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【Abstract】This paper focuses on the study of communicative inter-subjectivity of a particular type of advertisement—poster ads. Specifically， it focuses on how the audience’s subjectivity is established and realized successfully in the communications initiated by the ads. Based on Bolen’s criteria for successful advertisements and Austen’s Speech Act Theory， this paper， taking three Singaporean poster ads as the case in point， descriptively analyzes the properties of the speech acts performed by these ads and discusses how the audience’s subjectivity is initiated and realized by the visual devices employed in these posters to as a way of performing their persuasive perlocutionary force. Analyses of these cases indicate that both linguistic and non-linguistic visual devices are employed in performing the locutionary act of these ads；each of the devices performs different role in their uttering of the illocutionay act；and pictorial metaphors are drawn on in all the three cases to enhance the perlocutionary act of the ads. With these properties， the audience’s subjectivity can be discovered in the entire course of creating of these posters： in the analyzing and planning stage prior to their creation， during the designing of their layout， and most prominently in governing their selection of linguistic and non-linguistic devices involved order to strike the viewers with what they are advertising， thus showing the inter-subjective nature of this particular type of communication. It is believed that discussions on the audience’s subjectivity within the framework of Speech Act Theory will contribute to literature by defusing the criticisms on its negligence of the audience role in communication and those on its insufficient attention to the social contexts of communication. In addition it will also add weight on the call for socializing speech act theory.
【Key words】Speech Act Theory； poster ads； inter-subjectivity； communication
Speech Act theory， originated by Austin and developed by Searle （Thomas， 1995， p. 51）， has long been criticized for its negligence to the inter-subjective quality of communication （Streeck， 1980；Levinson， 1983；Goodwin and Duranti， 1992；Sbisa， 2001）. Both masters pay exclusive attention to the speaker’s intentionality， but seldom discuss the role played by the hearer in the course of communication. Wee （2004） points out that “speech act theory， at least in the form associated with the work of Searle， pays insufficient attention to the social contexts of communication （ibid， p. 2174）”…. Therefore， “we argue， in echoing other scholars， that speech act theory needs to be more inter-subjective in orientation” （ibid， p. 2163）. Speech act theory， applied to the field of advertisement， has spurred much discussion on the communication between the ads/speaker and the audience/hearer. Cook （2001） provides a comprehensive analysis of the social functions and aesthetic effects of advertisements across a wide range of media. Forcewille （1996） examines “the communicator and addressee in the advertising message” from perspectives of Sperber and Wilson’s relevance theory. However， the focus has always been on how ads/communicators make their intentions seen or perceived by the addressees （ibid）， or how the social functions or aesthetic effects of ads are achieved from the perspective of the addressers of the ads. Few has been done to show how the addressees’—the audience’s or the viewers’ subjectivity—has been initiated and realized in this special type of communication.
This paper therefore aims at providing a different perspective to demonstrate the inter-subjective nature of communication initiated by one type of advertisement—poster ads. Taking Bolen’s （1984） criteria for successful advertisements and Austen’s Speech Act Theory （1962） as the theoretical framework， the study will take three randomly chosen poster adds from Singapore as the case in point. It will first descriptively analyze the properties of the speech acts performed in the three poster ads， and then discuss how the audience’s subjectivity is initiated to enhance their desired and designed communicative goals. The purpose is to add weight on the call for the socializing of Speech Act Theory. Specifically two questions will be answered： 1） What are the properties of the speech acts performed by poster ads？2） How is the readers’ subjectivity， though silent， established and enhanced by both the posters and their creators？To achieve both ends， the research will use three randomly selected poster ads from Singapore as cases in point， explicating their properties and subjectivities involved.
To initiate this research， over a dozen photos of poster ads were randomly taken in and around MRT stations in Singapore during the one month period between 15 Feb. and 15 March， 2007. But given the scope and purpose of this study， three of them are employed as sample cases for this research analysis. The next part of this paper will first give a detailed description of the contents and contexts of the three poster ads. Then it proceeds to analyze the properties of the speech acts performed by these posters. Finally， it discusses on how the addressees’ subjectivity is established and boosted by these poster ads. The first one， Case 1， （as shown in Appendix 1） is a huge out door poster ad of a global delivery company—UPS. It was found at the crossroad outside Bugis MRT Station and facing squarely at the crossroad. It is so huge that it covers the entire top two levels of a three-storied building， and extends the width of the facets of two stores. The entire face of the ad is left blank except two huge protruding black words at its center： “Loss Less”， with the letter “o” replaced by a huge real clock. A short line is placed right under these two huge words， “Get your products faster to market with UPS”， which explains the function of this delivery company. The font of the sentence is comparatively much smaller than the two huge words， but large enough for people to recognize from afar. The length of the sentence is slightly shorter than that of the two huge words. The clock in the position of letter ‘o’ is rather huge， and the time indicated on it can be seen clearly from any direction. At the bottom of the huge poster， there is an orange line indicating the website of the company “globalshipping.ups.sg”， to the right hand side of which is the phrase “Deliver more” and the logo of UPS Company. Except these signs and words， the entire rest part of the poster is covered by nothing. Nothing more， but nothing less.
The second one， Case 2， （as shown in Appendix 2） is a poster of regular size found on walls of the subway tunnel at Outram Park MRT junction， which is always crowded with people who are changing between the east and the north lines. It advertises Eagle brand medical products， a famous local brand which is known for its traditional Chinese medical pain-killing or pain-relieving plasters or balms. Standing every 10 or so meters on the wall along the subway tunnel， posters of the same ad greet the passers-by with a huge smiling image of a healthy senior man standing on the green grass-land of a golf course， with the thumb of one hand up， and the other hand resting on a gulf pole. In front of him are the pictures of several major products of the company such as “Eagle brand capsicum plaster”，“Eagle Inhaler”and“Eagle Yellow Balm” plaster with logo of the brand. Three huge words in bold font are listed right below the pictures of the products， reading “Trusted For Generations.” The position of these words meets right the eyes of an adult of average height. Another line of words are arranged underneath， saying “Available at all leading pharmacies， drug stores， medical halls， and supermarkets”，which is much smaller in font size. On the upper right corner of the poster is a large logo of this brand， which is in the shape of an eagle clipped between two capitalized words EAGLE BRAND. Both the brand name and the logo are in bright red color. The third case， Case 3， （as shown in Appendix 3） is a commonweal poster made by Singapore government for the promotion of the values of good service and hardworking. It is a popular one that can be found on many windows and walls at the platform of MRT stations. The picture features a bright smiling young， in chef’s white uniform and white hat， serving an exquisite course of delicacy to the customers， and the smiling side-face of one of the customers. The broad and confident smiles on their faces and the sincerity in their eyes send warmth immediately to people who see it. Unlike the large blank left on the poster in Case 1， the two images of the people takes majority space of the poster， which is subtitled with these words： “I started my business with my hands
【Key words】Speech Act Theory； poster ads； inter-subjectivity； communication
Speech Act theory， originated by Austin and developed by Searle （Thomas， 1995， p. 51）， has long been criticized for its negligence to the inter-subjective quality of communication （Streeck， 1980；Levinson， 1983；Goodwin and Duranti， 1992；Sbisa， 2001）. Both masters pay exclusive attention to the speaker’s intentionality， but seldom discuss the role played by the hearer in the course of communication. Wee （2004） points out that “speech act theory， at least in the form associated with the work of Searle， pays insufficient attention to the social contexts of communication （ibid， p. 2174）”…. Therefore， “we argue， in echoing other scholars， that speech act theory needs to be more inter-subjective in orientation” （ibid， p. 2163）. Speech act theory， applied to the field of advertisement， has spurred much discussion on the communication between the ads/speaker and the audience/hearer. Cook （2001） provides a comprehensive analysis of the social functions and aesthetic effects of advertisements across a wide range of media. Forcewille （1996） examines “the communicator and addressee in the advertising message” from perspectives of Sperber and Wilson’s relevance theory. However， the focus has always been on how ads/communicators make their intentions seen or perceived by the addressees （ibid）， or how the social functions or aesthetic effects of ads are achieved from the perspective of the addressers of the ads. Few has been done to show how the addressees’—the audience’s or the viewers’ subjectivity—has been initiated and realized in this special type of communication.
This paper therefore aims at providing a different perspective to demonstrate the inter-subjective nature of communication initiated by one type of advertisement—poster ads. Taking Bolen’s （1984） criteria for successful advertisements and Austen’s Speech Act Theory （1962） as the theoretical framework， the study will take three randomly chosen poster adds from Singapore as the case in point. It will first descriptively analyze the properties of the speech acts performed in the three poster ads， and then discuss how the audience’s subjectivity is initiated to enhance their desired and designed communicative goals. The purpose is to add weight on the call for the socializing of Speech Act Theory. Specifically two questions will be answered： 1） What are the properties of the speech acts performed by poster ads？2） How is the readers’ subjectivity， though silent， established and enhanced by both the posters and their creators？To achieve both ends， the research will use three randomly selected poster ads from Singapore as cases in point， explicating their properties and subjectivities involved.
To initiate this research， over a dozen photos of poster ads were randomly taken in and around MRT stations in Singapore during the one month period between 15 Feb. and 15 March， 2007. But given the scope and purpose of this study， three of them are employed as sample cases for this research analysis. The next part of this paper will first give a detailed description of the contents and contexts of the three poster ads. Then it proceeds to analyze the properties of the speech acts performed by these posters. Finally， it discusses on how the addressees’ subjectivity is established and boosted by these poster ads. The first one， Case 1， （as shown in Appendix 1） is a huge out door poster ad of a global delivery company—UPS. It was found at the crossroad outside Bugis MRT Station and facing squarely at the crossroad. It is so huge that it covers the entire top two levels of a three-storied building， and extends the width of the facets of two stores. The entire face of the ad is left blank except two huge protruding black words at its center： “Loss Less”， with the letter “o” replaced by a huge real clock. A short line is placed right under these two huge words， “Get your products faster to market with UPS”， which explains the function of this delivery company. The font of the sentence is comparatively much smaller than the two huge words， but large enough for people to recognize from afar. The length of the sentence is slightly shorter than that of the two huge words. The clock in the position of letter ‘o’ is rather huge， and the time indicated on it can be seen clearly from any direction. At the bottom of the huge poster， there is an orange line indicating the website of the company “globalshipping.ups.sg”， to the right hand side of which is the phrase “Deliver more” and the logo of UPS Company. Except these signs and words， the entire rest part of the poster is covered by nothing. Nothing more， but nothing less.
The second one， Case 2， （as shown in Appendix 2） is a poster of regular size found on walls of the subway tunnel at Outram Park MRT junction， which is always crowded with people who are changing between the east and the north lines. It advertises Eagle brand medical products， a famous local brand which is known for its traditional Chinese medical pain-killing or pain-relieving plasters or balms. Standing every 10 or so meters on the wall along the subway tunnel， posters of the same ad greet the passers-by with a huge smiling image of a healthy senior man standing on the green grass-land of a golf course， with the thumb of one hand up， and the other hand resting on a gulf pole. In front of him are the pictures of several major products of the company such as “Eagle brand capsicum plaster”，“Eagle Inhaler”and“Eagle Yellow Balm” plaster with logo of the brand. Three huge words in bold font are listed right below the pictures of the products， reading “Trusted For Generations.” The position of these words meets right the eyes of an adult of average height. Another line of words are arranged underneath， saying “Available at all leading pharmacies， drug stores， medical halls， and supermarkets”，which is much smaller in font size. On the upper right corner of the poster is a large logo of this brand， which is in the shape of an eagle clipped between two capitalized words EAGLE BRAND. Both the brand name and the logo are in bright red color. The third case， Case 3， （as shown in Appendix 3） is a commonweal poster made by Singapore government for the promotion of the values of good service and hardworking. It is a popular one that can be found on many windows and walls at the platform of MRT stations. The picture features a bright smiling young， in chef’s white uniform and white hat， serving an exquisite course of delicacy to the customers， and the smiling side-face of one of the customers. The broad and confident smiles on their faces and the sincerity in their eyes send warmth immediately to people who see it. Unlike the large blank left on the poster in Case 1， the two images of the people takes majority space of the poster， which is subtitled with these words： “I started my business with my hands