This paper attempts to
discuss the impact of English on Greek ads, mainly TV commercials. It is argued
that the continuous influx of English phrases prompts for the rise of novel
metaphors that encompass social characteristics of Greek youth culture. The cultural
and social context of Greek TV commercials encourages metaphors that permeate certain
domains of experience (Kövecses 2008) for the above-named
subgroup.
Specifically, many Greek TV commercials whose
main trading product is “smart-phones” use the English verb “to hit” in order
to promote the advertised product to their target audience, which in most cases
is young people. The extensive use of this verb derives from social media and
the way youth culture makes use of the web. For instance, when young people use
social media they employ phrases like “I hit it” meaning that they have
listened to a particular song, watched a video etc. As a result, the verb “to
hit” was afterwards introduced to TV commercials appealing to the particular
subgroup.
The
semantics of the verb “to hit” shifts from the meanings “to touch something
with force”, “have a bad effect”, “have a problem and/or difficulty” into the
meanings “to start to affect”, “to reach a state” and “to achieve something” (Macmillan Dictionary). Hence, the usage
of the verb “to hit” in Greek TV commercials dealing with the selling of
“smart-phones” presupposes that the ones who “hit” the trading product manage
to reach a particular goal, that is they buy the advertised product.
Moreover, the figurative interpretation of the
verb “to hit” by means of the cognitive process of metaphor seems to encourage
the afore-mentioned semantic extension (Radden & Dirven 2007).
Particularly, the licensed metaphoric reading is ADVERTISED PRODUCTS ARE
HITTING GOALS. This will be treated as a case of orientational metaphor (Lakoff
& Johnson 1980) since consumers seem to orient themselves towards a
particular spatial location (the physical space of buying the advertised
product). Hence, the reaching of a destination means the reaching of a goal as
well. It seems that the advertised product is positioned in a verticality axis,
wherein the reaching of the UP part indicates the state of hitting (purchasing)
this product. Lastly, it is argued that the emergence of such metaphors is
descriptive of a certain kind of public space. Within this public space
consumers (youth culture) are represented as a set of dispositions. Such
dispositions generate practices, perceptions and attitudes and incline
consumers to act and react on certain ways (Thompson 1991), that is “hitting”
the advertised product.
Keywords: novel metaphors, semantic
extension, ads, youth culture
References
Kövecses, Z. 2008. Universality
and Variation in the Use of Metaphor. In the Selected
Papers from the 2006 and 2007
Stockholm Metaphor Festivals, eds., N.-L. Johannesson & D.C. Minugh.
Stockholm: Department of English, Stockholm University, 51-74.
Lakoff, G. & Johnson, M. 1980. Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: Chicago UP.
Macmillan Dictionary.
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/hit (last
accessed 29
September 2013).
Radden, G. & Dirven, R. 2007.
Cognitive English Grammar. Volume II.
Amsterdam:
John
Benjamins.
Thompson,
J. 1991. Ideology and Modern Culture.
Cambridge: Polity.
