International Journal of Language and Linguistics

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Evaluating Kurdish EFL University Students’ Comprehension of Commercial Advertisements with Reference to Leech’s Types of Meaning

Received: 04 December 2015    Accepted: 14 December 2015    Published: 25 December 2015
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Abstract

The current study highlights different types of meaning, conceptual and associative meaning in particular, and their role(s) in some selected English and Kurdish commercial advertisements. It aims at detecting and evaluating the capability of Kurdish EFL university students in comprehending (or decoding) these advertisements. The material to be investigated is the texts that accompany the pictorial element(s) of some English and Kurdish ads. The ads are carefully selected to represent different fields: lottery, food, technological devices, telecommunication system, healthcare, etc. The study assumes that advertising is determined by two essential features, namely universal and national; both have serious impact on the persuasive character of the ads. Moreover, it is hypothesized that the language used to support the pictorial elements of an ad, unless well-selected to affect and promote people’s desire, might have negative consequences on marketing it. The study also hypothesizes that the students comprehend Kurdish ads easily comparing with the English ones. To investigate the hypotheses five samples of ads in each language are selected and analyzed according to well-defined criteria based on Leech’s types of meaning; and a test is designed to evaluate the students’ comprehension in which the students are asked to write their own understanding on the texts found in the ads. The study concludes that in each text different types of meaning are available and the type that supports conveying the hidden message is the associative meaning rather than conceptual one. Moreover, the study concludes that because of their lack of most aspects of English culture, the level of students’ comprehension of Kurdish ads is higher than the English ones.

DOI 10.11648/j.ijll.20150306.30
Published in International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 3, Issue 6, November 2015)
Page(s) 455-465
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Advertising, Meaning, Comprehension

References
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Author Information
  • Department of English, School of Basic Education, Faculty of Physical and Basic Education, University of Sulaimani, Sulaimani, Kurdistan, Iraq

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    Barham Sattar Abdulrahman. (2015). Evaluating Kurdish EFL University Students’ Comprehension of Commercial Advertisements with Reference to Leech’s Types of Meaning. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 3(6), 455-465. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20150306.30

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    Barham Sattar Abdulrahman. Evaluating Kurdish EFL University Students’ Comprehension of Commercial Advertisements with Reference to Leech’s Types of Meaning. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2015, 3(6), 455-465. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20150306.30

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    Barham Sattar Abdulrahman. Evaluating Kurdish EFL University Students’ Comprehension of Commercial Advertisements with Reference to Leech’s Types of Meaning. Int J Lang Linguist. 2015;3(6):455-465. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20150306.30

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijll.20150306.30,
      author = {Barham Sattar Abdulrahman},
      title = {Evaluating Kurdish EFL University Students’ Comprehension of Commercial Advertisements with Reference to Leech’s Types of Meaning},
      journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
      volume = {3},
      number = {6},
      pages = {455-465},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20150306.30},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20150306.30},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20150306.30},
      abstract = {The current study highlights different types of meaning, conceptual and associative meaning in particular, and their role(s) in some selected English and Kurdish commercial advertisements. It aims at detecting and evaluating the capability of Kurdish EFL university students in comprehending (or decoding) these advertisements. The material to be investigated is the texts that accompany the pictorial element(s) of some English and Kurdish ads. The ads are carefully selected to represent different fields: lottery, food, technological devices, telecommunication system, healthcare, etc. The study assumes that advertising is determined by two essential features, namely universal and national; both have serious impact on the persuasive character of the ads. Moreover, it is hypothesized that the language used to support the pictorial elements of an ad, unless well-selected to affect and promote people’s desire, might have negative consequences on marketing it. The study also hypothesizes that the students comprehend Kurdish ads easily comparing with the English ones. To investigate the hypotheses five samples of ads in each language are selected and analyzed according to well-defined criteria based on Leech’s types of meaning; and a test is designed to evaluate the students’ comprehension in which the students are asked to write their own understanding on the texts found in the ads. The study concludes that in each text different types of meaning are available and the type that supports conveying the hidden message is the associative meaning rather than conceptual one. Moreover, the study concludes that because of their lack of most aspects of English culture, the level of students’ comprehension of Kurdish ads is higher than the English ones.},
     year = {2015}
    }
    

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    AU  - Barham Sattar Abdulrahman
    Y1  - 2015/12/25
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    AB  - The current study highlights different types of meaning, conceptual and associative meaning in particular, and their role(s) in some selected English and Kurdish commercial advertisements. It aims at detecting and evaluating the capability of Kurdish EFL university students in comprehending (or decoding) these advertisements. The material to be investigated is the texts that accompany the pictorial element(s) of some English and Kurdish ads. The ads are carefully selected to represent different fields: lottery, food, technological devices, telecommunication system, healthcare, etc. The study assumes that advertising is determined by two essential features, namely universal and national; both have serious impact on the persuasive character of the ads. Moreover, it is hypothesized that the language used to support the pictorial elements of an ad, unless well-selected to affect and promote people’s desire, might have negative consequences on marketing it. The study also hypothesizes that the students comprehend Kurdish ads easily comparing with the English ones. To investigate the hypotheses five samples of ads in each language are selected and analyzed according to well-defined criteria based on Leech’s types of meaning; and a test is designed to evaluate the students’ comprehension in which the students are asked to write their own understanding on the texts found in the ads. The study concludes that in each text different types of meaning are available and the type that supports conveying the hidden message is the associative meaning rather than conceptual one. Moreover, the study concludes that because of their lack of most aspects of English culture, the level of students’ comprehension of Kurdish ads is higher than the English ones.
    VL  - 3
    IS  - 6
    ER  - 

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