A Study Of Rhetorical Devices Used In Selected Car Advertisements In The Namibian Newspaper

ABSTRACT

The language of car advertising is viewed as unique and completely different from

everyday language. The rhetorical elements and unusual linguistic arrangement of

words make the language of car advertisement special and unique. This study seeks

to examine the rhetorical devices in selected car advertisements, to examine the

language used in car advertisements, and to explore rhetorical structure and strategies

in selected car advertisements. This is a desk study, whose research was done using

existing sources. The research is qualitative in nature, as the collected car

advertisements from The Namibian newspaper were critically examined from a

rhetorical point of view and subsequently arranged according to brand names.

Similarly, slogans from the advertisements were placed next to each type of make or

car they belonged to in a table. Forty car advertisements were selected for analysis

of rhetorical strategy, language, and rhetorical structure. The selection of car

advertisements was based on the availability of car advertisements in the chosen

newspaper; in the situation where the advertisement was repeated, a sample of one

advertisement was chosen. The samples of car advertisements were taken from The

Namibian newspaper dating from January 2012 to December 2012. All forty car

advertisements studied were found to entail some of the persuasive moves suggested

by Hashim (2010), including establishing credibility, introducing offer, offering

incentives, and soliciting a response. The finding contains new moves that are not

part of what Hashim suggested. The characteristics and the nature of language

employed by most car advertisers in Namibia are slightly different, if conclusions

drawn by Hashim are anything to go by. Moreover, Hashim suggested pressure tactics as one of the rhetorical moves in his study. The language used in car

advertisements is well crafted. The examined car advertisements were found to

contain slogans, aggressive language, comparative, and superlative form. Beyond

the persuasive moves suggested by Hashim, commands and directives are other

forms of persuasive techniques detected following the analysis of 40 advertisements.

Based on the findings of this study, recommendation is made that further study or

research be undertaken into car advertisements to explore rhetorical strategies unique

to Namibia. This study is a considerable input to the study of rhetorical

advertisement in Namibia.