Analysis of Everyday Texts!

[anna.comet]

Hi all! I wanted to start a new thread in which everyone can post fun everyday examples of texts they have seen that are exciting Eng Lang wise. I find that nothing helps me study more than seeing my subjects being used in everyday contexts, and Eng Lang is one of these grouse subjects that are SUPER relevant to everyday life!

I'll start us off...

So, the other day I was at Officeworks and I saw a huge poster that said "Open early, close late". This is such a neat example of antithesis, because we have the repeated syntactic structure of verb + adverb, and furthermore, both the verbs AND adverbs are antonyms!! Such a simple but effective way of advertising the availability and omnipresence of Officeworks for your late-minute stationery needs (btw I'm not sponsored lol).

So, please post with other cool examples that you see and recognise while you take public transport, or when you watch FaceBook videos that your friends have shared! Anything! I used to read cereal boxes and packages for really good examples of cohesion + coherence too.

Please reply to this post so that my first thread doesn't crash, burn n die lol thx <333

[anna.comet]

I'm back with another example! Please please PLEASE feel free to give your own examples or join this thread if you find a fun advertisement or an everyday situation that can be linked to metalanguage! It is the easiest way to study Eng Lang, and they all serve as contemporary examples when it comes to your End of Year Exam!

The Australian Beer Company, 'Moby Pale Ale', has a slogan: "A whale of a pale ale". This slogan is clever because not only is it a pun on their company name 'Moby' as in 'Moby Dick', the whale, but it also incorporates rhyme and assonance. This phonological patterning aids with customers' memorisation and retention of the company slogan and therefore serves their social purpose of standing out as an excellent quality beer for their potential customers. They use a catchy slogan in order to stand out from their competitors, as the alcohol industry is highly competitive with lots of companies vying for profit.

How interesting! I hope now that there is a second example on this thread that more people feel inclined to join in... 

[caffinatedloz]

What a fantastic thread idea Anna! I thought that I would give this a go, but it is very rough!

The outdoor store, BCF Australia, has a television advertisement that incorporates many persuasive techniques. Their advertisement uses a classic storyline, of a man stuck in a 9-5 job finally escaping outdoors. The costuming and camera angle used when depicting Kevin's boss and other senior colleagues illustrate Kevin's entrapment. The slogan: "Boating, camping fishing; It's BCF-ing fun," uses a play on words to draw customers in.

[anna.comet]

Thank you so much for replying to my thread! It is so gratifying and satisfying to see that other people are happy to engage in analysing the linguistic world that appears all around us!

Your example is perfect! I think that the most relevant and exciting part of your example from an English Language perspective is the slogan! "BCF-ing fun is a great play on "F-ing" fun, i.e. the adjectival use of that swear word. This slogan uses the semantic patterning of a pun in order to portray themselves as relaxed and casual, as well as building rapport with their most-likely-rough-and-tumble audience!

Now it's my turn to try to keep this thread alive!

The other day, my friend's younger brother said "he got big ooft", instead of the more 'traditional' (if you can say 'traditional' regarding a slang term,) "ooft" or "big ooft". Most teenagers know how to implement the interjection "ooft", however my friend's brother is just sliiightly in the out-group, in that he isn't an avid user of social media or internet forums yet, and therefore he didn't quite have a grip on the appropriate application of this slang yet. Therefore, he was unable to attract the covert prestige associated with this teenspeak, and this was interesting in showing his age and also acting to delineate group boundaries (in that he revealed that he was actually part of the out-group). This demonstrates the fragile nature of the implementation of slang, which is super subjective and those in the in-group must understand not only the slang, but appropriate cases to use it in order to build rapport with their listeners and peer group.

I hope the more examples that are posted here, the more that other people will feel comfortable to participate too!