Postmodernioji dvikalbystė: tautinės kalbos ir anglų kalba reklamoje

LORETA VAICEKAUSKIENĖ Institute of the Lithuanian Language POSTMODERN BILINGUALISM: NATIONAL LANGUAGES AND ENGLISH IN ADVERTISING INTRODUCTION Speaking about multilingualism today also means speaking about globalization, the English language, and its international prestige. The main ideological motif of the discourse on these topics, as of modern discourse in general, is self-preservation and survival in the global world. For a couple of decades now, sociolinguists and language policy strategists have been discussing the changing position of national languages in favor of English. Research has shifted from the study of borrowings, which dominated for most of the previous century, to a new object of research into the influence of English—the use of English in certain domains instead of the national language. This new research direction revived the term language domain from bilingualism studies, which denotes such areas, and discussion began of domain loss—a process in which a local language gradually gives way in some domain to a larger and more powerful language. The discourse of survival in the age of globalization is also characteristic of Lithuania1. One such affected domain is advertising, which often attracts particular attention also because it is considered a typical reflection of the global market, where, as it is said, “not only products are traded, but also language and culture” (Steeby 2004: 10). The need to preserve national languages is emphasized in various language policy documents. Among Lithuanian-language policy documents, advertising as a regulated sphere of language use is mentioned in the Law on Advertising and the Law on the Provision of Information to the Public (see RĮ 2000, VIĮ 2000). They emphasize that public information, written and audio advertising text 1 It should be noted that, when discussing the threats posed by English, our linguists and language policy makers do not always clearly distinguish the impact on the lexicon (new borrowings) from the impact on domains. 110 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 82 the requirements of the State Language Law must be applied. Under the State Language Law (VKĮ 1995, 2002), advertising could be subject to general provisions, essentially reiterated in the document of the State Commission of the Lithuanian Language that directly regulates the language of advertising, “Temporary Rules for Public Audio Information and Public Inscriptions” (VGI 1997). It states that public information media must comply with the norms of the Lithuanian language; the format of informational inscriptions in other languages may not be larger than that of the Lithuanian text; and it is recommended that non-Lithuanian company names be accompanied by minimal information in Lithuanian about the nature of the company’s activities, and so on. Guidelines for state language policy discuss competition between English and Lithuanian somewhat more specifically: both the 2003–2008 guidelines and the 2009–2013 draft express concern, among other things, that the spheres of English-language influence are rapidly expanding in Lietuvoje and that public inscriptions in foreign languages are becoming more numerous (VKPG 2003, VKPG 2008). Thus, Lithuanian laws seek, through legal measures, to restrict the use of other languages in the public sphere and strengthen the position of Lithuanian. At the same time, the field of advertising, both in Lietuvoje and elsewhere, is becoming increasingly mixed. Studies of English use in advertising in non-English-speaking countries show that rapid changes are taking place in advertising and suggest that English-driven bilingualism and multilingual domains have become the norm in today’s postmodern world, exceeding the bounds of conventional assessments. The aim of this article is to review various studies of advertising and show that today it is no longer possible to explain all the changes solely in terms of the “domain loss and protection” characteristic of modern discourse. Recent sociolinguistic studies increasingly proclaim a new approach to language and the language system or structure: language is supposedly not so much a given ontological system reproduced in use as a product of use itself, continually changing and being recreated in response to the changing expression of linguistic and cultural identity. This approach is grounded in a postmodern critique of the perception of reality. From this perspective, linguistic identity should not be associated solely with ethnic, territorial, or state boundaries, and a shift should be made from “societal linguistics” to “contact linguistics” (see Pennycook 2006 for more). It may be argued that the diverse code-switching involving English in advertising could also be interpreted from this alternative postmodern perspective. This possibility has not previously been considered in texts devoted to the standardization of Lithuanian and language policy. L. VAICEKAUSKIENĖ. Postmodernioji dvikalbystė: tautinės kalbos ir anglų kalba reklamoje 111 1. ADVERTISING AS A MULTILINGUAL AND MIXED DOMAIN Over the past nearly two decades, numerous studies have been published worldwide in the sociolinguistic research tradition on code-switching or code-mixing. In Lietuvoje, the field of advertising has received relatively little attention in this respect. As will become apparent, the use of English in advertising is generally analyzed in quantitative terms and with regard to formal structure, expression, and effectiveness. 1.1. Quantitative Language Relations in Advertisements Quantitative studies of advertisements provide a numerical representation of competition between English and national languages. However, comparisons of figures should be treated with great caution: the empirical data in different studies are collected according to different principles, and different methods of classifying and counting advertisements are usually used (sometimes the research method is not specified at all); it is not always clear how language mixing or borrowing is defined, or what is considered a mixed advertisement. Moreover, studies are often separated by decades, so when comparing data it is necessary to note the year in which the study was conducted and bear in mind that the advertising domain has become increasingly mixed over time. The extent of English use can be gauged from the quantitative results of print and television advertising studies presented below: counts of words, instances of code-switching, or individual advertisements. For example, an analysis of Japanese print and television advertisements shows that, even twenty years ago, an average Japanese advertisement contained six English words (Takashi 1990). English was found to be used on 6 percent of advertising pages in newspapers and magazines in Italy, 7 percent of advertising pages in Spain, 19 percent in Germany and the Netherlands, and 22 percent in France (Gerritsen 19952; cited in Hornikx, Starren 2006: 125). In Switzerland, fifteen years ago, more than a third of printed advertisements contained English elements (Cheshire, Moser 19943; cited in Hornikx, Starren 2006: 125), while code-switching involving English was found in almost 80 percent of advertisements in leading Polish magazines a few years ago (Bulawka 2006: 17). In German television advertisements, in 2000, 2 Gerritsen M. 1995: ‘English’ advertisements in the Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. In: Machová B., Kubátová S. (eds.). Uniqueness in unity: the significance of cultural identity in European cooperation, Praag: Envirostress, 324–341. 3 Cheshire J., Moser L. 1994: English as a cultural symbol: the case of advertisements in French-speaking Switzerland. In: Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 15 (6), 451–469. 112 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 82 According to the data, English was found in 49 percent (Piller 20004; cited in Hornikx, Starren 2006: 125), and in 2001—in 70 percent (Piller 2001: 1575; cited in Bulawka 2006: 3). Despite the so-called Toubon Law6 adopted in France in 1994, the figures reported by French advertising researchers are quite high: English is said to be used in more than 30 percent of French television advertisements (Martin 2002a7. 8; cited in Bulawka 2006: 3), or even 53–58 percent (Hilgendorf, Martin 20018; cited in Hornikx, Starren 2006: 125). In Sweden, 59 percent of print advertisements are reportedly in English (Riutort 20029; cited in Ovesdotter Alm 2003), while in Ecuador the figure is 62 percent (Ovesdotter Alm 2003). About 70 percent of advertisements broadcast on Russian television are mixed, in English and Russian (Ustinova, Bhatia 2005: 495), and Korean television broadcasts nearly 84 percent mixed-language advertisements (Lee 2006: 71). According to studies of Lithuanian television advertisements, in 2003 English elements appeared in 35 percent of all advertisements broadcast, and in 2009 in almost 50 percent. Although the data presented here are virtually impossible to compare, the findings of studies conducted in various countries are essentially the same: the influence of English on advertising is considerable and is growing, not only quantitatively but also qualitatively. 1.2. The Structure and Functions of Elements in Multilingual Advertisements Alongside quantitative studies of the use of English in advertisements, analyses are also conducted of the domain’s linguistic hybridity; in other words, the formal 4 Piller, Ingrid, 2000: Multilingualism and the modes of TV advertising. In: Ungerer F. (ed.). English media texts past and present: language and textual structure, Amsterdam: Benjamins, 263–279. 5 Piller, Ingrid, 2001: Identity constructions in multilingual advertising. In: Language in Society 30, 153–186. 6 The law states that words, phrases, or sentences in foreign languages in all advertisements distributed in France (although it does not specify this, English is evidently meant above all) must be translated into French. However, studies show that advertisers constantly circumvent the law by assigning trademark status to English elements appearing on labels, in advertising slogans, or in the main text, or by using various other means to employ English. In such cases, the risk of violating the law is disregarded (see Martin 2002b: 401). 7 Martin, Elizabeth, 2002a: Cultural images and different varieties of English in French television commercials. In: English Today 18 (4), 8–22. 8 Hilgendorf S., Martin E., 2001: English in advertising: update for France and Germany. In: Thumboo, E. (ed.). The three circles of English, Singapore: Singapore University Press, 217–240. 9 Riutort, Helena, 2002: The influence of English on the Swedish language. Austrian Magister thesis, University of Vienna. L. VAICEKAUSKIENĖ. Postmodernioji dvikalbystė: tautinės kalbos ir anglų kalba reklamoje 113 structural criterion for measuring code-switching, and the degree of substitution is examined (considering the length and degree of integration of the English elements inserted into an advertisement) (Martin 2002b). Studies show that the degree of substitution in mixed advertisements can vary considerably: individual English sentences, English phrases, or isolated, unadapted words may be inserted. An insert may also be morphologically adapted, or a phrase or individual word may be translated into the local language. The phonological aspect of how English functions is studied less frequently, but there is evidence that the unadapted English pronunciation of a loanword in audio advertisements is intended to symbolize the advanced technological features, quality, and trendiness of the product, while an adapted pronunciation, by contrast, is intended to tone down the impression of foreignness and indicate accommodation to local needs and traditions (cf. Steeby 2004: 11)10. Such findings can be linked to the symbolic value generally attributed to English. Studies of code-switching also consider how many advertisements are entirely in English, in addition to mixed-language advertisements (see Kelly-Holmes 2005: 10 for a fuller discussion). In addition to the degree of substitution, functional analyses are also conducted of the constituent parts of advertisements. Similar findings across many studies suggest that, more often than other structural elements of an advertisement, the manufacturer’s name, the product name, and the product type are in English (see Steeby 2004: 4; Ustinova, Bhatia 2005: 496); the same is true of advertisements in Lithuania. We could argue that if there were fewer products on the market with English names, there would also be fewer mixed-language advertisements. Besides these elements, advertising slogans are also often in English. As will be seen below, code-switching to a foreign language in advertising arises from the international market and the language policies of marketing, but international advertising copy or part of it can often be translated. If the substitution strategy is not applied, there must be particular reasons for this. For example, in the previously mentioned corpus of advertisements in Polish magazines, alongside an English advertising slogan, a Polish translation was found, but such cases were exceptional (cf. the advertisement for Reebok sneakers with an English slogan and its translation: I am what I am / jestem kim jestem); more often, slogans are retained as in the original advertisement (Bulawka 2006: 20). There are many examples of translation in Lithuanian television advertisements. When the original form is retained, it is usually written, while the translation is spoken; for example, the following is written: SANYO the best from Japan, while the following is spoken: Sanyo – geriausia iš Japonijos. 10 More than one researcher has observed that English acronyms are very often left unadapted. 114 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 82 1.3. English Elements and the Effectiveness of Advertisements When considering the potential influence of advertising, it should be borne in mind that different types of advertising are not equally effective. Television advertising is considered particularly effective because television is watched extensively and advertisements are repeatedly broadcast. Television advertisements usually not only reach a larger audience but are also easy to remember. Some argue that, over time, advertisements may have a (negative) effect on language use in society as a whole (see Smetonienė 1998: 26; Miliūnaitė 2004: 7). The effectiveness of non-Lithuanian advertising elements was studied using a survey of television viewers in Vilnius, Kaunas, and Klaipėda, specially designed for this purpose (Šmitaitė 2005). In total, 350 respondents of various ages, but mostly under 34, were surveyed; two thirds of them were women. The answers show that, when watching television programs, people do in fact notice the English-language elements used in advertisements. Only 17 percent of respondents said that they paid no attention to English inserts, while 8 percent said that they did not notice them. Foreign inserts are particularly noticeable to younger respondents with higher levels of education. As many as 40 percent of respondents provided examples of English elements11. These show that people remember brand names (household and hygiene products and beverages were mentioned: Always, Wash & Go, Snickers, Tide, Head & Shoulders, Sprite, Pampers) and advertising slogans (for example, Always Coca-Cola; Nokia – Connecting People; LG – Life’s Good; Mentos – the freshmaker; Just do it; Carlsberg – probably the best beer in the World; I’m lovin’ it), and less often the songs in advertisements (for more, see Šmitaitė 2005). Interestingly, a study of advertisement broadcasts conducted during the same period showed that most of the examples supplied by respondents were instances of code-switching in advertisements that had been frequently repeated. Of course, the fact that people can quote what they have heard does not mean that their language use is being influenced. In the past, sociolinguists categorically denied that the language of the media could influence language use, since there was no evidence. The possibility of such influence is no longer ruled out altogether, but direct social contacts are still considered more influential. The linguistic elements of television advertisements have two modes of expression—auditory and written. English-language elements in advertisements may appear in both modes or in only one of them. In the former case, the prominence of English is, naturally, greater, and one may assume that this gives English a special 11 The questionnaire question was worded as follows: “If you remember any, give examples in English from television advertisements in Lithuania.” L. VAICEKAUSKIENĖ. Postmodernioji dvikalbystė: tautinės kalbos ir anglų kalba reklamoje 115 statusas (plg. Vokietijos televizijų reklamų tyrimą; Piller 2001: 16012; cit. iš Steeby 2004: 9). Vien garsinės ar vien rašytinės raiškos svetimus elementus galima interpretuoti įvairiai. Pavyzdžiui, manoma, kad jei grafinis pateikimas (vadinamoji parakalba – šrifto dydis, spalva, teksto išdėstymas ir pan.) bus pabrėžtinai ryškus, tai toks rašytinis svetimas elementas bus paveikesnis; spaudos reklamose ryškios grafikos kaip tik būna angliški užrašai. Esama duomenų, įrodančių, kad iš užrašo televizijos reklamoje iš tiesų tikimasi poveikio: tirti reklamos, skirtos ispanakalbiams amerikiečiams, visiškai nemokantiems skaityti angliškai. Tai, kad jose būta angliškų užrašų, veikiausiai atskleidžia simbolinį anglų kalbos vaidmenį (žr. Steeby 2004: 9). Kita vertus, vargu ar rašytiniam tekstui televizijos reklamoje galima teikti daugiau svarbos. Jis dažnai parodomas tik dalį sekundės, o garsiniai reklamos komponentai pasiekia adresatą net ir tada, kai jo žvilgsnis nukrypsta kitur, ir apskritai apima didesnę adresato buvimo erdvę. Lietuvos televizijos reklamų tyrimo rezultatai leidžia manyti, kad Lietuvoje svarbesne veikiausiai laikoma garsinė raiškos forma; ji visada yra ir lietuviškesnė. As has been shown, the advertising domain is changing substantially and becoming increasingly mixed as English is used more and more. These changes are viewed in two different ways. Some researchers see this as an increasing threat to one of the language domains and to language in general, a threat that needs to be regulated, while others see signs of a new social identity in the changed situation. In the former view, the changes are attributed to impersonal globalization or to the indifference of advertising recipients and creators, disregard for local traditions, or detachment from one’s roots; in the latter, they are attributed to deliberate actions by advertising creators that reflect society’s attitudes13. The article goes on to discuss the extent of deliberate planning in today’s advertising marketing and the consumer identity it is oriented toward. 2. THE IDENTITY OF THE MULTILINGUAL ADVERTISING CONSUMER When seeking explanations for the use of English in advertising, one practical explanation often offered is that the use of English may be related to the language policies of international companies, which emphasize 12 Piller, Ingrid, 2001. Op. cit. 13 The article speaks in general terms only about advertising creators; in advertising research more broadly, it is useful to distinguish between the creator and the client. 116 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 82 business cosmopolitanism. For such companies, the use of English alongside another language or other languages is part of their day-to-day operation and identity and image, which is why in advertising they may conspicuously choose to use English only (cf. the all-English advertising for the beer “Tuborg,” known in many countries: Tuborg... Wherever you are or the advertising slogan of the company “LG” Digitally yours). Conversely, they may try to adapt to a greater or lesser extent to a particular foreign-language country and localize the same advertisement everywhere, that is, adapt it to the local market. There are many different ways of adapting to the markets of different countries. For example, a comparison of the websites of several well-known manufacturers showed that in some places they may present themselves only in English, elsewhere in a mixture of English and the local language, and in still other places only the brand name may remain in English. Incidentally, continuous advertising solely in English is thought to be driven not only by monolingual cosmopolitanism, but also by a desire to emphasize neutrality: it is impossible to adapt to everyone, so English is used as a universally understood lingua franca (see Kelly-Holmes 2005: 82–91). It is sometimes claimed that the choices made by international manufacturers and advertisers are driven by financial reasons: not to adopt the so-called localization strategy, but to leave an advertisement in its original, standardized form is considerably cheaper. Nevertheless, it is more likely that other incentives are at work here and that English serves a particular function. 2.1. The symbolic role of English The specific features of the television advertising genre mean that, in order to make consumers act (i.e., purchase the product on offer), one must capture their attention at all costs, and there is very little time available. Thus, the advertising creator seeks to choose the most eye-catching devices or forms of expression. One such device is English, since certain stereotypical attitudes are associated with it. Unlike foreign languages sometimes used in other advertisements (e.g., French, Italian, German), English is no longer identified with any particular (ethnic) culture. It is said that in the past this language was used to evoke associations with the leading United States in advertising during the last couple of decades of the previous century, but today English is more likely to be associated with technological progress, cosmopolitanism, and “coolness” (on so-called linguistic fetishes in advertising, see Kelly-Holmes 2005). English influences the social psychology of the contemporary consumer and plays a symbolic role. Throughout the literature in this field L. VAICEKAUSKIENĖ. Postmodernioji dvikalbystė: tautinės kalbos ir anglų kalba reklamoje 117 the same tendencies are emphasized: associating English with modernity, innovation, scientific progress, reliability, Westernness (the latter factor having a particularly strong influence in Eastern and Central Europe), or internationalism. One of the first to note the symbolic value of a foreign language was Harald Haarmann (1989): the conclusions of this author’s study of a Japanese audience were based on the assumption that the Japanese had too little command of foreign languages for them to play any role in advertising other than a symbolic one. The aforementioned study of Spanish-speaking Americans who could not read English (Steeby 2004) would confirm the same point. The symbolic value of English applies both to the advertising character and the addressee identified with that character, and to the manufacturer whose product is advertised and whose image of internationalism and modernity requires English. Thus, it may be assumed that English is one component of commercial capital, and that the addressee of multilingual advertisements is not a citizen of any particular country, but a consumer in the global market, whose social identity is shifting noticeably from the political to the economic (cf. Piller 2003: 176). However, the literature also contains a different view. According to some authors, it is not entirely accurate to assign English solely a symbolic meaning, since there is evidence that understanding what is being said in a foreign language is also important. Research shows that if the addressee understands the advertising content expressed in a foreign language, it has a greater impact on them (see Petrof 199014; Cheshire, Moser 199415; Gerritsen et al. 200016; cited in Hornikx, Starren 2006: 132–133). Thus, a foreign language in advertising is not merely form without function, but alongside its symbolic value may also have linguistic significance (cf. Hornikx, Starren 2006: 139). This assumption is also supported by findings from some studies on the creative adaptation of English-language material to local needs—using only variants of English forms or words characteristic of that particular society, creating new words in English, playing on the sound similarities between English and the local language, and so on (cf. the Russian advertisement for the chocolate bar Snickers: Сникерсни! “snicker up,” or the slogan of the entertainment program Бинго Шоу – Все будет хорошо) 14 Petrof J. V. 1990: L’utilisation des langues étrangères comme moyen d’augmenter l’efficacité de la publicité: une approche expérimentale. In: Recherche et applications en Marketing 5 (2), 1–16. 15 Cheshire L., Moser L. 1994: English as a cultural symbol: the case of advertisements in French-speaking Switzerland. In: Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 15 (6), 451–469. 16 Gerritsen M., Korzilius H., Meurs F. van, Gijsbers I. 2000: English in Dutch commercials: not understood and not appreciates. In: Journal of Advertising Research 40 (4), 17–31. 118 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 82 (Ustinova, Bhatia 2005; see also Lee 2006; Bulawka 2006). Examples of this use of English are already appearing in Lithuania as well (cf. the 2008 series of advertisements by the Rimi store chain, which “plays” with the sound similarities between English and Lithuanian words, e.g.: Do you know what fine sale means? They really like to buy! Chocking sale – when shopping makes you want to dance; Sale boxes – boxing over products; or the TUC biscuit television advertisement TUC – when hunger knocks tuk tuk (2009), as well as the name of Samsonas sausages S.l.i.m. and the advertising slogan explaining this ambiguous acronym, “Satiated, slender and loved” (2009), the name of a recipe advertised online Bučkiss, etc.)17. 2.2. Target groups of advertising consumers More than one study shows that advertising audiences can be classified sociolinguistically. Age, proficiency in English, and social status are of great importance here: the identity of the modern, cosmopolitan person expressed through English is characteristic above all of a young, “globally bilingual,” socially well-established person whose value orientations are internationalism, the future, success, education, and entertainment (Takashi 1990; Piller 2001: 16318; cited in Bulawka 2006: 9; Lee 2006; Vaicekauskienė 2006). Code-switching with English is characteristic of advertisements aimed precisely at such an audience. In examining the new identity, a method is used that classifies advertisements according to the product being advertised or particular areas of life depicted in the advertisement. For example, a methodologically meticulous study of Korean television advertisements, which analyzed three such areas (modern technology, gender roles, and cultural preferences), confirms the dichotomies highlighted by language codes: traditional vs. modern, old vs. young, conventional vs. innovative, conservative vs. liberal (Lee 2006: 86). The latter members of these oppositions are, of course, associated with English. Similar results were obtained for advertisements in Danish magazines with different target audiences in 2001: in a magazine aimed at older women with low incomes, virtually all the advertisements were in Danish (in this respect, the magazine had not changed for several decades); in a magazine for younger, educated women, which had previously felt no influence from English 17 Fine – Lithuanian for “excellent,” here probably associated with “faina” (“cool”); chocking – Lithuanian for “shocking,” associated with “šokti” (“to dance”); sale boxes – Lithuanian for “sale departments, boxes,” also associated with the English loanword commonly used in Lithuanian, “boksuotis” (“to box”); slim – Lithuanian for “slender”; kiss – Lithuanian for “kiss.” 18 Piller, Ingrid, 2001. Op. cit. L. VAICEKAUSKIENĖ. Postmodernioji dvikalbystė: tautinės kalbos ir anglų kalba reklamoje 119 influence, more than half of the advertisements contained English elements; advertisements in a magazine aimed at young people looked similar. English appeared to be most firmly established in a magazine aimed at young men with above-average incomes19: only a dozen percent of the advertisements found there were purely Danish, nearly a third were mixed, and more than half were entirely in English (Hjarvard 2004: 88–89). Thus, a clear tendency is confirmed once again: English enjoys prestige among young, educated, prosperous, active people, and, naturally, they know the language. In advertisements, the so-called local language is used to address older or less educated audiences. The tendency observed by scholars in various countries to give local products mixed or English (or artificial, English-like) names, and also to create local advertisements with English elements or even entirely in English, can be linked precisely to the formation of this new identity: cf. the name of a product line by the famous Polish cosmetics manufacturer Soraya, Beauty Creator, or the name of a cream, Morpho Krem, advertised with a typical advertising phrase adapted literally, Nowa generacja inteligentnych Morpho Kremow; and the names of French companies’ men’s eau de toilette products, Cool Water, Basic Homme, etc. It has been observed that advertising campaigns by cosmetics and clothing manufacturers often use English words in mixed compounds, such as collection, cosmetics, fashion, woman, hydro, light, etc. (Martin 2002b; Bulawka 2006). Even products from traditional (and internationally renowned) national cultures are given English names, for example, the French perfume or fashion products mentioned above, and Chinese culinary products. Such names can also be found in Lithuania (for example, Alita’s sparkling vodka Boom or its cocktail line MIX tropic, MIX apple and nut; Žemaitijos pienas cheese Cheese‘lis (rhymed with “vaikų džiaugsmelis” in the advertising leaflet); Vilniaus pergalė caramel Cool ice, etc.). In these cases, there is neither a communicative nor a referential reason for using English. It may be that this is sometimes done to create the impression that the product is not local, but made in the West or intended for the international market (as noted, this is particularly characteristic of poorer countries with less influence). There is, incidentally, evidence supporting this: as one small study of English names for Lithuanian beverages showed, English names can mislead almost 50 to 80 percent of consumers (Jurgelaitytė, Kalitkevič 2007). In addition, English is used in an effort to influence the aforementioned target audience of the advertising. 19 This Danish magazine is even named Euroman. 120 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 82 When discussing the language of advertising (and the media), it is often claimed that, by orienting itself towards its addressee, it imitates their language and is therefore to be regarded as a reflection of the language of a person with that identity. However, there is one fundamental difference between advertising and living language: everyday speech is spontaneous, whereas in advertising every word is weighed (words here literally cost money). Thus, if English text appears in an advertisement, it is assumed that it is more suitable there than any other option (see Kelly-Holmes 2005: 8). Identity-oriented planning is evident not only in the media but also in various other types of advertising: for example, a systematic analysis of announcements for Vilnius music clubs showed that printed advertising associated with youth club culture is clearly characterised by a mixed (English and Lithuanian) code (Kalniny-tė, Janavičiūtė 2006; Prevalackaitė 2007). Even social advertising can include English insertions if it is intended for a particular addressee (cf. public advertising on the streets of Vilnius in 2007: Forget welcome if you start using drugs20). From what has been said, it is clear that there is more than enough evidence that advertising containing English elements is deliberately created for a particular consumer. CONCLUSIONS Although English in advertising is often said to have only symbolic value and to serve no content-transmission function, research findings suggest that bilingualism or mixed coding involving English has become a universally accepted norm in the advertising domain. This norm is shaped by the changed social and linguistic situation in contemporary societies: now accessible, English is used by certain social groups as a resource and a means of expression for creating yet another of the many changing identities of contemporary people. Linguistically, advertising should not be equated with other domains (for example, work, education, or the media), where users are multilingual and choose for themselves, according to the situation, the linguistic code that suits them. Consumers of advertising do not choose for themselves, but it is clear that advertisers are well aware of their addressee’s 20 On this advertising stand, the text is arranged in the same sequence, but in separate phrases, while the English word welcome (Lith. “please come in, welcome”) is depicted as written on a doormat. L. VAICEKAUSKIENĖ. Postmodernioji dvikalbystė: tautinės kalbos ir anglų kalba reklamoje 121 identity and deliberately target it. The pressure of the new norm is so great that there is no hesitation in violating official requirements for pure and correct language and changing the conception of language accepted in public usage. This is particularly evident in the advertising policies of international manufacturers and in advertisements aimed at young people seeking social status. Their addressee probably knows several linguistic codes and is accustomed to using them separately or interchangeably. It can be argued that today the advertising domain could be interpreted not only as an area of language use affected by globalisation and being lost, as is characteristic of modernist discourse, but also as a specific yet typical part of multilingual postmodern communication. The postmodern perspective, according to which all categories are variable, changeable, and open to alteration, justifies mixed language use through the consumer’s multilingual identity and freedom to use as many codes as they deem necessary. New forms of communication in advertising are highly varied, both in Lithuania and elsewhere: foreign-language (English) insertions may be included, or several languages may be used side by side in a single advertisement; the advertising domain itself may also be multilingual—some advertisements are in one language, others in another. In general, mixed domains are becoming increasingly common in today’s world. The alternative interpretation of changes in the standardisation of the Lithuanian language and language policy presented in this article is new and may perhaps seem provocative; however, it should be taken into account in order to better understand the complex current situation of language use and to apply appropriate language-planning measures. LITERATŪRA Bulawka H. M. 2006: English in Polish Advertising. Centre for English Language Studies, University of Birmingham. Unpublished dissertation for the degree of Laster of Arts in Special Applications of Linguistics, http://www.cels.bham.ac.uk/resources/essays/Bulawka%20 Dissertation.pdf Haarmann H. 1989: Symbolic values of foreign language use. From the Japanese Case to a General Sociolinguistic Perspective. – Contributions to the Sociology of Language 51, Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter. Hjarvard S. 2004: The Globalization of Language. How the Media Contribute to the Spread of English and the Emergence of Medialect s. – Nordicom Review 1–2, Nordicom: Gothenburg University, 75–97. 122 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 82 Hornikx J., Starren M. 2006: The relationship between the appreciation and the comprehension of French in Dutch advertisements. – R. Crijns, C. Burgers (eds.). Werbestrategien in Theorie und Praxis: Sprachliche Aspekte von deutschen und niederländischen Unternehmensdarstellungen und Werbekampagnen, Tostedt: Attikon Verlag, 125–141. Jurgelaitytė E., Kalitkevič J. 2007: Anglų kalbos įtaka gaiviųjų gėrimų ir alkoholinių kokteilių etiketėms, Vilniaus universitetas, Lietuvių filologijos studijų kryptis (kursinis darbas). Kalninyte A., Janavičiūtė E. 2006: Anglų kalbos įtaka lietuvių kalbai muzikinėse skrajutėse, Vilniaus universitetas, Lietuvių filologijos studijų kryptis (kursinis darbas). Kelly-Holmes H. 2005: Advertising as Multilingual Communication, New York: Palgrave MacMillan. Lee J. Sh. 2006: Linguistic constructions of modernity: English mixing in Korean television commercials. – Language in Society 35, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 59–91. Martin E. 2002b: Mixing English in French advertising. – World Englishes 21 (3), 375–402. Miliūnaitė R. 2004: Reklamos kalba: vėjai ir skersvėjai (vietoj pratarmės). – Reklamos kalba, Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas. Ovesdotter A. C. 2003: English in the Ecuadorian commercial context. – World Englishes 22 (2), 143–158. Pennycook A. 2006: Postmodernism in Language Policy. – Thomas Ricento (ed.). An introduction to language policy: Theory and method, Blackwell Publishing, 60–76. Piller I. 2003: Advertising as a site of language contact. – Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 23, 170–183. Prevalackaitė G. 2007: Anglų kalbos įtaka naktinių muzikos klubų anonsams, Vilniaus universitetas, Lietuvių kalbotyros studijų kryptis (magistro darbas). RĮ 2000: Lietuvos Respublikos reklamos įstatymas. – Valstybės žinios 64–1937. Smetonienė I. 1998: Garsinės reklamos kūrimo ir taisymo problemos. – Kalbos tvarkyba: tradicija ir dabartis. Seminaro tezės, Vilnius: Nacionalinių tyrimų centro leidykla. Steeby N. 2004: Between Authority and Authenticity: English Use in Spanish-Language Commercials in the United States. – Colorado Research in Linguistics 17 (1), Boulder: University of Colorado, 1–17. Šmitaitė R. 2005: Anglų kalbos poveikis televizijos reklamos kalbai, Vilniaus universitetas, Lietuvių kalbotyros (taikomosios) studijų kryptis (magistro darbas). L. VAICEKAUSKIENĖ. Postmodernioji dvikalbystė: tautinės kalbos ir anglų kalba reklamoje 123 Takashi K. 1990: A sociolinguistic analysis of English borrowings in Japanese advertising texts. – World Englishes 9 (3), 327–341. Ustinova I. P., Bhatia T. K. 2005: Convergence of English in Russian TV commercials. – World Englishes 24 (4), 495–508. Vaicekauskienė L. 2006: Anglų kalbos svetimžodžiai ir socialinis identitetas Lietuvoje. – Darbai ir dienos 46, 65–78. VGI 1997: Valstybinės lietuvių kalbos komisijos prie Lietuvos Respublikos Seimo nutarimas nr. 66 „Dėl viešosios garsinės informacijos ir viešųjų užrašų laikinųjų taisyklių“. – Valstybės žinios, 113–2865. VĮ 2000: Lietuvos Respublikos visuomenės informavimo įstatymas. – Valstybės žinios, 75–2272. VKĮ 2002: Lietuvos Respublikos valstybinės kalbos įstatymas, 1995-01-31, Nr. I-779. – Valstybės žinios, 1995, 15–344; 2002, 68–2760. VKPG 2003: Valstybinės kalbos politikos 2003–2008 m. gairės. Lietuvos Respublikos Seimo 2003-06-03 nutarimas Nr. IX-1595. – Valstybės žinios, 57. VKPG 2008: Valstybinės kalbos politikos 2009–2013 m. gairių projektas – Prieiga per internetą: http://www.vlkk.lt/lit/10110 (žiūrėta 2009 10 12). Gauta 2009 11 02 POST-MODERN BILINGUALISM: NATIONAL LANGUAGES AND ENGLISH IN ADVERTISING Summary The paper offers an overview of research into advertising and shows that codeswitching and code-mixing with English on the world market is gradually becoming a norm. The pressure is so firm that possible violations of the requirements of official, pure and well-formed language or even changing the understanding of language acceptable for public use do not seem to pose any threat. Nowadays it is becoming more and more difficult to account for the ongoing changes using such concepts of modern discourse as “protection against the domain loss”; rather, reference should be made to the framework of the criticism of post-modern perception of reality that linguistic reality tends to change together with the changing cultural identity. Presently, the identity of a language user should not be related merely with ethnic, territorial or national boundaries: 124 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 82 English has become accessible to all and some social groups use it as a resource and as a means of expression. It is such identity of a plurilingual user and the freedom of his/her choice to use as many codes as necessary that can help explain why most domains, including advertising, are becoming mixed. In the texts focusing on language policy and standardising the Lithuanian language such opportunities have never been discussed. LORETA VAICEKAUSKIENĖ Lietuvių kalbos institutas P. Vileišio g. 5, LT-10308 Vilnius [email protected] L. VAICEKAUSKIENĖ. Postmodernioji dvikalbystė: tautinės kalbos ir anglų kalba reklamoje 125