A Stylistic Analysis Of English Online Advertisements By Telecommunication Providers: A Case Study Of Mtc And Tn Mobile

ABSTRACT

The language that is used in advertising is different from other pieces of writing. This study is a stylistic analysis of Mobile Telecommunication Limited (MTC) and Telecom Namibia Mobile’s (TN Mobile) English online advertisements. The main purpose of this study was to analyse how the Namibian telecommunication providers use linguistics-stylistics devices in advertising to target young adults, how Namibian telecommunication providers use rhetorical devices in advertisements when they target young adults and how the advertisements of these telecommunication providers incorporate non-verbal elements to persuade young adults. The study was a qualitative desktop study. The data collected critically analysed thirty selected, online advertisements based on the stylistic devices they employed. This was informed by the linguistics-stylistics theory that focuses on analysing and synthesising texts. Content analysis was employed as a data analysis method. The study revealed that non-verbal elements, such as headlines, slogans, logo, colours, pictures, social media sites, body copy and contact details, were employed in the advertisements. The employment of linguistics-stylistics devices, such as imperative verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns and compound nouns, were also revealed in this study. In addition, the study revealed that rhetorical devices such as deviation, alliteration, bribery, identification, hyperbole, metaphors, rhetorical questions and puns, were present in the majority of advertisements. The study revealed that AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire and Action) principles and Aristotelian proofs of persuasion (ethos, pathos and logos) were often employed by the advertisers to attract the attention of the young adults.