Dimensiuni ale limbajului n context carceral

a figure of speech in which consonants, especially at the beginning of words, or stressed
syllables, are repeated. It is a very old device indeed in English verse (older than rhyme) and is common
in verse generally. It is used ocasionally in prose. 1
The following slogans contain alliterations:
� “My Goodness. My Guinness.” (Guinness Brewery)
� “Music is art. Muzak is science.” (Muzak Corporation)
� “Drinka pinta milka day.”(National Milk Publicity Council)
In the first slogan, there are three alliterations: on the consonant M from the pronoun My, and on the
consonant G and the syllable -ness from the nouns Goodness and Guinness. The pun built using these three
alliterations is very suggestive in advertising the Guinness Brewery. The double meaning of the noun
goodness expressing on the one hand an exclamation, an admiration and on the other hand the value of the
facts presented in the Guinness Brewery.
In the second slogan, Music is art. Muzak is science, the alliteration is formed by repeating the syllable
mu-, right in the first word from both sentences, which are both short and constructed on the same pattern:
subject plus the verb to be at the 3 rd person singular and plus a direct object. The sentences having the same
structure, the alliteration is a lot more obvious.
In the third slogan, Drinka pinta milka day, there are two alliterations, built on the consonant k and on
the vocals i and a. The slogan contains three invented words, built to create a pun and alliterations, which
create humor and draw the attention of the audience.
An advertising agent uses puns and alliterations in creating slogans, with the purpose to transmit
information more playfully and expecting a reaction of pleasure, happiness or relaxation from the audience.
Puns make people smile or even laugh, then they make them think deeply into the meaning of the slogan,
wanting to discover and understand the ambiguities. If the pun is not humorous, it is ironic, but it is also
interesting and memorable. In conclusion, using a pun is always a good decision in creating a slogan.
4. Ambiguity in Slogans
Ambiguity is the possibility of giving two or more interpretations to a phrase or to just one component
of it, as a semantic consequence of homonymy and polysemy. The type of ambiguity when two meanings can
be attributed to a word or a phrase can also be called double meaning.
1 Idem, p. 25.