The Role of Modified Language Units in Advertising
Elena Kulikova
Lobachevsky State University of Nizhni Novgorod, pr. Gagarina 23, 603950 Nizhni Novgorod,
RussiaThe development of the traditional mass media and the appearance of new ones, theformation of phatic communication and electronic literature influence system characteristics of alanguage. Advertising is the part of the mass media discourse. Advertising discourse shows themodern language and culture state of the society; it is remarkable for manipulating, that is theorientation toward purposeful controlling over recipient perception [1]. The advertising language
is the same natural language with its all manifold expressive means. Its difference from otherdiscourses (coherent texts with pragmatic, social cultural, psychological factors) consists in thesphere of practical and communicative aims and tasks which are reflected in principles of choiceof grammatical and lexical units, stylistic devices; particular syntax, the organization of printed
material, the usage of different sign systems elements, structuring, and organizing linguisticmeans.
The objective of the paper is to analyze language means, mainly precedential phenomena(their types and functions), from the viewpoint of pragmatics in modern advertising discourse.
Advertising is a social product which cannot help reflecting the tendency to globalizationthat characterizes present-day society. The general characteristic of advertising texts at thelanguage level is using diverse syntactic-stylistic tools of expressiveness: tropes, stylistic figures,phraseological units etc. Figurative language means make the advertising text vivid andmodernized. Cultural specific character can be reflected in using precedential phenomena. Theterm “precedence” actively used in theoretical and applied linguistics may be interpreted as asystem of some associations and feelings aroused by this or that collection of cultural values ofmaterial or spiritual world in the consciousness of certain linguistic cultural community
representatives; this system of associations and feelings impels to use cultural values incommunication. Precedential phenomena may be defined as phenomena that are known to theconsiderable part of representatives of lingual cultural community; relevant in cognitive aspect;currently used in the speech of this community. They make any text expressive because suchphenomena are aimed at language playing of various kinds.
There are classifications based on the source where precedential phenomena are takenfrom [2−4]. We suggest the following classification: 1. Poetry and fiction (including Bible texts,mythology, folklore); 2. Phraseological units (all of them are sure to be of more than one word
and reproducible: idioms, proverbs etc.); 3. Feature films and cartoons; 4. Backgroundknowledge from the sphere of culture, science and history: pieces of music, painting, historic
events and etc.
Publicity gives preference to modified language units in order to attract and amaze thecustomers. Successful usage of modified precedential phenomena in publicity texts is due tosemantic and evaluative associations generated by their stable images. There are two kinds oftransformations: semantic and structural-semantic. The most typical occasional modifications aredouble actualization (semantic transformation); insert, component substitution, contamination(structural-semantic).
The computer program Statistical Package for the Social Sciences was used for the statistical
data processing of the questionnaire including semantic and structural-semantic transformation
types of precedential phenomena. According to recipients’ answers semantic transformations
possess stronger emotional appeal, memorability and stimulation force than structural-semantic
ones (Figure).
On the whole, advertising uses a wide range of expressive means at all language levels,transformed precedential phenomena should be high on the list of these means.
Modified language units, namely precedential phenomena, taken by means of thesuccessive selection from the popular Russian and English language newspapers and magazines(2000−2010) were interpreted with the help of descriptive method, contextual and pragmaticanalysis, the usage of comparison, generalization, and classification means. While selecting andanalyzing the material, the data of idiom, proverb, quotation and popular expression dictionaries
were used.

Figure. The comparison of semantic and structural-semantictransformation types according to their emotional, cognitive andpragmatic aspects.

References
1. Goddard, Angela. 1998 The Language of Advertising. London: Routledge.
2. Zakharenko, Irina, Victoria Krasnyh, Dmitriy Gudkov & D. Bagaeva. 1997. Precedential
name and precedential utterance as the symbols of precedential phenomena. Language,consciousness, communication (Moscow: Philology) № 1: 82-103.
3. Ilyasova, Svetlana & Ludmila Amiri. 2009. A language game in the communicative space ofmedia and advertising. Moscow: Flinta.
4. Kulikova, Elena. 2010. Advertising Text in the Light of Precedential Phenomena. Vestnik ofLobachevsky State University of Nizhni Novgorod № 6: 334-340 (in Russian).