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Abstract:

Semantics is the study of meaning system of a language and its approaches vary widely. In one view, meaning is the relationship between language and the external world (referential or denotative meaning), between a word and the concept it stands for. In another, it involves the mental state of the speaker, as reflected in a range of personal, emotive overtones (affective or connotative meaning). The uniqueness of the choice of words makes the language of advertising a specialized field of study. This project presents an analytical study of the language features of English advertisements at a semantic level. In order to conduct a data-driven study, the writer has built a corpus of over 20 English advertisements. Through the detailed survey of all the advertisements, the semantic features of the language of advertising are summarized and possible conclusions are given in the light of effectiveness of advertising. After a brief introduction to semantics and advertising language, the project is focused on the extent to which rules or conventions of language are broken, the use of connotative meaning of words, certain word classes, coined words, repetition, metaphoric use of words, punning, non-existing words, the use of ambiguous statements, use of pidgin English and the semiotic analysis of the language of advertising. A data driven study will be conducted on Etisalat and Airtel mobile network. It goes further to treat the semiotic analysis of the language of advertising. The project is then concluded with a brief summary. It is hoped that the project can shed light on the semantic features of language of advertisements and also provide help to copywriters and English learners.

Table of Content:

ABSTRACT
Semantics is the study of meaning system of a language and its approaches vary widely. In one view, meaning is the relationship between language and the external world (referential or denotative meaning), between a word and the concept it stands for. In another, it involves the mental state of the speaker, as reflected in a range of personal, emotive overtones (affective or connotative meaning). The uniqueness of the choice of words makes the language of advertising a specialized field of study. This project presents an analytical study of the language features of English advertisements at a semantic level. In order to conduct a data-driven study, the writer has built a corpus of over 20 English advertisements. Through the detailed survey of all the advertisements, the semantic features of the language of advertising are summarized and possible conclusions are given in the light of effectiveness of advertising. After a brief introduction to semantics and advertising language, the project is focused on the extent to which rules or conventions of language are broken, the use of connotative meaning of words, certain word classes, coined words, repetition, metaphoric use of words, punning, non-existing words, the use of ambiguous statements, use of pidgin English and the semiotic analysis of the language of advertising. A data driven study will be conducted on Etisalat and Airtel mobile network. It goes further to treat the semiotic analysis of the language of advertising. The project is then concluded with a brief summary. It is hoped that the project can shed light on the semantic features of language of advertisements and also provide help to copywriters and English learners.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title page. ------------------------------- --------------- i
Certification ----------------------------------------------- ii
Dedication ----------------------------------------------- iii
Acknowledgement ----------------------------------------- iv
Abstract ------------------------------------------------ v
Table of contents
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to Study ------------------------ 3
1.2 Aim and Objectives of the Study ---------------- 4
1.3 Significance of the Study ------------------------ 5
1.4 Statement Of The Problem ------------------ 5
1.5 Purpose of the study
1.6 Scope and limitation of the Study ------------ 6
1.7 Definition of Terms ----------------------- 7
1.9 organization of the study
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Defining The Concept Of Advertising ---------- 8
2.1.2 Definitions Of Advertising And Advertising Slogan 8
2.1.3 Semantics and Theories Of Semantics ------- 10
2.2 History Of Advertising --------------------------- 17
2.2.1 History Of Advertising In Nigeria ------------ 20
2.2.2 Etisalat and Airtel Mobile In Nigeria -------- 21
2.3 Types Of Advertising ------------------------- 23
2.3.1 Words And Meanings In Advertising ---------- 24
2.3.2 Ambiguity In Captions ------------------------- 26
2.3.3 A Semiotic Analysis of the Language of Advertisement 27
2.4 Linguistic Means Used In Advertising Language 29
2.4.1 Phonological Aspect -------------------------- 31
2.4.2 Rhyme ------------------------------------------- 31
2.4.3 Rhythm ------------------------------------------- 31
2.4.4 Alliteration ------------------------------------- 32
2.4.5 Assonance ------------------------------------- 32
2.4.6 Graphic aspect text of the -------------------- 33
2.4.7 Transliteration -------------------------------- 33
2.4.8 Homophones -------------------------------------- 34
2.5 Lexical and morphological aspect --------------- 34
2.5.1 Verb phrase -------------------------------------- 34
2.5.2 Noun phrase -------------------------------------- 35
2.5.3 Adjectives ------------------------------------- 36
2.5.4 Numerals ------------------------------------- 36
2.5.5 Foreign words ------------------------------- 37
2.5.6 Intertextuality -------------------------------- 37
2.5.7 Formation of new words and phrases --------- 38
2.5.8 Idiomatic constructions -------------------------- 40
2.5.9 Collocations ------------------------------------- 42
2.6 Syntactic aspect ------------------------------- 43
2.6.1 Sentence types ------------------------------- 43
2.6.2 Sentence structure ------------------------------- 46
2.6.3 Schematic pattering ----------------------------- 46
2.7 Semantic aspect ------------------------------ 50
2.7.1 Personification ------------------------------ 51
2.7.2 Simile ----------------------------------------- 52
2.7.3 Hyperbole ----------------------------------- 52
2.7.4 Metaphor ---------------------------------- 53
2.7.5 Metonymy ------------------------------------- 53
2.7.6 Antithesis --------------------------------- 55
2.7.7 Polysemy and homonymy ---------------- 55
2.8 The Effects Semantic Language Of Advertising On The Society 57
CHAPTER THREE: RESAERCH METHODOLOGY
3.2 Research Design ---------------------------- 60
3.3 Methodology ---------------------------------- 60
3.4 Method Of Data Collection ------------------ 61
3.5 Method Of Data Analysis ----------------------- 61

CHAPTER FOUR: ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS
4.1 Data presentation and Analysis ------------ 62
4.2 Interpretation Of Data ----------------------- 63

CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION AND RECCOMENDATION
5.1 Summary of Finds ----------------------------- 70
5.2 Conclusion ----------------------------------- 72
5.3 Recommendations ----------------------------- 73
5.4 Suggestion for Further Research ------------ 74
REFERENCES
Appendix /Appendices