Realization Of Vocative Function In English & Chinese Real Estate Advertisements-A Comparative Study From The Perspective Of Pragmatic Presupposition

This thesis aims to explore the exploitation of pragmatic presupposition so as to figure out how it helps to achieve the vocative function in advertising. Based on the collected data of English and Chinese real estate advertisements, the author has done a comparative analysis, which is a qualitative study. The findings suggest that English and Chinese real estate advertisers tend to use factive presupposition to convince their consumers; use belief presupposition to influence consumers' existing beliefs; use state and behavior presupposition to recognize their problems and create desires; use cultural presupposition to resonate with consumers. By doing so, they can effectively motivate consumers to take purchasing action.Chapter 1 is a brief introduction to the present thesis which includes the rationale and motivation for the thesis, the significance of the study, the research questions, data collection and research method, and the whole structure. Chapter 2 gives a review of the study on real estate advertisements and pragmatic presupposition in advertising. Derived from the review, the author introduces the perspective of the present study, i.e. the perspective of pragmatic presupposition. Chapter 3 is the theoretical basis of the whole thesis. Major views on pragmatic presupposition are elaborated and summarized. Features of pragmatic presupposition are presented and 5 types of pragmatic presupposition in real estate advertisements have been classified. In Chapter 4, a comparison of different types of pragmatic presupposition in the realization of vocative function in English and Chinese real estate advertisements has been made. Chapter 5 gives a general summary, and points out the implications and limitations of the present research.This study is quite implicational both theoretically and practically. Theoretically, this research might shed light on the study of real estate advertisements from the perspective of pragmatics and provides data for the studies of pragmatic presupposition in advertising; practically, it is hoped that it will contribute to the designing of real estate advertisements, especially the designing of multi-national advertisements.