Linguistic and cultural heterogeneity in contemporary Czech commercial advertising
Kamila Mrázková
Abstract
The article deals with linguistic heterogeneity in commercial advertisements addressed to the Czech-speaking majority audience in the Czech Republic. Analyzing examples predominantly from the Czech press and television advertisements, the author shows, among others, which foreign languages are used, how elements of foreign languages are incorporated into the Czech texts and what their functions are. The most frequent foreign language used here is English, followed (perhaps surprisingly) by Italian, which is associated with advertisements for culinary products. For most of the advertisements analyzed, recipients can do without any profound knowledge of the foreign language being used, and in fact, often no knowledge of it is necessary to understand them. The most important function of the foreign language elements or even some longer texts in the advertisements is to index associated stereotypes. Foreign languages point to foreign countries, nations, cultures and their supposed qualities, e.g. German in advertisements on cars produced by German manufactures refers to the tradition of German engineers and evokes concepts such as exactness or reliability. Even in those cases where some knowledge of the given foreign language is necessary to understand the advertisement, the indexical function of this language is important, but in a different manner: it points to the addressee as to an educated person, a citizen of the world, and the like.
Keywords:
advertising discourse, advertising style, multilingualism, loanwords, English as the language of globalizationReferences
Cook G., 1992, The Discourse of Advertisement, London–New York.
Google Scholar
Čmejrková S., 2000, Reklama v češtinì. Čeština v reklamì, Praha. Jettmarová Z., 1993, Mezitextové vazby a interference v české reklamì.–Spisovná čeština a jazyková kultura, s. 184–187.
Google Scholar
Jettmarová Z., 1998, Spot řebitelská reklama a její p řeklad v České republice (1989–1998). – Čeština doma a ve svìtì, roè. 6, č. 3–4, s. 179–187.
Google Scholar
Kraus J., 1965, K stylu soudobé české reklamy.–Našeřeč roč. 48, č. 4, s. 193–198.
Google Scholar
Mareš P., 1993, P řeklady a p řekrady.– Čeština doma a ve svìtì, roč. 1, è. 1, s. 40–43.
Google Scholar
Mareš P., 2003, „Also nazdar!“ Aspekty textové vícejazy čnosti, Praha.
Google Scholar
Šebesta K., 1990, Reklamní texty, jejich funkce a výstavba, Praha.
Google Scholar
Šimandl J., 2001, Počeš ování a dnešní české tvarosloví.–Univerzália a specifika, s. 265–275.
Google Scholar
Authors
Kamila MrázkováStatistics
Downloads
License
1. Copyrights to published works are held by the University of Opole (to the collective work) and the Authors (to individual parts of the collective work that have an independent meaning).
2. Only previously undistributed works can be published in the scientific journal "Stylistics".
3. The University of Opole does not restrict the possibility of the author's further dissemination of his work on condition that the scientific journal "Stylistics" is indicated as the original place of publication and the consent of the University Publishing House.
4. Consent to the publication of the work in the scientific journal "Stylistics" is tantamount to granting the author a non-exclusive license to the University of Opole, including the right to use the work without territorial restrictions and time limits in the following fields of exploitation:
a) within the scope of recording and multiplication of the work - production of any number of copies of the work in whole or in part using a specified technique, including printing, reprography, magnetic recording and digital technique, introduction of the work into computer memory and computer networks,
b) within the scope of circulation of the original or copies on which the work has been recorded - circulation, lending or hiring of the original or copies,
c) within the scope of dissemination of the work in a manner other than specified in item 2 - making the work or its abstract available on the Internet by enabling the recipients to access the work on-line or enabling them to download the work to their own device that makes it possible to read it, placing the work in electronic databases that disseminate scientific works, including in particular the CEEOL database (Central and Eastern Online Libray) and the abstract in English in the CEJSH database (The Central Europaen Journal of Social Scienes and Humanites).
d) within the scope of creating and distributing dependent works created using the work - using them in the fields of exploitation specified in points 1-3.
5. The author is not entitled to compensation for granting the license to the work.
6. The author agrees that the University may grant further permission to use the work (sublicense) in the fields of exploitation specified in par. 2 paragraph 4.
7. The author agrees that, in connection with the distribution of the work, his or her personal information, that is, name, affiliation, and e-mail address, may be made public.
