one reason for the success

of an advertisement or commercial ma well #e the underling relationship #etween

its presentation and a literar association familiar to the target audience!

%n summar" the context of situation" that is" the social situation in which a statement

occurs" is a vital element in our interpretation of the message of advertisements! The

addressee must &draw on different levels of contextual $nowledge to interpret them&

*allace ,-1:(-/! %ndeed" advertisements are one of the most prominent &culture>

specific& *i#id!:,1/ forms of discourse![,2]But it is not onl the situational context of

a statement that determines its form" and the wa it is interpreted" as 9oucault has

shown![,,]The ver#al context" that is" the position of a given statement in relation to

other statements which precede and follow it" is also a fundamental consideration in

this regard! %n the words of 9airclough *,--(:818/" &one must ta$e a step #ac$ to

the discursive formation and the articulation of discursive formations in orders of

discourse to explicate the context>text>meaning relationship&! This relationship will #e

#orne in mind in the next section of this paper which deals with language levels and

rhetorical categories in Ara#ic advertising!

,. 'nalysis of the discourse of 'ra!ic adertising

%t is true that the success of an advertisement depends" in no small part" on '1)the

linguistic dexterit of the copwriter! But the preceding discussion has attempted to

show that there are a num#er of interrelated discursive elements at pla within ever

advertisement! The a#ove>mentioned relationship #etween the situational and ver#al

contexts within Ara#ic advertising will pla a significant role in the followinganalsis! The first issue to #e discussed in this section is code>switching" or code>

mixing!

,.1. ode-switchingcode-mi/ing

@uring the past decade or more" a su#stantial amount of research has #een carried out

into code>switching in Ara#ic![,(]Recent research in the field of sociolinguistics has

often included the categor of code>mixing as a separate variet of switching within

diglossic languages" although this distinction has not #een without controvers!

Crstal3s definition of code>mixing" for instance" is a little indeterminate! %n his view

it amounts to the transferring of linguistic elements from one language into another*,--8:6-/! 0udson3s hpothesis *,--.:67/ is of more relevance" perhaps" to some of
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iii/ The opposite to *ii/ a#ove *television commercials onl/" that is" where the main

register is ECA" #ut where a switch to SA occurs in order to give more information

a#out the product! A good illustration of this can #e found in the commercial for

&Cuddlies& diapers *see Appendix ,/:

kudlz !iyitkawwin min sa!a 2ta!aqat likay yu#akkid rahit wi gafaf 2tiflik&Cuddlies have seven laers to ensure that our child remains comforta#le and

dr&

The reinstatement of the qaf in 2ta!aqatafter it had #een pronounced earlier as

hamza"and the use of the conover reverts to ECA for the final part of the

commercial! %t is )uite conceiva#le in this instance" of course" that the use of ECA

reflects the intuitive choice of register # the native spea$er as she introduces the

product! The switch to SA could easil #e accounted for # the fact that the presenter

is now reading the more detailed elements of the #od cop! %n this case one wouldexpect an adherence to SA phonolog and sntax!

A further example of this categor can #e found in a different advertisement for &Eva&

s$in cream in which the commentator" using exclusivel SA" descri#es the positive

effect on the s$in of proteins contained in the cream! %n the #od cop of the

commercial man of the relevant case>endings are preserved" as in" for example: ! ! ! li

taghdhiyatiha wa ta2triyatiha&in order to '(+)nourish it and $eep it soft&![,.]

0aving descri#ed the product in this manner the commentator reverts to mainl ECA

as he addresses the female consumer directl:

istamilh yomiyyan . . .

&use it dail ! ! !

an!u!a kull(i) talat iyyam wa shuf n-natga

one tu#e ever three das and see the results&

iv/ here the commercial is conducted in ECA" including interviews with consumers"

and the voice>overs are in ECA" #ut the final piece of information a#out the product is

given in SA! An example of this can #e found in the commercial for &Ariel& washing

powder" where the commentator adds the following:

iriyal al-mutawassi2t f thalathat ahgam mukhtalifa

&medium>si4ed Ariel comes in three different si4es&[,1]

;f particular interest in this example is that the commentator has switched from thecollo)uial register to SA" and even maintains the SA pronunciation for the numeral

*three/ which is ver unusual in commercials" as we shall see later! A li$el

explanation for this is that the copwriter wishes to create &attention value& # the

sudden change in the language level! +eech defines &attention value& as follows: &;ne

wa of provo$ing the consumer3s attention and curiosit is to present him with

something surprising and unexpected" and this can #e done as well # the unorthodox

use of language as # an other means ! ! ! perhaps a 3wrong spelling3" or a

grammatical solecism& *,-..:(1/!

*v/ here there is clear evidence of some retention of ira! *case>endings/" a tpe of

advertisement uni)ue to television commercials! This '(,)ma occur in at least threedifferent contexts:
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*a/ %n a formal presentation of a product in which the whole commercial is presented

in SA" as in the one for &Taft& hairspra :

al-shamsu sa2ti . . . himayatun kamila

&the sun is shining ! ! ! complete protection *for our hair/&

*#/ here the language of the television commercial is strictl ECA #ut there areoccurrences of ira!*either for the purposes of rhthm or rhme! An instance of the

former occurs in the commercial for & Snac$& chocolate:

hittatun minnuh !i khamastashar #irsh(i) !ass

&onl fifteen piastres per #ar&

An interesting example of rhme occurs in a television commercial for ful

mudammis#eans:

ana kayyf ful an3 % ain3t foolin3 ! ! !

&%3m a connoisseur offul*#elieve me ! ! !

ana kayyf ful mish ma#ulin

%3m a connoisseur of un#elieva#leful&

The emploment of tanwn in its proper grammatical context as part of the )ualifingad


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%nak wak wu . . . wayfir hathi!!uh

&Snac$ ac$ oo ! ! ! a wafer ou3ll love&

*#/ &Ariel& washing powder with the following endline *and &super&/:

nadafa tzaghlil &da44ling cleanliness&

An interesting illustration of the different phonemic and orthographic representations

of ECA and SA ma #e found in an advertisement for & ;mo& washing powder withthe following endline and &super& :

sha2tartuh f nazaftuh lit: &its cleverness is in its cleanliness&

The word for &cleanliness&" nazafa" is pronounced in the voice>over as nadafa" as in

the previous example"[,-]in spite of its SA orthograph in the &super&! This presents

a rather uni)ue pro#lem which will #e discussed later *see #elow" pp! ,-(2/! '(.)

;n the #asis of these and similar examples it appears that the choice of register is

determined to a degree # the tpe of product! A further illustration of this can #e

found in a commercial for &5il$land& mil$ which is presented exclusivel in ECA!

The endline *as well as the & super&/ reads:

asas li awladik . . . wa humma !iyik!aru

&a #asis for our children ! ! ! as the grow up&

All the commercials in this categor are for non>technical products which are used or

consumed on a dail #asis! The use of the vernacular language is not surprising"

therefore" since the promotional aim would #e to reach as wide an audience as

possi#le! ;ne ma also o#serve how the copwriter in example *ii: a/ a#ove has

contrived a rhming and rhthm pattern to match the morphological pattern of the

ver#! This is particularl appropriate #ecause it creates a sound that would appeal to

children at whom the advertisement is presuma#l aimed!

,.1.$. 6he ase for 7ducated %oken 'ra!ic (7%')

The &Ba# Admiral& advertisement and the &Cuddlies& commercial cited earlier *see

also Appendix , and 9igure 7/ seem to pose a new pro#lem! %n some cases" sections

of television commercials appear to #e a direct representation of the written

information on a product: for instance" of what appears on its la#el" or a formal" ver#al

promotion of its superiorit" as in the television advertisement for &Oisma& shampoo

*Appendix (/ which is #ased on a dialogue in ECA #etween two women! At the

re)uest of the interested consumer" the lad who has tested the product announces the

following:

min khilal dirasat mustafda istamarrit sanawat adda tawaal khu!ar

a# it-tagml ila sham!u #isma al-gadd

&as a result of studies lasting a num#er of ears #eautification experts have

produced the new shampoo from 3Oisma3&

%n general this piece of discourse is devoid of an collo)uial sntactic features"

although it displas some ECA phonological traits such as the ECA &i& suffix vowel

in istamarrit" and the &i& vowel of the definite article! 0owever" it contains an

example of word order which undou#tedl #elongs to SA" that is" the ver# in the

singular preceding its *plural/ su#


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yagal ish-shar dhu !arq &ma$es the hair shine& '(/)

There is clearl an attempt here to continue the description of the product in a more

formal Ara#ic! The result" however" is an interesting one! The use of the &possessive&

dhu in the raf case is incorrect here according to the rules of SA" which would

re)uire it to #e in the na! case" namel" dha! Iiven that the dhalphoneme is

pronounced as a dhal" we ma assume that a SA rendition was intended! 0owever" ifthe word had #een pronouncedzu according to ECA phonologDand it should #e

noted that this word would onl #e used # educated spea$ers in an caseDthen the

grammatical case of the word would have #een unimportant! This suggests that the

conflict of registers in the mind of the copwriter has produced a h#rid" and in this

case" incorrect" form!

The language of the &Ba# Admiral& advertisement is similar to that of an audio

presentation of the tpe that would appear in television commercials' the loc$&

language used here is evidence of this! 0owever" an even more significant point is

that these two advertisements displa features of #oth ECA and SA that suggest" or

reflect" the existence of a h#rid form of language which is certainl not uni)ue to theadvertising situation: that of an Educated Spo$en Ara#ic *ESA/![(2]

%n 5itchell3s view *,-.:,,/" &educated Ara#ic conversation constantl oscillates

#etween written and written>vernacular h#ridi4ation within the scope of a sentence"

phrase" or even word&! 0e adds that &ESA is not to #e seen as one of a series of

separate varieties ! ! ! #ut rather as created and maintained # the constant interpla of

written and vernacular Ara#ic&! The argument for the existence of an ESA in a written

advertisement can onl #e valid" of course" if we agree that its language constitutes an

accurate" written record of what could theoreticall #e a spo$en scenario! Consider the

following example from the Ba# Admiral advertisement:

al-alam kulluhu yatta"ihu ila l-qu2tn

&the whole world is turning to cotton&

This example represents SA in that the voca#ular does not displa an collo)uial

features" #ut the sntax could conceiva#l #elong to ECA" particularl through the use

of the emphatic kull! %n other words" it could #e '(0)read as al-alam kulluh

yattagih! ! ! 5oreover" even the examples tiwaffar and maysarra!sh noted a#ove

would seem to fit the categor of ESA" since neither displas the widel>used

Egptian collo)uial non>past proclitic !i-![(,]9urther evidence to support this

argument can #e found in Badawi *,-17/! According to his classification" the

language of this advertisement would pro#a#l represent the collo)uial language ofthe highl educated person" ammiyyat al-muthaqqafn! %n Badawi3s view" this

register represents &the spo$en counterpart of the writtenfuha al-ar&

*0inds=Badawi ,-.:ix/" which is particularl relevant to our argument here!

Another example that conforms to the theor of ESA #eing proposed here occurs in a

commercial for &Poda$ Iold& camera films! After a song in ECA" the voice>over

presents the following:

film kudak guld yu2tka arwa alwan al-alam . . . awwar !i aflam k

udak guld fa in kanit hilwa ti!#a kudak

&Poda$ Iold film gives ou the most wonderful colours in the world! Ta$epictures with Poda$ Iold and" if the turn out well" the must #e Poda$&!
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Although a switching of codes from SA to ECA would seem to occur at the #eginning

of the sentencefa in kanit! ! ! " the presence of thefatha as the stem vowel in

awwar *as opposed to the SA awwir/ suggests a vernacular infiltration at an earlier

point![((]The choice of the ver#yu2t in preference to the ECAyidd" and the

elative arwa as opposed to ahla or agmal" for example"gives a formal credence to

the nature of the product! The overall impression" therefore" is one of an admixture ofECA and SA which could #e indicative of an ESA!

The following summar outlines some of the main patterns and categories identified

in the foregoing discussion on language levels and code>mixing! %n general it was

found that:

(i) In teleision commercials

*a/ ECA is favoured for dialogue #etween consumers" as one might expect!

'(1)

*#/ SA" including SA phonolog and sntax" is preferred for narrative

advertisements of a scientific nature!

*c/ ECA is often emploed in voice>overs" particularl" although not

exclusivel" for everda consuma#les or domestic products used in the home"

such as washing powders! ECA is also used in &famil& and domestic

situations" particularl in advertisements for children3s products!

*d/ SA *or ESA/ often occurs during the course of a commercial" whether in a

voice>over or as part of a scene involving consumers" to give $e factualinformation a#out the product" either as though it were #eing read from the

la#el or as a direct account of how the product was produced!

(ii) In written adertisements

*a/ some of the patterns identified a#ove also appl to written advertisements!

The use of the vernacular in print is #ecoming more widespread" and it is often

emploed to create the same connotative effect as in television commercials!

*#/ SA is" however" still the exclusive register of & prestige& advertisements!

,.1.&. 8honological mi/ing

Egptian collo)uial Ara#ic displas a num#er of phonological differences from SA

which are sometimes represented in advertising language" particularl on television!

e have alread seen that the"m" for example" is alwas pronounced asgm" even

when the register is SA! The graphemic representation of this consonant" however"

presents no pro#lem! %t remains the same according to either pronunciation! The same

level of simplicit does not o#tain with some of the other consonants which re)uire a

different collo)uial pronunciation!

The consonant qaf retains its SA spelling in & supers& in television commercials evenwhen it is pronounced as a hamza! The word qirsh&piastre&" for instance" is usuall
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pronounced according to the ECA phonological scheme" that is" #irsh" although it

appears in the &super& as qirsh! Another example of this can #e found in the &Ra#so&

washing powder commercial with the following endline:

il-mashuq (ronounced mashu#) il-mutamakkin

&the capa#le washing powder&!;ther consonants pronounced differentl in SA and ECA" however" ma appear

according to either scheme! %n a commercial for Ariel washing powder the za# of the

word nazafa & cleanliness& appears on the screen as a dad'(2)in accordance with

the ECA pronunciation of that word *nadafa/! 0owever" in a commercial for &

ersil& washing powder the SA caption qimmat al-nazafa &the ultimate in

cleanliness& appears as a & super& #ut is read according to the ECA scheme" possi#l

#ecause the whole commercial is presented in that register! hilst this might not

present a pro#lem for the Egptian consumer" it does underline the dilemma facing

the copwriter!

;ne of the #est illustrations of this phenomenon % have encountered so far occurs in acommercial for &Anchor Cheese& with the following endline *and &super&/:

kull(i) ghidha l-la!an a2t-2ta!

&all the nourishment of natural mil$&

;f particular interest here is that the commentator pronounces the word for

&nourishment& asgh9za" there# intending an ECA representation! 0owever" the

consonant dhal:which often #ecomeszayn in ECADis retained in the spelling" #ut

the hamza of the SA word" vi4!"ghidha#" is omitted! hat appears on the screen"

therefore" is a h#rid version which is neither a correct orthographic version of the SA

word" nor a true phonemic representation of its ECA variant!

,.1.,. ;e/ical "mi/ing

To date % have found ver little evidence of code>mixing at the level of individual

lexemes! 0owever" the examples % have located so far are of some interest!

9irst" with regard to the adver#ial &onl& there is a propensit in television

advertisements delivered in ECA for the use of !ass" as in the commercial for

&Snac$& chocolate wafers" for instance:

khamastashar #irsh(i) !ass &onl fifteen piastres&0owever" the more standardfaqa2t also occurs in advertisements presented in pure

ECA" such as the one for &Snac$& chocolate #ars:

khamsa wi ishrn #irsh(i) faqa2t &onl twent>five piastres&

These two examples appeared consecutivel during one commercial slot" and it is

interesting that a different adver# should have #een used in each" although two ver

similar products were #eing advertised in almost identical language! A possi#le

explanation for the use of the more formalfaqa2t is that it actuall appears on the

screen with the num#er" whereas !ass does not" although we have alread seen that

ECA now appears regularl in script on the television screen and in the written media!

%t was pointed out earlier" however" that the inclusion of a more formal word during a

commercial in '+3)ECA ma increase the &attention value&!


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A close scrutin of a television advertisement for &Bic& pens also suggests an

intentional emploment of a SA word in the course of a & catch& song a#out the

product in ECA! ;n this occasion the copwriter has selected the word raf &fine& to

descri#e the ni# of the pen #ecause the context re)uires a word to rhme with mawa-

d &su#


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sugar! 9rom this #rief" #ut su#tle" advertisement" the consumer ma conclude that this

#rand of tea re)uires La$hletein&" where the word nakhlaten &two palm trees& is followed

immediatel #:

al-hu!! f akliten &ou3ll love it immediatel& *H:72=8=-8/

=. +is"unctie language

+eech maintains *,-..:-7/ that disfinite clauses which do not re)uire a &finite predicator& *i!e!" a ver#/!

erhaps the most significant difference #etween these clauses in dis%slamic times! As we shall see shortl" Ara# advertising copwriters often

use to full advantage the strict morphological forms of words in their language!

>.1 8arallelism

arallelisms" or &formal schemes& *i#id!:,-2/" appear to #e as much a characteristic of

Ara#ic advertising as the are of English! %n +eech3s view *i#id!:,8./" parallelism is

one of the devices of & co>ordination at group ran$& level which he considers to #e &anespeciall cohesional factor in advertising language&"[(6]particularl in dis


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language situations where &the group tends to #e the largest unit to pla a significant

role in communication&! The main effect of this device would seem to #e a

reinforcement of the )ualities of a product in an almost mnemonic fashion through a

repetition of linguistic patterns!

There are man examples of parallelism to #e found in Ara#ic television commercialsand press advertisements! As in English" this device is normall assisted # la>out!

Examples of parallelism in Ara#ic are exemplified # the following phrases ta$en

from the advertisement for &Spar$le& shampoo:

li l-shar al-duhn &for oil hair&

li l-shar al-"aff &for dr hair& '+,)

li l-shar al-ad &for normal hair&

A similar example was found in a press advertisement for &Toota& vehicles! Thetechni)ue is enhanced # the printing of the adover is the rhthmic effect created # the

precise staccato reading of each line!


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orth of note here is that had the word miyya#een pronounced in its SA form"

namel" mi#a" it would not have #een possi#le to create a perfect rhme with the SA

feminine singular free>standing pronoun hiya! 0owever" the ECA variant hiyya

rhmes perfectl with miyya! %n this connection" there are other occasions when the

choice of ECA as the register for an advertisement ma well have #een influenced #

the ensuing rhme! %t is clear that an effective rhme can #e an important promotionaldevice for a product! Consider" for instance" the following commercial for &Iawhara&

tea:

shay shay shay . . . shuf 2tamuh gaml izzay

&tea" tea" tea ! ! ! see how wonderful it tastes&

An important aspect of this example is that ver few appropriate words in SA would

rhme with the wordshay" #ut the expression izzayprovides the copwriter with a

solution since it not onl rhmes perfectl withshay" #ut it also fits neatl here in its

normal post>posed sntactic position!

Another popular rhme scheme is #ased on the ad


19/41

example of pararhme ta$en from the endline *and &super&/ of the commercial for

&5il$Gana& cheese would also have #een an example of"inas lafz" #ut for the

difference in one vowel:

gi!na milkana . . . !i 2t-2taqa malyana

&5il$Gana cheese is full of energ&The pararhme in this example is created # the words milkana and malyana! %t is

interesting to note that rhme and assonance is onl possi#le here # means of a

change in word order! Although the inversion is not sntacticall incorrect" the

resultant word order is less common and would normall onl occur for emphasis!

An example of a techni)ue often used insa" literature" in which two partiall

snonmous and similar sounding nouns are placed in close proximit" can #e found

in an advertisement for &;lmpic Electric& ice>tan$s:

khayr rafq wa adq li kulli afrad al-usra

&the #est friend and companion for all mem#ers of the famil& *H (=6=-8/'+0)

A further illustration of this appears in a maga4ine advertisement for & IA;;H&

television and video e)uipment:

amma l-ura fa hiya f ghayat al-naqa# wa l-afa#

&the picture is of the utmost clarit& *5 6=,(=-8/

%n most cases a product3s name is not derived from an identifia#le root in the Ara#ic

language! 0owever" a copwriter3s a#ilit to create rhming schemes does not seem to

#e impaired # this fact! An example of this is the #rand of cheese called &5il$Gana&

mentioned a#ove! Consider also the following slogan from the television commercial

for & +as?d& lice>remover" for example:

laysd !i t-ta#kd huwwa l-mufd

&+as?d for sure is the one to use& *H (=6=-8/

%n this example the copwriter emplos rhme for maximum mnemonic effect"

selecting nouns and participles #earing the ending >d! Another product with a name

that lends itself well to rhme is a multi>purpose cleaning li)uid called &+?4Ga&! There

are two separate commercials for this product with the following respective endlines:

lza . . . yikhall kull(i) haga lazza

&+?4Ga ! ! ! ma$es everthing reall nice&

or:

lza . . . mufaga#atuh lazza

&+?4Ga ! ! ! it #rings lovel surprises&%n cases such as these" is at least a part of the slogan or signature line conceived of

#efore the #rand name %f the #rand name were alwas chosen #efore the slogan

perhaps it would not #e so eas for the copwriter to create appropriate and effective

rhmes to promote the product![(]

There are also examples in which the sense of the signature line" or endline" appears

to have #een directed # the copwriter3s efforts to create a rhme scheme! ;ne such

instance is the commercial for &ert lus& shampoo" which ta$es the form of a

dialogue in ECA #etween two oung ladies! 0ere is the endline for this

advertisement: '+1)


20/41

sham!u irt i-ughayyar . . . yama !iyghayyar

&small si4e ert shampoo ! ! ! see how much it changesN&

The implication here" of course" is that using this #rand of shampoo changes one3s hair

to ma$e it attractive! As the voice>over remar$s earlier:

li sh-shar ig-gazza! min gher aza!

&for attractive hair without an hassle&0owever" there is little dou#t that the meaning of the endline displas a vagueness

which would #e unaccepta#le in non>advertising language!

%n addition to the use of certain regular morphological patterns in the language of

advertisements" the copwriter ma$es fre)uent use of specific tpes of grammatical

structures to conve the )ualities of a product! ;ne of these structures is the tamyz

&specification& mentioned earlier! Consider this cluster of such structures ta$en from

the & I5C& ad for water heaters:

al-aqwa ada#an . . . al-akthar wafran

&the #est performer ! ! ! the most economical

al-awthaq damanan . . . al-adman amanan

the most relia#le ! ! ! the safest&

There are two points to #e made here! 9irst" the wide range of adthirds of the one>page advertisement is given over to a large picture of an

imposing modern #uilding #elonging to that compan! A#ove the picture is written in

large" #oldface tpe:

saud l-intima# &of Saudi origin&

and #elow it:

wa alam l-ada#

&and carries out its #usiness world>wide& *% 6=,,=-8/

The contiguit of these two structures creates a rhming effect #ased on the final > a#of the ver#al nouns intima# and ada#" and highlights the national *and therefore

Ara#/ origin of the compan on the one hand and its '+2)enormous international

importance on the other![(-]

>.&. 'lliteration

%n its strictest sense alliteration onl occurs where there is repetition of the initial

consonant or consonant cluster" as in this example ta$en from +eech *,-..:,1/:

&Built Better # Burco for ou&! +eech o#serves" however *,-.-:-(/" that it is &the

main stressed slla#le of a word which generall carries the alliteration" not

necessaril its initial slla#le&! ;nl one example of conventional alliteration wasfound in the material used for this preliminar stud" a disappointingl low num#er
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compared to" sa" English advertising where alliteration is a common device! The

following example is from the endline for the television commercial for &Snac$&

chocolate wafers:

snak . . . il-wayfir ish-sha#iyya ish-shahiyya min kad!ir

&Snac$ ! ! ! the naught" tast wafer from Cad#ur&The alliteration here is created # the initialsh-phonemes of the wordssha#iyya and

shahiyya! +eech *i#id!:-(/ calls this an example of &reverse rhme&" in which words

share an initial vowel sound in addition to the sound of the initial consonant or

consonant cluster![72]

@. %ynta/

There are man aspects of sntax in the language of advertising that merit a detailed

stud! This discussion will #e restricted to a few $e areas that illustrate an

unorthodox use of language" #ut which also show that apparent anomalies within the

sntax can often #e attri#uted to a deli#erate choice of one linguistic register inpreference to another!

@.1. 7laties (comaraties and suerlaties)

As one might expect" the use of the superlative is extremel common in advertising

language! Some examples of this have alread #een given *a#ove p!(/" so this

categor need not detain us here! ;f more interest within the elative categor is the

emploment of the comparative! ',3)

Iiven the restrictions imposed on the copwriter when comparing his or her productto similar ones"[7,]it is not surprising that comparatives in advertising are normall

un)ualified! e can sa" therefore" that their use is indeterminate! +eech *,-..:,.,/

remar$s that &comparative ad


22/41

washing clothes with plain water" which might not #e such an unli$el activit

amongst poorer people in the 5iddle East[7(]

The following example is one of the #est illustrations of the cultural am#iguit that

ma accompan the use of the un)ualified comparative! %n a press advertisement for

the &hopper& meat #urger we find the following:

a2tya! li#annahu mashw &more delicious #ecause it is grilled& *O (2=,=-8/

This example raises a num#er of issues! 9irst" we cannot assume that the ',()

copwriter3s intention is the same as it might #e in a similar advertisement in a more

cholesterol>conscious western culture" namel" that grilled meat is healthier than" sa"

fried meat" although this cannot #e ruled out! Second" does the advertisement suggest

that the &hopper& #urger is #etter than other #urgers #ecause it is grilled ;r could

it #e that the status of the #urger has #een elevated here to that of a more expensive

meat" such as ka!a!" which is a favourite dish of people throughout the Ara#>

spea$ing world" andwhich is normall grilled

@.$. 6he ader!ial fa)at

%t was suggested earlier *p! (2/ that the distri#ution of either the SA faqa2t or ECA

!ass to render the adver# &onl" 0assan *,-11:,(6/" &the

word = fa)aT = has no invaria#le position in Classical Ara#ic&' in other words it ma

occur directl after the su#0assan does not deal

with its occurrence in the initial position in a sentence!

%n the material used in this present stud the adver#ial faqa2t often occurred in the

initial position! Ta$e the following" for instance:

faqa2t akhsha! 2ta!iyya

&onl natural wood& *H (=6=-6/

al-iqtiad al-haqq . . . faqa2t min sayyaratika tuyuta

&real econom ! ! ! onl from our Toota car& *O (8=(=-6/

faqa2t tuyuta wahdaha tahtafizu !i "awdatiha

&onl Toota alone maintains its )ualit ! ! ! &*O (8=(=-6/

There are two plausi#le explanations for this unconventional word order! El>0assan

*i#id!:,(8/ )uotes examples given # Blanc in his speech surve offaqa2t occurring

in initial position where one might have expected the collo)uial !ass! This suggests

that the position offaqa2t in the a#ove examples could well have #een determined #

the copwriter3s own stle of language" in particular # his own dialect! The other

possi#le influence on the word order here" of course" is a western language such as

English" of which the last two examples at least could #e a direct translation!


23/41

%n either case it is interesting that such examples should occur in written Ara#ic"

although one should not #e surprised at the adver#ialfaqa2t appearing in sentence>

initial position in the spo$en medium" as we have


24/41

The occurrence of conditional>tpe sentences with conditional particles in Ara#ic

advertising is not uncommon! %n a previous article" however" the present writer

suggested that the conventional rules pertaining to the use of conditional particles are

either fre)uentl ignored in modern written Ara#ic *Iull ,--7: 862/" or have

#ecome su#

past tense of the ver# &to #e&" which in itself is a more recent development of SA! %n

this example ta$en from a commercial for &Hitrac&


25/41

mahma! Additionall" the conventional rules of SA re)uire the ver# following the

particle to #e in either the past tense or


26/41

is interesting that this phenomenon appears in a &super&" and is not conditioning sstems! A large #oldface headline announcing the two

main tpes of sstems offered # this compan is followed immediatel #:

ladayna l-ithnayn

&we have got them #oth& *D =6=-8/

According to the conventional rules of SA" the noun for &two& should read here as al-

ithnan" in the raf case!

Another example of the use of ECA numerals in an exclusivel SA narrative occurs in

a television advertisement for &9arco& Roal ell! The commentator announces the

availa#le potencies of the product # saing:

!i tarkz miyya aw miyyaten

&*availa#le in/ concentrations of one hundred or two hundred&

or the following:

!i tarkzin alin . . . suttumiyya

&in high concentration *of/ six hundred&

1D. Eurther cultural elements in the discourse of 'ra!ic adertising

This paper has alread made fre)uent reference to Ara# culture as it is reflected in the

discourse of Ara#ic advertising! %n this final section" more attention will #e given to

the relationship #etween language *the ver#al context/ and culture *the situational

context/" as reflected in the materials % have used!

A useful starting point for this discussion is Suleiman3s article *,--7/" in which he

examined the #enefits of teaching culture to non>native spea$ers of Ara#ic through a

num#er of different media! %n the section on advertisements *i#id!:11-/ he points

out how the often reflect &shifts in the political climate& within a countr! To

illustrate this he gives an example from a Saudi newspaper advertising a #rand of

men3s aftershave called &Q!S!A!& with the following caption: quwwat al-aifa

&strength of the storm&! This caption not onl creates an appropriate image of the

potenc of the product" ',0)#ut also evo$es the close relationship #etween the QnitedStates and Saudi Ara#ia after the Iulf ar in ,--, through a reference to the &@esert

Storm& operation against %ra)i forces in Puwait!

;ne of the man devices availa#le to the copwriter is visual pun and metaphor"

although it is fair to sa that in the Ara#ic context the levels of su#tlet var a great

deal! %n the commercial for a #rand of ghee called & Balad?&" for instance" a woman is

dressed in the traditional attire of women in the countrside to correspond with the

name of the product! A further example from this categor is the commercial for FAr

Gusa tea *a#ove p! ./! The oriental music which accompanies this commercial" and the

pure" virginal connotations of the female dressed in #ridal attire" represent two ver

culture>specific associations in the 5uslim world! This tpe of commercialcorresponds to Coo$3s argument *,--(:8-/ that &man ads create powerful and


27/41

complex messages entirelDor almost entirelDthrough pictures and music" and are

virtuall language>free&! As we saw earlier" this commercial is language>free!

Another important feature of advertising discourse is paralanguage" which Coo$

defines *i#id!:,/ as &meaningful #ehaviour accompaning language& ! hilst it is true

that paralanguage is pro#a#l more immediatel associated with &live& presentation#ecause of the factors of gesture" expression" or intonation" for instance" Coo$ has

shown that its value in written texts should not #e overloo$ed! 0e adds *i#id!:11/ that

&the num#er of was in which advertising exploits the paralanguage of writing is

staggeringl large&! An example of this can #e seen in the maga4ine advertisement for

&ar$er @uofold& pens *O,-=,2=-8/ in which an Ara# of erudite appearance" wearing

a headdress" is pictured sitting at a des$ writing with one of these pens! ritten a#ove

him in a ver neat and mature hand>written script is the following:

inna fanna l-kita!a mithl al-talm . . . la tuqaddar qmatuha l-haqqiyya

illa !i l-nudu"

&the art of writing is li$e education ! ! ! its real value can onl #e appreciatedwith maturit&

;ne assumes that the reference to &maturit& is aimed principall at the experience

and long>standing excellence of ar$er pens" #ut also that the image of the Ara# in

headdress is intended to represent maturit through $nowledge and experience! The

handwriting used in this advertisement is significant #ecause it too represents

maturit" and in a culture where calligraph has #een elevated to a revered status

throughout histor it is sure to ma$e a greater impact on the addressee! The choice of

formal language in ',1)this advertisement is also significant" and is underlined

especiall # the use of the nominali4ing particle inna!

%n the commercial forful#eans produced # the compan called &K0adGai) PGal?f

GurniGa& *a#ove" p! ,8/" the switch from ECA to American English would pro#a#l

onl ma$e an impression on middle>class" educated people" at whom this commercial

appears to #e aimed! The same applies to the use of tanwn in the commercial

descri#ed a#ove! Althoughful#eans are an essential part of the Egptian staple diet

it is most unli$el that poorer" uneducated people could afford to #u the #rand of

#eans #eing advertised here! This language switch reflects" therefore" the tpe of

consumer for whom the product is intended! ;ther factors in the commercial help to

create the appropriate environment for the promotion of the product" such as the

esterni4ed &cow#o& dress of the singers" and the catch tune which is again

sm#olic of the est![71]

The su#tle incorporation of culture>specific features in advertising discourse is to #e

found in man Ara#ic advertisements! ;ne such example is the & American Express&

card advertisement with the following invitation to the consumer:

istamilha li shira# hadiyya li zaw"atika . . .

&use it to #u a present for our wife ! ! ! & *% 72=,(=-8/

The consumer is then invited to use the card to purchase a to for his child" or to

invite a friend to supper! These invitations evo$e the strong famil ties and hospitalit

which are a fundamental part of Ara# culture!
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28/41

;ne of the most appealing examples of advertisements adopting the intertextual

approach is the one for &9ord Ranger& pic$>up truc$s! The advertisement is headed #

the following text in large #oldface *a further example of a paralinguistic device/ to

attract the consumer" and to discoursal& techni)ue *Coo$ ,--(:,-2/" in which an

advertisement &contains ',2)the voice of another discourse tpe" as when [it] evo$es

$nowledge of a film or stor&![7]%t is worth has also #een emploed to good effect

# some writers of modern Ara#ic literature! Su#class couple"

with a piano and good>)ualit furniture in the #ac$ground! %n this instance" we ma

presume that # switching the conventionall expected scenarios the sender is

attempting to illustrate that these #rands are suita#le for everone" in terms of cost in

the case of the &Ariel& example" and )ualit in the case of the &Ra#so& one! [7-]

Another illustration of the relationship #etween text and context ma #e identified in

the morpholog of the ver#! Since Ara#ic is one of those languages reflecting genderin the direct address forms" the use of imperative ver#s gives a clear indication of who

is #eing addressed # a particular advertisement! %n the &American Express&

advertisement" the imperative istamilha &use it& is directed principall at a male

audience" which creates the assumption that the man is more li$el to possess a credit

card! Similarl" it is perhaps not surprising that an advertisement for &ower& air>

conditioning '-3)machines is directed at men" not


29/41

%n spite of the outstanding )ualit of some Egptian products and wor$manship" there

remains a tendenc for copwriters to stress the &foreign& association with a product

where appropriate! 9or example" in an advertisement for &@aha#& women3s clothes the

main caption reads:

dhawq farans . . . qu2tn mir&9rench taste ! ! ! Egptian cotton& *H (=6=-8/

or for &OaUr BaGan& curtains and furniture covers:

ala ahdath al-adhwaq wa l-mudlat al-uru!iyya wa l-amrkiyya

&according to the most recent American and European tastes and designs& *H

(=6=-8/

The following example for &Aracemco& sanitar>ware is also of this tpe:

inta" wa2tan mu2ta!iq li l-muwaafat al-uru!iyya

&national production *made/ according to European specifications& *H

72=8=-8/

e shall end this paper # paing particular attention to one of the most interesting

commercials to present itself during this stud! The commercial for &Pnorr& stoc$cu#es appears to encapsulate the essential relationship #etween text and context which

has #een the focus of much of this paper! %t ma$es use of a ver specific form of

intertextualit to achieve maximum effect!

%n this commercial" two chic$ens are discussing the versatilit of the product in a

light>humoured fashion! The are sitting in a $itchen inventing rhming riddlesDin

high>pitched cartoon tpe voicesDplaing the Egptian game of #afya" a form of

witt repartee in which one person #egins a riddle # ma$ing a statement" the

recipient poses the )uestion ishmina&wh&" and the person who made the original

statement formulates a repl which ma or ma not rhme with his or her original

statement" #ut which contains a pun![82]%n this commercial the $e promotional

effect is made" and maintained" '-()# a constant repetition of the words mara#it kn

ur &Pnorr stoc$&" followed # the name of a well>$nown Egptian dish whose

flavour would naturall #e enhanced" or not as the case ma #e" # the addition of

&Pnorr& stoc$! The )uestion ishmina is then followed # a repl that rhmes with

the name of the dish" irrespective of its nonsensical meaning! 9or example:

Chic$en ,: mara#it knur fi k-kosa &Pnorr Stoc$ with 4ucchini&

Chic$en (: ishminaG&h&

Chic$en ,: hat yakht !osa &Iive us a $iss" sister N&

or the following:

Chic$en ,: mara#it knur f l-mahsh &Pnorr Stoc$ with vine leaves&

Chic$en (: ishmina &h&

Chic$en (: ma yinfash(i) &That3s no goodN&

erhaps the cleverest example of these exchanges is the following:

Chic$en ,: mara#it knur f l-mulukhiyya &Pnorr Stoc$ with mulu$hia&


30/41

Chic$en (: ishmina &h&

Chic$en ,: il-mara#a il-haddiyya &%ron Stoc$& *or &the %ron +ad&/

%n order to understand the pun on the last line here" one must have some awareness of

the political situation in Ireat Britain at the end of the ,-23s when 5argaretThatcher was rime 5inister! 0er reputation as the &%ron +ad& was also well>$nown

in the 5iddle East![8,]

;f particular interest in the commercial is that it was presuma#l aimed at women" et

the game of #afyais normall a male pastime! %n Egpt these ver#al exchanges

normall ta$e place at night around the hoo$ah pipe! %t seems li$el therefore" that the

aim of the commercial is to achieve maximum &attention value& # ma$ing a

predominantl male activit the focus of a commercial aimed at women!

11. onclusion

This paper has ac$nowledged the importance of advertisements as a genre in their

own right" and has proposed the view that the discourse of advertisements '-+)is

often a reflection of the culture of its people! The techni)ue of intertextualit is often

fundamental to the promotional success of a commercial or advertisement! %t is true

that the message of an advertisement is more li$el to ma$e an impression on a

consumer if it contains more & attention value&! As we have seen" there are a num#er

of techni)ues availa#le to the copwriter to achieve this! Among the most important

of these techni)ues is intertextualit" which creates a sense of familiarit for the

consumer through a literar or musical association" for instance! This techni)ue might

prove ver effective in persuading him or her to purchase a product!

This stud has also tempted to show that although some linguistic features are more

li$el to #e found in the language of Ara#ic advertising than in other varieties of

Ara#ic" the language of the former should not #e seen as a violation of more standard

forms of the language! There is much wor$ to #e done on the current state of modern

Ara#ic itself" so it would #e inappropriate to argue at this stage that advertising

language is simpl an a#errant form of this!

e have seen that the advertising copwriter often mixes linguistic levels" or codes"

and that in man cases one can identif patterns for these switches! A specific

linguistic code is often selected either for connotative or referential purposes" or tocreate a rhme" for example" which might not have #een possi#le without switching

codes!

Some of the techni)ues emploed in Ara#ic advertising ma #e compared to those of

British advertising" #ut the fundamentall different structures of the two languages

means that a direct comparison would not necessaril #e the wa forward![8(]The

techni)ue of punning at the lexical level" for instance" is more common in English

advertising language! 9or example" the phenomenon of lexical lending&" so

common in British advertising" is scarcel to #e found in Ara#ic! hilst man

examples such as &Schweppervescence& *for &Schweppes& fi44 drin$s/ occur in the

former" ingenious coinings li$eEantaish *for the fi44 drin$ &9anta&/ are rare inAra#ic![87]'-,)
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31/41

5uch more could #e said a#out ver#al groupsDfor example" the use of tense and

aspect in advertisingDor nominal and ad


32/41

Consumer: iddn s-sirr f saadtik d kullahaG

@emonstrator: a!adan ghasalt(i) shar !i sham!u #isma l-gadd

Consumer: eh hiketuh daG

@emonstrator: min khilal dirasat mustafda istamarrit sanawat adda tawaal

khu!ara# it-tagml ila sham!u #isma l-gadd

Consumer: mawgud dilwa#tG

@emonstrator: wi talat anwa kaman . . . li sh-shar ig-gaff . . . li sh-shar id-

duhn wi li sh-shar il-ad . . . gawda aliya f t-tark! . . . ra#iha

mutamayyiza . . . yagal ish-shar dhu !arq . . . sham!u #isma l-gidd . . . huwwa

ill f khayal

Consumer: wi siruh ad

Translation

C: &h are ou so happ&

@: &%t3s no secret! ! ! ! % washed m hair with new &Oisma& shampoo!&

C: &Tell me a#out it!&

@: &As a result of studies lasting a num#er of ears #eautification experts haveproduced the new shampoo from Oisma!&

C: &%s it availa#le now&

@: &[Ves]" and in three si4es ! ! ! for dr" greas and ordinar hair! ! ! ! it has a

distinctive smell ! ! ! and a high>)ualit composition! ! ! ! %t ma$es the hair shine! ! ! !

Oisma shampoo is the one for meN&

C: &And it is reasona#l priced!& '-.)

REFERECES

ABQ>5E+0%5" AB@E+>RA05AL! ,--,! &Code>Switching and +inguistic

Accommodation in Ara#ic&! %n8ersecties on 'ra!ic ;inguistics IIIA 8aers from

the 6hird 'nnual %ymosium on 'ra!ic ;inguistics" edited # Bernard Comrie and

5ushira Eid! Amsterdam and hiladelphia: ohn Ben


33/41

B+ALC" 0! ,-.2! &Stlistic Hariation in Spo$en Ara#ic: a Sample of %nterdialectal

Conversation&! %n ontri!utions to 'ra!ic ;inguistics" edited # C!A! 9erguson!

5iddle Eastern 5onograph Series no! 7! Cam#ridge" 5assachusetts: 0arvard

Qniversit Center for 5iddle Eastern Studies! ,,6.!

C;;P" IQV! ,--(! 6he +iscourse of 'dertising! +ondon and Lew Vor$:Routledge!

CRVSTA+" @AH%@! ,--8!' +ictionary of ;inguistics and 8honetics! 7rd ed!

;xford: Blac$well!

@VER" I%++%AL! ,-(!'dertising as ommunication! +ondon: 5ethuen!

E%@" 5QS0%RA! ,-(! &The Lon>Randomness of @iglossic Hariation&! 0lossa

,.:688!

E%@" 5QS0%RA! ,-7! &The Communicative 9unction of Su#Switching #etween Standard and

Egptian Ara#ic&! al-'ra!iyya (,:6,1-!

E%@" 5QS0%RA! ,--(! &@irectionalit in Ara#icEnglish Code>Switching&! %n 6he

'ra!ic ;anguage in 'merica" edited # Alea Rouchd! @etroit: ane StateQniversit ress! 621,!

E+>0ASSAL" S0A0%R A! ,-11! &Educated Spo$en Ara#ic in Egpt and the +evant:

a Critical Review of @iglossia and Related Concepts&!'rchium ;inguisticum -:7(

61!

9A%RC+;QI0" L! ,--(!+iscourse and %ocial hange! Cam#ridge: olit ress!

9RASER" I! S! ,-12!Hetre* ?hyme and Eree Jerse. Critical %diom Series! +ondon:

5ethuen!

IE%S" 5%C0AE+ +! ,-(! 6he ;anguage of 6eleision 'dertising! Lew Vor$:

Academic ress!

IQ++V" A@R%AL! ,--7! &The Changing 9ace of 5odern ritten Ara#ic: an

Qpdate&! al-'ra!iyya (.:,-6-!

0%L@S" 5ART%L and BA@A%" E+>SA%@! ,-.!' +ictionary of 7gytian 'ra!ic

*'ra!icK7nglish/! Beirut: +i#rairie du +i#an!

0;+ES" Clive! ,--6!Hodern 'ra!icA %tructures* Eunctions and Jarieties! +ongman

+inguistics +i#rar! +ondon: +ongman! '-/)


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0;+5ES" ALET! ,--7!'n Introduction to %ociolinguistics! 7rd ed! +ondon:

+ongman!

0Q@S;L" R! A! ,--.! %ociolinguistics! (nd ed! Cam#ridge: Qniversit ress!

%SB%R" 5QK0A55A@ SAFW%@ and QLAV@W%" B%+XA+! ,-,!al-%hamilAmu"am f ulum al-lugha al-ara!iyya wa mu2talahatiha.Beirut: @Gar al>

FAwda!

+EEC0" IE;99REV L! ,-.7! &@is+ife

9ormal Ara#ic&! al-'ra!iyya (8:7,.8!

SQ+E%5AL" VAS%R! ,--7! &TA9+ and the Teaching=+earning of Culture:

Theoretical erspectives and an Experimental 5odule&! al-'ra!iyya (.:.,,,,!

SA+ES" ! ,--2! 0enre 'nalysisA 7nglish in 'cademic and ?esearch %ettings.

Cam#ridge: Qniversit ress!

T;;+AL" 5%C0AE+! ,-! &The +anguage of ress Advertising&! %n?egisters of

Mritten 7nglishA %ituational Eactors and ;inguistic Eeatures" edited # 5! Ihadess!

;pen +inguistic Series! +ondon: inter! 6(.8!

HA+ETTE" REBECCA! ,-.! &The Culture Test&! %n ulture LoundA Lridging the

ultural 0a in ;anguage" edited # oce 5errill Haldes" ,1--1!

A++ACE" CAT0ER%LE! ,--(!?eading! +anguage Teaching: a Scheme forTeacher Education Series! ;xford: Qniversit ress!


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E0R" 0ALS! ,-1.!' +ictionary of Hodern Mritten 'ra!ic. 7rd edition! Lew

Vor$: %thaca ress!

%@@;S;L" 0! ,-7!;earning 8urose and ;anguage Nse! ;xford: Qniversit

ress! '-0)

6e7 to ma8a9ines and ne:s4a4ers referred to in t;e te5t

H Y 34awa#

D YCif al-+unya

U Y al-Nsra

O Yardat Nman

% Y al-Hushahid

U Y al-Nsra

HA& Y al-34ayat

SA Y al-%harq al-'wsa2t *newspaper/

All television commercials are ta$en from two collections of video recordings madein ,-- and ,--8! The advertisements were all recorded from Egptian television

Channel Two! '-1)


36/41

Fi8ure ('-2)


37/41


38/41


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[,6]There is also another possi#le interpretation of the tpe of language used in this

advertisement' for this" see #elow p! ,.ff!

[,.]See also #elow" categor *v/: c!

[,1]Throughout this article % am ta$ing the Egptian rendering of the"m asgm to #ea regular feature of an educated Egptian3s pronunciation of SA! Therefore it does not

follow that an script or dialogue #earing thegm necessaril constitutes an example

of ECA! ar$inson has demonstrated *,--,:68ff!/ in his &+istening 5atched Iuise

Experiment& that the ma


40/41

[(8]+eech *,-..:,.1/ defines a &scheme& in this context as &a correspondence or

partial identit *over and a#ove the degree of identit inherent in language structure/

#etween e)uivalent pieces of text in proximit&!

[(6]The three main tpes of co>ordination are: lin$ing" parataxis" and apposition

*i#id!:,8./!

[(.]Although these examples are good illustrations of traditional consonant rhme

schemes" it is worth pointing out that rhme and rhthm patterns are often enhanced

# the common occurrence of the feminine noun and ada(h) in pausal form' for instance" the noun inaya &care& mentioned a#ove" or the

adiyya!

[7,]Copwriters are not permitted to claim that their product is of a higher )ualitthan another named product!

[7(]%t will # now #e apparent to readers familiar with British advertising that man

of the slogans alread presented in this stud #ear a strong resem#lance to their

British counterparts! %n such cases as the &@a4& slogan" we have a direct translation

from the English! hat is interesting is that the Ara#ic language displas the same

potential to #e used in an unorthodox manner!

[77]%n +eech3s view" when normall &


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[78]According to 5eiseles3 classification *,-2:,(-/ the numerals listed # El>

0assan #elong to the categor of &;ral +iterar Ara#ic& rather than ESA! 5eiseles

#ases his argument on the fact that one of the most distinguishing features of ;+A is

its tendenc to restore ira! vowels as well as the &*sntacticall/ functionless harak

at awakhir al-kalim&!

[76]%t is impossi#le to ascertain the register of the num#er itself #ecause it is given in

Ara#ic numerals" not words!

[7.]The na! case on unuran ghidha#iyyan asasiyyan in the main text could #e

owing to its grammatical status as a direct o#$noc$&

the discourse of arabic advertising

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