An analysis of language features in english advertisements

3.2 Extensive use of monosyllabic and simple words

Monosyllabic and simple words are preferred in advertising, for they are smooth to read and easy to understand. G. N. Leech, a great English linguist, lists 20 most common verbs in his English In Advertising: Linguistic study of Advertising In Great Britain (方薇, 1997:20). They are:

make, get, give, have, see, buy, come, go, know, keep, look, need, love, use, feel, like, choose, take, start, taste.
We often read simple advertisements. E.g.
Buy one. Use it. We make… One will give you what you need. You’ll love one. Get one free.
We’ll make this quick. (Hertz Car Return)
Get great coverage that’s so weightless and water-fresh. (ALMAY)
All you need is a taste for adventure. (Millstone Coffee)
You’ll love it even more with the 2.1 megapixel C-2000 ZOOM. (Olympus Camera)
Don’t have much of a personality? Buy one. (Honda Motor)
All the verbs used in the above examples are monosyllabic and most of them have Anglo-Saxon origin that is the common core of English vocabulary???. Linguistic study shows English native speakers tend to use words of Anglo-Saxon origin, because native words have comparably stable meaning. In advertising, these simple words can help win consumers by their exact, effective expression and a kind of closeness. Etymological studies show that eighteen of the 20 verbs listed above, except use and taste, which are from ancient French, are of Anglo-Saxon origin. Even the two words use and taste have long become indispensable lexical items in the stock of common core vocabulary of the English people.
As to adjectives, monosyllabic ones are also preferred with the same reason. The most frequently used adjectives are as follows:
new, good/better/best, fresh, free, delicious, sure, full, clean, wonderful, special, crisp, real, fine, great, safe, and rich.
About 89% of frequently employed adjectives in English advertising are monosyllabic words. Such simple words are compact and crisp.