A Pragmatic Analysis of Deixis in Automobile’s Advertising Slogans

Cite this article as: Abubakar, U.A. & Abubakar, G.I. (2023). A Pragmatic Analysis of Deixis in Automobile’s Advertising Slogans. Tasambo Journal of Language, Literature, and Culture, (2)1, 65-72. www.doi.org/10.36349/tjllc.2023.v02i01.008.

Abstract

This paper tends to study the way deixis is used and performed varieties of functions in the slogans of automobile advertisements. The paper aimed at identifying and examining the usage of deixis in some selected slogans of automobiles advertisement that were enacted to companies. The data collected for this research were sourced from the internet. To attain the desired aim of the paper, the Gracean Cooperative Principle was employed as the framework of the analysis. The analysis revealed that, out of thirty-three (33) slogans collected, only eleven (11) were systematically selected and analyzed. The findings also revealed that all four maxims were flouted in the advertising English slogans, while maxims of quality and relation were the most violated in all the instances. It can be understood that automobile slogans utilized a high level of the maxim of manner. This paper confirmed that language is the most important tool of communication and social interaction between one-to-one or one-to-many in the exchange of information, ideas and attitudes, especially in advertisements.

Keywords: Pragmatic, Deixis, Advertising, Slogan, Automobile

BY

Abubakar Usman Abubakar
Department of English and French, Umaru Musa Yar’adua University, Katsina
abuusmanabu9@gmail. com
07038752448

&

Gambo Idris Abubakar
College of Education Gumel, Jigawa State
gambomaitsamiya@gmail. com
07067448023

Abstract

This paper tends to study the way deixis is used and performed varieties of functions in the slogans of automobile advertisements. The paper aimed at identifying and examining the usage of deixis in some selected slogans of automobiles advertisement that were enacted to companies. The data collected for this research were sourced from the internet. To attain the desired aim of the paper, the Gracean Cooperative Principle was employed as the framework of the analysis. The analysis revealed that, out of thirty-three (33) slogans collected, only eleven (11) were systematically selected and analyzed. The findings also revealed that all four maxims were flouted in the advertising English slogans, while maxims of quality and relation were the most violated in all the instances. It can be understood that automobile slogans utilized a high level of the maxim of manner. This paper confirmed that language is the most important tool of communication and social interaction between one-to-one or one-to-many in the exchange of information, ideas and attitudes, especially in advertisements.

Keywords: Pragmatic, Deixis, Advertising, Slogan, Automobile

Introduction

Language plays a crucial role in the process of social interaction, that is, communication, as it is used both as a medium of giving information and as means of establishing and maintaining relationshipss with other people. The study of Language as a powerful tool of communication and interaction between individuals or between one-to-one or one-to-many cannot be over-emphasized.

Language allows for quick and effective expressions and it provides us with a well-developed means of encoding and transmitting complex and subtle ideas. That is why, (Evans 2006 p. 6), Prasad, (2009 p. 1), and Jindal and Syal, (2007 p. 5) describe language as a chief source of communication of ideas, and also an essential means of communication between humans. There are some other ways of communication such as gesture nods, winks, dances and symbols etc. , with which we can communicate ideas with. But language is the only source that makes humans communicate and it is also a basis for human civilization.

This power of language and communication brings light to the view of pragmatics; as an independent aspect of language study. Also, Communication in any society happens to be chiefly using language. However, the users of language as social beings communicate and use the language in society’s premises. Therefore, scholars like Crystal, (2008 p. 379) and Saeed, (2003 p. 125) view the premises of pragmatics as the study of language from the point of view of the user, especially of the choice they make, the constraints they encounter in using the language in social interaction and the effect of the participants in communication.

Therefore, Yule, (2007 p. 127) states that “pragmatics is the study of invisible meaning, or how we recognize what is meant even when it isn’t said, (or written)”. Also, Black, (2006 p. 2) considers “pragmatics as the study of language in use”. Various scholars in this particular field are not left out in the christening of pragmatics. Jindal and Syal, (2007 p. 157) see pragmatics as “the study of linguistic acts and the context of utterance in which they are performed”. Also, Morris, (1938) and Horn, (2006) define pragmatics as “the study of the relation of signs to the interpreters…”. However, according to Malmkjӕr, (2010 p. 418) “pragmatics concerns linguistic expressions as they are used by speakers and writers to communicate”. In contrast, Levinson, (2000 p. 9) suggests that “Pragmatics is the study of those aspects of the relationship between language and context that is relevant to the writing of grammar. It concentrates on those aspects of meaning that cannot be predicted by linguistic knowledge alone”.

On the other hand, scholars of language decide how advertisements can attract consumers from different perspectives of human endeavour. Nowadays, advert plays a vital role in both public and private enterprises, where competition in selling products and services becomes very high and strict, particularly; in automobiles. One of the alternative ways of advertisement is to sell and acquaint the commodities to the public. The company makes the acquaintance of goods and services through mass media such as television, radio, newspaper, internet and magazine. Many scholars like Kotlar, (1984), Adela, (2015), also, Bloor and Bloor, (2007) and also the American Marketing Association (AMA), (2009) study the concept of advertisement in different ways. And they have the notion that advertisement is a paid form of non-personal presentation of ideas, goods and services through mass media such as newspapers, magazines television, radio or the internet by an identified sponsor.

In contrast, the slogan is another crucial concept in the topic of this research. It serves s a memorable sign used in political, commercial products, religions and other contexts as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose. Ni’mah, (2012 p. 3) describes it as “a group of words that dramatically promise a reward p. easy to read, easy to say and easy to remember”. According to Timothy, (2001 p. 2) a slogan “… should be a statement of such merit about a product or service that it is worthy of continuous repetition in advertising, is worthwhile for the public to remember, and is phrased in such a way that the public it is likely to remember it”. On the other hand, Kathy, (1999), Walker, (2004) and Summers & Holmes, (2006) point out that, Automobile is any type of road vehicle usually with four wheels that are designed to move on the ground under its own stored power by an internal combustion engine and intend to carry a driver, a small number of additional passengers and a very limited amount of other loads.

Traditionally, the phenomenon of “deixis” in pragmatic analysis underlines the relationship between language and context and has been defined as the encoding through the language of persons, spatial or temporal deixis, (Susinskiene 2013 p. 179). This can be analyzed pragmatically by using Grice’s Cooperative Principle as a framework of analysis. This paper aims to demonstrate that “Deixis” possess a variety of language use between addresser and addressee which can be studied to increase knowledge in the field of pragmatics. Therefore, this paper examines the usage of pragmatic analysis of deixis in automobile advertising slogans.

Literature review on Deixis

This research work focuses attention on reviewing previous works of different scholars or writers that performed immensely in the field of pragmatics. This is because literature is believed to be an indispensable ingredient of knowledge development via research. It serves as a path of highlighting what has been done and what needs to be done further. Therefore, Usman, (2007 p. 12) says “Conducting research work involves learning from predecessors’ researches and eventually adding to them in the field”. Also, Bichi et al. (2008 p. 35) describe the related literature as “anything that is written and related to your selected research problem”. Tavakoli, (2012 p. 329) asserts that “literature review is the systematic identification, location, and analysis of documents containing information related to a research problem”. For this reason, the researchers intend to, first of all, review some existing literature relevant to the pragmatics approach the deixis usage into what was done, how it was done and what were results obtained.

According to Malmkjӕr, (2010 p. 418) “Deictic is the participants (speaker and addressee), and the time and place at which the utterance takes place – may figure in deictic expressions; hence the three main categories of personal, temporal, and spatial deixis”. He further cited some of the most obvious examples are personal pronouns (e. g. , I, you, vs. she, it) and temporal and spatial adverbials (now, soon, day after tomorrow, here, on the other side of the tree). Tense marking (e. g. , She will leave vs. She has left) affects the interpretation of all sentences of English. Moreover, Hurford, (2007 p. 66) discusses “a deictic word as one which takes some element of its meaning from the context or situation (i. e. the speaker, the addressee, the time and the place) of the utterance in which it is used”.

Also, Black, (2006 p. 4) claims that “Deictics are ‘pointing’ words. They include tensed verbs (temporal deixis), personal pronouns, demonstratives (these, this, that), and time and place expressions such as now, then, here, yesterday, today, and so forth”. Similarly, Hurford, (2007 p. 66) views term deictic as “pointing and it takes some element of its meaning from the context or situation (i. e. the speaker, the addressee, the time and the place) of the utterance in which it is used”. Yule, (2007 p. 130) and Yule, (1996 p. 9) describe deixis as “pointing via language”. They classified deixis into three different categories. Thus:

1. Person Deixis

Person deixis concerns the encoding of the role of participants in the speech event in which the utterance in question is delivered” (Levinson, 1983 p. 62). Therefore, it primarily refers to the speaker as the deictic centre of speech event and the addressee. By using first person pronouns (I, we) the speaker refers to himself as a participant, by using the second person pronouns (you) to one or more addressees and by using third person pronouns (he, she, t) the speaker refers to a person or an object that is neither the speaker nor the addressee (Saeed, 2003 p. 187).

At the same time, Yule, (1996 p. 11) shows that “person deixis operates on a basis of three parts division, exemplified by pronouns for first person ‘I’, second person ‘you’ and third person ‘he, she or it’”.

2. Temporal Deixis

The temporal deixis concerns the encoding of time points and spans relative to the time at which an utterance was spoken (or written) (Levinson, 1983 p. 62). In this case the temporal or time deixis interacts in calendrical and non-calendrical units. In general, time is measured in cycles of day and night, months, seasons and years.

3. Spatial deixis

It refers to the place close to (here) and further away from (there) the speaker’s position. It is the elements that denote spatial location related to the location of the speaker (Saeed, 2003 p. 182-185). In the same vein, Yule, (1996 p. 12) describes the spatial deixis “as the concept of distance... Where the relative location of people and things is being indicated”. He further states that “contemporary English makes use of two adverbs, ‘here and there’ for basic distinction”. Also, Yule, (1996 p. 12) asserts that some verbs of motion such as ‘come’ and ‘go’ retain a deictic sense when they are used to mark movement toward the speaker as in (come to bed) or away from the speaker as in (Go to bed).

However, SUSINSKIENE, (2013) makes a good contribution to the usage of deixis in advertising slogans related to fragrance. He examines the goal of the deixis as twofold:

a.       To analyze the use of deixis and its persuasive strategy in advertising slogans related to fragrance. The notion of deixis is applied in the present to introduce and handle the features of language which are related to the time and place of utterance.

b.       To extensively use deixis in slogans related to fragrances as a strategy to make a direct appeal to consumers.

Furthermore, he claims that the use of deixis in slogans helps to differentiate between the addresser (company/advertiser) and the addressee (consumer). Also, the specific features of deixis create a unified spatial and temporal frame, common to both the addresser and the addressee, where all references coincide.

Another researcher Christopher, (2012) provides and examines the use of the persuasive strategy of deixis and personalization in advertising slogans. He obtained and analyzed a total of five hundred advertising slogans of multinational companies in both product and service sectors. In his study, the three main components of strategies were revealed and analyzed as being:

Deictic words

These were popularly used in the slogans to point the consumer in the direction intended by the advertiser. Deictic words such as this, that, there, today, tomorrow and now play an important part in persuading the consumer as they help the consumer focus on aspects of the intended message of the slogan.

Absolute uniqueness

This is another component of deixis where, in advertising, the uniqueness of a product or service is brought out by such words as the definite article, such as in the 1955 Coca-Cola slogan, Almost everyone appreciates the best.

Personal pronouns:

In this case, personalization goes hand-in-hand with deixis. The second person pronoun, you, plays a prominent role in this strategy to establish a bond between the persuader and the consumer where you are the consumer.

Also, he shows that in his findings, advertisers have used this persuasive strategy in creative ways to persuade consumers to buy their products and services. To this end, this paper will immensely contribute to the literature on the usage of deixis in advertising English slogans specifically in automobiles advertisement.

Objectives of the study

The objectives of this study include:

i.         To identify the functions of deixis in automobile advertising slogans.

ii.       To examine and analyze the usage of deixis in automobile advertising slogans.

iii.     To reveal how maxims are flouted as well as violated in automobile advertising slogans.

Research questions

The research is centred on these questions:

i.      What are the functions of deixis in automobile advertising slogans?

ii.    What are the processes of analyzing deixis in automobile advertising slogans?

iii.  To what extent are maxims flouted or violated in advertising slogans on automobiles?

Conceptual framework

The conceptual framework theory of analysis adopted for this research is Grice uses illocutionary acts as a base for the “Cooperative Principle”. He is of the view that in all communication, there is a general agreement that a speaker and hearer observe. Grice, (1975 p. 45,46) states the following maxims:

i. Maxim of quantity (which relates to the amount of information to be provided)

a. make your contribution as informative as is required for the current purpose of the exchange.

b. do not make your contribution more informative than is required.

ii. Maxim of quality: try to make your contribution one that is true.

a.       Do not say what you believe to be false.

b.       Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence.

iii. Maxim of Relation: Be relevant.

iv. Maxim of manner: (which concerns not so much with what is said but, rather, to how what is said is to be said). Be perspicuous. More specifically:

a.       Avoid obscurity of expression

b.       Avoid ambiguity.

c.        Be brief (avoid unnecessary prolixity).

d.       Be orderly.

Methodology

The data selected from English slogans of automobiles advertisement, used in this paper was taken from the internet. The internet was considered a vast resource where almost all the slogans of different products of automobile companies as well as other slogans of goods, ideas and services can be accessed. The selection of thirty-three English slogans of automobile advertisements is based on how deixis performed a variety of roles in captivating the interest of consumers and how the information goes between the addressee and addresser.

Data presentation and analysis

The data analysis refers to strategies and procedures for summarizing and exploring relationships among the variables on which data have been collected Usman, (2007 p. 14). On the other hand, Tavakoli, (2012 p. 145) states that, “Data analysis is the process of reducing accumulated data collected in research to a manageable size, developing summaries, looking for patterns, and performing statistical analysis”. In the same vein, Bichi et al (2008 p. 69) suggest that “Data analysis involves the process of treating data with statistical tools so that a mass of data can be summarized, simplified and interpreted”.

The following table of sample data could be analyzed:

	Automobile Product	Slogan
1.	Alfa Romeo	Power of your control
2.	BMW 7- series	A class in itself
3.	Buick	It makes you feel like the man you are
4.	Chevrolet Cavalier	The more you know, the better it looks… cavalier we’ll be there
5.	Chrysler	Inspiration comes standard
6.	Hyundai	Always there for you
7.	Hyundai Tucson	Your spirit of adventure
8.	Jeep	Have fun out there
9.	KIA	Makes every mile count
10.	TOYOTA	Today Tomorrow Toyota
11.	TOYOTA	I love what you do for me

The first slogan ‘power of your control’ shows the person deixis ‘your’ which is the second person and it refers to the consumer in the advertisement. It indicates that the consumer has total power and control over the product of ‘Alfa Romeo’. This slogan shows observance of the maxim of quality.

Secondly, the slogan ‘A class into itself’ for ‘BMW 7- SERIES’, In this case, the person deixis word is third person reflexive pronoun ‘itself’. This form of deixis refers to the product, not the consumer and it shows no relationship between the company and the consumer. So, BMW 7- series puts itself into a higher position which indicates the observance of the maxim of quantity.

Thirdly, the ‘Buick’ automobile company has this slogan in advertising their product. i. e. ‘It makes you feel like the man you are’. This slogan consists of person deixis (third person ‘it’ and second person ‘you’) as well as temporal deixis word ‘makes’ that indicates the simple present time. The person deixis ‘it’ refers to the product while the second person ‘you’ refers to the consumer of this product. When the consumer uses the Buick product, he will be comfortable. This slogan indicates the relationship between the product and the addressee which shows the observance of the maxim of relation due to its consumer relevance.

Fourthly, the slogan ‘The more you know, the better it looks… cavalier we’ll be there’ is used by “Chevrolet Cavalier”. The slogan has the forms of personal deixis which consists of (first person ‘we’ and second person ‘you’ as well as a third person ‘it’). These persons are deictic indicating the sharing of knowledge between the addresser and the addressee as well the product. Also, the spatial deixis of distance ‘there’ is used to serve as a reference for moving to a faraway place. The use of simple present “looks” shows the current time frame of the product with temporal deixis. The slogan indicates the observance of the maxim of quality.

Fifthly, the ‘Chrysler company uses a simple slogan in advertising their product. i. e. ‘Inspiration comes standard’. This slogan is very brief and also in order. It uses simple present “comes” to indicate the current time which is one of the features of temporal deixis. The slogan observes the maxim of manner due to its order of preciseness.

Sixthly, “Hyundai” uses the slogan ‘Always there for you’. This slogan is very brief but comprises three different forms of deixis. Thus; temporal deixis ‘always’ indicates non-calendrical time. Also, the spatial deixis ‘there’ shows a far distant place while ‘you’ indicates the person deixis that refers to the addressee. The Hyundai slogan does not point to the addresser which violates the maxim of quality where the amount of information required is inadequate. This slogan is seen as the maxim of manner due to its preciseness.

Seventhly, the slogan ‘Your spirit of adventure’ is used by the ‘Hyundai Tucson’ product. The possessive determiner ‘you’re’ is a person deixis; it shows the relationship between the addresser and the addressee on the position of the product. So, this slogan does not provide the required information about the product. Rather, the information is short and precise which indicates the requirement of the maxim of manner.

Eighthly, this is another advertising slogan ‘Have fun out there’ by the “JEEP” company. The slogan adheres to the use of spatial deixis ‘there’ indicating distance far. The slogan reflects the information to the addresser, not the consumer. The information in the slogan is so specific to the product which indicates an observance of the maxim of manner.

Ninthly, KIA uses the slogan ‘Makes every mile count’. This slogan is short and precise which refers to as maxim of manner. This slogan used by KIA makes use of a temporal form of deixis. That is the simple present ‘makes’ refers to the producer, not the consumer.

Finally, the TOYOTA brand uses two different forms of slogans. Such as: ‘Today Tomorrow Toyota’ and ‘I love what you do for me’. The first slogan uses the two forms of temporal deixis referring to the only time that a consumer can have Toyota. This slogan violates the maxim of quantity due to an imbalance of required information. Therefore, the slogan is seen as the maxim of manner. The adaptation of person deixis (I, you and me) in the second makes the slogan of TOYOTA very informative through sharing the relationship between the producer and the consumer. The word ‘I’ is a first-person singular subject and ‘me’ is a first-person singular object while the second-person pronoun is ‘you’. Therefore, this slogan observes the maxim of quantity.

Findings

The findings of the analysis show that personal deixis (I, we, you, it, me) are the most frequent use in automobile advertising slogans. The frequent use of personal deixis in automobile advertising slogans correlates with the relationships between the producer and the consumer of the particular product of the Automobiles Company. However, the findings also reveal that all four maxims were flouted in the automobile’s advertising slogans, while maxims of quality and relation were the most violated in all the instances. It can be understood that automobile slogans utilized a high level of the maxim of manner. This paper confirmed that language is the most important tool of communication and social interaction between one-to-one or one-to-many in the exchange of information, ideas and attitudes, especially in advertisements.

Conclusion

This study establishes that advertising conceives different strategies for persuasion at a distance. In any advertising slogan of automobiles, the usage of deixis words confers the existence of the speaker and addressee as well as the surrounding time-space frame in which the conversational exchange takes place. In addition, the deixis words create such a context for the participants (sender and receiver) in this persuasive discourse; participants can be at a distance and feel as if they are facing each other in conversation. In a nutshell, deixis performed a variety of functions. They are ‘metadiscourse elements’ used to bridge the gap between the product, company and consumers. For instance, the personal deixis “you” is used to show a one-to-one relationship while the person deixis (I, we, it and me) indicate share knowledge between the producer and consumer. However, the spatial and temporal deixis elements used in advertisements provide the consumer with a personal touch and show how the language is used to shape the way audience views the world. It can therefore be concluded of that all four maxims, the maxims of quality and relation are the most violated in the English advertising slogans of automobiles. It can be understood that automobile slogans utilized a high level of the maxim of manner.

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