Филологические науки/этно, социо, психолингвистика

Sociology Doctor Fedyunina S. M., Egorova E. S.

Saratov State technical University

Discourse of Multiculturalism in the Context of Advertising

Advertising today as an object of study has a tremendous pull. Investigation of the phenomenon of advertising is interdisciplinary in nature, since the reviews of advertising is the intersection of cognitive interests of different fields of science and among them are journalism, sociology, psychology, economics and history. Each science examines advertising in accordance with its methodology and its own conceptual apparatus. It should be noted that the texts for advertising are actively used as authentic tests in education: in such disciplines as foreign languages, intercultural communication, management, modern rhetoric, history of culture, linguistics etc. All these facts suggest the versatility of advertising as a phenomenon.

Advertising has become not only the "engine of trade", but also a significant factor of social life. Advertising campaign focuses on the consumption of material, spiritual and social benefits; it has become the translator of the set of values and traditions. It should be noted that the value component formulated for a better perception of the consumer is the "second bottom" of advertising message, which is bypassing the critical thinking and then gets directly into the system of value assessment and forms the desired ratio of citizens to the advertised product.

As a social phenomenon, advertising "is not only a reality, it reflects the dimension of social life, that is shared by all members of the discourse community and is called culture" (Kochetov, 2007). Advertising is a form of cultural communication that is trying to translate the quality of goods and services into the language of consumers, the language of needs and requirements of customers. One of the characteristics of advertising is its focus on achieving business goals, expressed in the promotion advertised object at the market. Providing communicative impact on the target audience through the mainstream, holding of any object (product, service and brand) in the minds of the recipients and expanding knowledge about it, advertising contributes to the achievement of these goals.

The policy of multiculturalism adopted by civilized communities, can be characterized not only as a doctrine governing the relations in the state, but also as a characteristic of spiritual life of any society, as a path of national reconciliation in a multicultural society. In multiethnic Russia, the creation and the use of promotional products, advertising campaign should be carried out according to the rules of tolerance, to prevent the manifestations of nationalism, conflicts, stereotypes, and attitudes to intercultural communication. (Fedyunina, 2006). Multicultural discourse in advertising reflects, on the one hand, socio-cultural parameters of the information society in the era of globalization and, on the other hand, the desire to preserve "their" ethnic, as opposed to "someone else".

However, the contents of slogans and texts, such as commercial advertising, depend primarily not on the political situation, but directly on the quality and the origin of the goods. Thus, the use of English slogans in Russian advertising medium is determined by a number of factors. Firstly, the target audience of the campaign should be able to "recognize" English texts at least at the level of visual and auditory perception. Secondly, the presence of any English text in a slogan is justified, as it emphasizes a foreign origin –"import" of advertised product. Thirdly, a slogan should be extremely concise to be well understood and remembered by consumers for whom a phrase in the English language is still more difficult to remember as this language is not their mother tongue. However, the translation of advertising from one language to another language requires basic knowledge of cross-cultural interactions on the side of advertiser. Not coincidental is the fact that the success of advertising is largely determined by the appropriate choice of language means of nonverbal components of communication, taking into account national traditions and mentality of the target audience, i.e. of multicultural competence of advertiser. For example, "enthusiastic" advertising of extremely expensive BMV X-5 on Russian television caused the irritation of the average Russian consumer, as opposed to such advertising on U.S. television, where this car is quite affordable to the average American. Negative attitudes toward unsuccessful advertising can be transferred to a foreign lifestyle and culture.

Media space can both promote intercultural harmony and provoke hostility. Sophisticated advertising relating to all aspects of public life and culture, first of all, is able to alleviate social inequalities and prevent conflicts. Considering the aspects of multicultural discourse in advertising, it is necessary to remember that despite the transnational movements and entry into the global world, Russia and formal Soviet Union republics are still quite different from European states in the lifestyle, mentality and cultural values. In our opinion, they should not mindlessly copy "foreign discoveries in the field of advertising”, as not all approaches, popular in Europe and the USA, can be effectively used in another cultural context. Promotional techniques and formats, built on the situational models that are relevant to western culture and mentality, may not be affectively applied in other countries. For example, commercials in which a young man gives flowers to his beloved, shown in China, will not be adequately understood and may cause negative public reaction. This is due to traditional Chinese etiquette of giving gifts: do not give flowers, as many Chinese associate them with funerals.

Advertising as applied semiotics is based on the main difference of visual (iconic) signs from verbal signs. “In practice, we still read the first image and not the text” (Barth, 1989). Today TV becomes more convenient and efficient means of transmission of visual information. Our civilization is becoming image-oriented, that is focused on some visual image, where television plays the role of the so-called “a window in the world” manifested in images. Consequently, any cultural space acquires visual dimensions.

Nevertheless, it is the fact that the content of advertising and its perception is based on the principle of interpenetration and mixing of cultures. It should be noted that very often the same characters in different cultures have different meanings. For example, when you create a plot of commercials, you must have a clear understanding of nonverbal communication of different people. Ignoring this aspect you may distort understanding of the content of advertising messages. The classic example: Bulgarians make other movements for "yes" or "no" than we do. In a sign of friendship Vietnamese can hold your hand in his hand. In Vietnamese cultural traditions this gesture does not imply any sexual associations, as it can be interpreted in European culture. A traditional American symbol - folded into a ring thumb and forefinger "OK" is associated in some Muslim cultures with indecent solicitation.

Each culture is characterized by its own logic and perception of the world: what is significant in one culture may be inconsequential to the other. There are various options to display resentment: by particular gait or eye movement. For instance, within African-American culture it is considered rude to look directly into the eyes of the teacher. At the same time, people of other cultures will not even notice such things. Different cultures may have different priorities in food, clothing, there are differences in interpretation of time and space. If Western culture clearly understands time and lateness is regarded as a fault (the "accuracy is the politeness of kings"), in Arabic, Latin American and some Asian countries, for example, time delay does not arouse any surprise. "The Arabs consider drinking coffee and conversation as" doing something ", while Americans look at it as a waste of time» (Copeland, 1989). In some cultures, the usual element of negotiations is a gift which in Western culture is regarded as a bribe.

Thus, promoting a specific product to the market of another country it is necessary to understand that the success of this event will primarily depend on a comprehensive assessment of goods offered in accordance with the structure of consumer preferences, important in the given culture. These preferences are directly related to the style of life, values, norms and rituals established in the country. In other words, all aspects of multicultural competence must be taken into account in the international practice of advertising.

As for the use of advertising as a part of the content of language and communication courses it is necessary to note the following. In our opinion, the study of texts and advertising slogans can be considered as a rich material for developing ideas about the successes and failures in intercultural communication, and an applied source of intercultural and multicultural competence formation.

References

1. Барт. Р. Риторика образов // Избранные работы. Семиотика. Поэтика / Р. Барт. – М., 1989. (Barthes. R. The rhetoric of images / / Selected Works. Semiotics. Poetics / P. Barth. - M., 1989.)

2. Кочетова. Л.А. Категория интертекстуальности в рекламном дискурсе постмодернизма // Человек в современных философских концепциях. – Волгоград, 2007. – Т. 4. (Kochetova. L.A. Category intertextuality in advertising discourse of postmodernism / Man in the modern philosophical concepts. - Volgograd, 2007. - T. 4.)

3. Федюнина. С.М. Социокультурные различия и взаимодействия: концептуальные основания мультикультурализма в современном обществе / С.М. Федюнина. – Саратов, 2006. ( Fedyunina, S. Social and cultural differences and interaction: a conceptual foundation of multiculturalism in modern society / S.M Fedyunina. - Saratov, 2006.)

4. Copeland. L., Grigas. L. Going international / L. Copeland, L Grigas. - N.Y., 1985.