FEDERAL STATE AUTONOMOUS EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION

OF HIGHER EDUCATION
«NATIONAL RESEARCH UNIVERSITY
«HIGHER SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS»
School of Foreign Languages

ENGLISH LOANWORDS IN ASIAN ADVERTISING

Group project
Discipline “Research Methods”
Educational program “Foreign Languages and Intercultural Communication”

Group members:
Anastasia Vinokurova
Elizaveta Kokareva

Instructor:
Bogolepova S.V.

MOSCOW
2020

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 Table of contents
Abstract………............................................................................................................3
Introduction and Theoretical Framework....................................................................3
Methodology……........................................................................................................4
Results and Discussion…….………...........................................................................5
Conclusion………………………...............................................................................9
Limitations…………………………...........................................................................9
References…………………………….…..................................................................11
Appendix….................................................................................................................12

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 Abstract:

English loanwords have been a relatively popular topic of study and research in
the linguistic community. Previous researches reveal that English loanwords are
implemented in a multitude of ways and distinguish several means of loanword
realization in Asian languages, however, there has been little to no focus in the area
of the implementation of English loanwords in advertising and the attitudes of native
speakers of Asian languages towards such loanwords in advertisements. This study is
set to analyse and systematise the existing data to answer these questions and to learn
whether English loanwords facilitate learning Asian languages.

Introduction and Theoretical framework

A plethora of researchers have attempted to examine the topic of English

loanwords in the Japanese, Chinese and Korean languages, thus this phenomenon has
been thoroughly studied. Kay (1995) believes that loanwords are those items of
foreign language and culture that were “borrowed” and “adapted to their new cultural
and linguistic context”. Gabbrielli (2004) states that loanwords are a “common
phenomenon in the evolution of a language” and distinguishes a multitude of
functions they perform and suggests a well-structured systematisation for them. An
author of another research, Rebuck (2002), while only studying Japanese, selects
three main functions of English borrowings in advertising and provides an extensive
amount of examples.

Little work has yet been focused on studying the use of English loanwords in
Asian advertising. The most prominent paper was written by Jamie Shinhee Lee
(2006). The author has investigated the concept of loanwords in Korean television
advertising and suggested that English loanwords are mostly realized in the Korean
language in the form of “hybridization”. Another famous scholar has pointed out that
in the Chinese advertisements, especially in Hong Kong, code mixing is a rather
popular phenomenon which can be defined as a combination of “linguistic units of
two languages <…> within a sentence” (Leung, 2010). Even fewer works have been

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aimed to explore the attitude of Asian learners towards English borrowings in their
native languages and advertising in particular. Olah (2007) claims that Japanese
learners’ ability to speak English are negatively affected by English loanwords
because a significant number of these linguistic items undergo notable changes and
may even carry a different meaning in the Japanese language.

Moreover, researchers have not paid much attention to the influence of

loanwords on learning Korean, Japanese or Chinese and the attitude foreign learners
have towards English loanwords that they may encounter in their target languages.
That is why this study sets out four objectives:

1. Compare the functions English loanwords perform in the Japanese, Korean and
Chinese languages.
2. Investigate the ways English loanwords are implemented in Asian languages
(Japanese, Chinese, and Korean).
3. Compare the attitude native speakers of Asian languages (Japanese, Chinese,
and Korean) have towards English loanwords in advertising.
4. Explore whether English loanwords facilitate learning Japanese, Korean and
Chinese or not.

Methodology
A thorough study of previously written research papers was conducted to have
a profound theoretical foundation for the work and to achieve the objectives stated.
Moreover, 30 commercials and an even more significant number of posters were
examined, and 3 most suitable advertisements and 3 posters were selected to meet the
purposes of this study (see Appendix).

In order to explore the attitude of learners towards English loanwords in Asian

languages they study, a short survey was created with the help of Google Forms. The
questionnaire was sent to HSE University students from the first to the fourth years of
study who are majoring in “Foreign Languages and Intercultural Communication”.

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 Results and Discussion
Main functions.

By analysing the previous research on this topic, the following main functions of
English loanwords were distinguished. The most commonly mentioned one is lexical
gap filling. When there are no corresponding words present in the language, the
loanword is used to compensate for the absence and, in this case, it oftenly retains its
original meaning or does not deviate far from it. Another major function is technical
terminology referencing. Being quite close to the previous function, it is still
emphasized on separately by researchers, because new terminology appears in most
areas of life and especially business. In advertisements it is sometimes impossible not
to use precise terms when talking about a product. Referring to western images and
concepts and products is yet another example of English loanwords usage in Asian
languages. With globalization affecting and strengthening business relationships
between Asian and English-speaking countries, such as the United States, branding
that includes concepts that emerged in the west requires loanwords to once again
confirm the products’ or services' connection to the western societies. The studies
also mention that English loanwords are frequently used as brand, shop or product
names. A study by Gabbrielli (2004) speaks about another function present in
Japanese language, that is avoiding direct expressions and unpleasant words or topics.
In this case, English borrowings are used to sound more polite and less direct. An
example of this is the word toire, which is preferred to the Japanese equivalent
benjou, meaning toilet. Lastly, English loanwords in advertisements are used to reach
a special effect and bring more attention to the product or service advertised as
English words are still very much a novelty in Asian advertisements and bring new
meanings to them.

Implementation in Asian languages.

A closer examination revealed that English borrowings may be implemented in

all three languages in multiple different ways (see Table 1).

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 Chinese Japanese Korean

Rephonalization / salad - shala radio - rajio orange - orenji

Direct borrowing / fan (fans) - fensi ticket - chiketto wine - wain
Phonetic borrowing

Hybridization / bar - jiuba toothbrush - gamja chip - potato chips

Loanblend / tango - tangewu haburashi safety belt - anjeon belteu
Mix-code diagram - imeji
combinations chizu

Clipping / remote control - mass communication - media

Truncation remokon - maeseukeom

Mock linguistic matching clothes - window shopping - aisyoping

creations / pair look
Creative
compounding

Semantic shift lamp - stand - seutaendeu

Semantic narrowing naive = sensitive

(only)

Semantic borrowing lover - airen = to

love + person

Phono-semantic Nike - naike =

borrowing durable

(Table 1)

The study finds that direct borrowing and loanblend are common means by
which English loanwords are realized in Chinese, Japanese and Korean. However,
there are culturally specific ways of implementation such as semantic narrowing in
the Japanese language, i.e. linguistic adaptation of an English word taking into
consideration its one possible meaning (Gabbrielli, 2004). Another peculiar method
that should be named is phono-semantic borrowing, present only in the Chinese
language. Vervaet (2017) indicates this type of loans as those that “try to approximate
the pronunciation of the source word, and at the same time select characters that
match the semantics”.

Implementation in Asian advertising.

The comparative analysis of Asian commercials, especially those three of them

selected (see Appendix), revealed that in Korea, China and Japan English loanwords
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are mostly presented in the form of code-mixing and rephonalization that create a
hybrid of two languages. These findings may serve as a proof for previously
conducted studies (Leung, 2010) that pointed out the same state of affairs in Asian
advertising.

Native speakers’ attitude.

Japan China Korea

positive a sense of reliability, high gladly welcomed as the

quality, confidence, outcome is often creative
practicality; youthfulness, and meaningful (Vervaet,
modernity, informality, 2017)
and cosmopolitanism.
(Marie, 2014) code mixing in
advertisements (Leung,
2010)

neutral difficulties in
understanding
(Olah, 2007)

negative incomprehensible, predominantly negatively

pointless, or rude or with mixed feelings
(Gabbrielli, 2004) (Rüdiger, 2017)

(Table 2)
All the findings are analysed, and the most crucial ones are compiled together
and presented in Table 2. To begin with, the Chinese are mostly positive about such a
phenomenon as English loanwords in their language, and one of the research (Leung,
2010) proves that they are not against code-mixing in brands names and commercials
because English loanwords of any kind and the English language itself shows that a
product is reliable and worth buying. The opposite attitude Koreans have towards
English loanwords, and they treat them negatively “even though English enjoys high
privilege in Korean society” (Rüdiger, 2017). Finally, in Japan there is the full
spectrum of opinions. Some of the Japanese believe it is “pointless and even rude” to
use English loanwords (Gabbrielli, 2004), for others it is complicated to comprehend
them, thus they prefer to stay neutral about the phenomenon (Olah, 2007).
Nevertheless, people in Japan appreciate using English loanwords because “they may
evoke a sense of high quality, confidence and practicality” and, thus, catch their
attention (Marie, 2014).

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 Survey.

A survey was performed in this research to collect data for one of the research
objectives. There were a total of 38 valid responses collected from the students of
HSE university from the first to the fourth years of study who are majoring in
“Foreign Languages and Intercultural Communication” and studying Asian languages
(Japanese, Chinese and Korean).
The questionnaire was divided into the following two parts.
The questionnaire included 3 advertisement samples just before the beginning
of the survey. In part 1, there were questions about the basic demographic data such
as gender, age and educational level. Moreover, the respondents were asked to
provide their level of language proficiency of the foreign language(s) they study.
Part 2 contained five questions to collect respondents’ attitudes towards
loanwords and the part they play in the learning experience. Likert scale was used in
the following questions and respondents might select from 1 (strongly negative) to 5
(strongly positive).

• Q. 1: State your attitude towards English loanwords in Asian languages.

• Q. 2: How can you assess help of loanwords in learning your target language?

In another set of questions, the respondent was asked to state whether they noticed
any errors in the English loanwords used in Asian advertisements and whether they
interfered with the understanding of the advertising at any extent.
• Q. 3: Have you ever noticed errors in using English words in ads?
• Q. 4: If yes, to what extent did those errors interfere with your understanding
of advertising?
The last question in the second part was an open question. The respondent was asked
to provide some of the mistakes they have encountered in the usage of the loanwords
in advertisements.
• Q 5: Please, list some of the mistakes connected to the usage of loanwords
that you encountered in advertisements.

The results of the survey.

There were 38 valid responses to the questionnaire.
In general the respondents stated that they have a neutral attitude towards English
loanwords in asi languages and found them a helpful tool in learning the language. At
the same time, approximately half of students asked did notice some errors in English
words used in ads and thus, and another did not. The response to the next question
(Q. 4) was mostly negatory, meaning that errors do not disrupt the understanding of

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an advertisement, if present. One respondent, who encountered such errors mentioned
that they were connected to punctuation or grammar.

Conclusion

After analysing previously written research papers, this research once again
demonstrated that English loanwords are commonly used in Asian advertising.
English loanwords carry out multiple functions in Asian languages (Chinese,
Japanese and Korean), linguistic, such as filling lexical gaps in the target language, or
to enhance products’ status on the market and introducing a more modern approach to
advertisements. Combining the functions of loanwords with the comparative analysis
of the chosen commercials proved that the previous research on this topic is up to
date and that code-mixing and rephonalization are the two most common forms of
English loanwords’ localisation. This research was also focused on finding the native
speakers’ attitude towards English loanwords in the sphere of advertising. After
analysis it could be suggested that Chinese have a positive perception of English
loanwords, while, at the same time, Koreans have a predominantly negative opinion
and that in Japan people have varying opinions, but most keep a neutral attitude. By
conducting a survey among the students of HSE, this study wanted to see whether
English loanwords in the Asian languages they study facilitates learning or poses
more difficulties. All in all, advertising is an extensive field nowadays and it is
important to understand how it reflects linguistic tendencies and this research was set
to accomplish four objectives, but further development is still necessary to achieve
more valid results on the topic.

Limitations of the study

The study is conducted by non-native speakers. Moreover, Chinese, Japanese
and Korean are the third and the fourth languages, respectively, the authors learn,
therefore, their level of language proficiency is rather low. That is why lapses in
understanding are possible. The number of commercials watched and chosen to have
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a general perception of an Asian advertisement is relatively small. So, for further
research, it is recommended to expand the sample. Moreover, it was difficult to find
billboards and posters that would fit the research topic because most of the examples
on the Internet were irrelevant to the study. Hypothetically, if one wanted to continue
the investigation, it is suggested to visit Japan, China, and Korea to collect more
examples in the language environment. The number of those who participated in the
survey conducted is not enough to demonstrate a valid measurement. For that reason,
many more responses should be collected to get a more reliable generalization.

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 References
1. Gabbrielli, R. R. P. (2004). English loanwords in Japanese TV ads. Word Ways, 37(3), 237.

2. Vervaet, R. (2017). English loanwords in the Chinese lexicon (Doctoral dissertation, Master’s thesis,

Ghent Uni).

3. Marie, KJELDGAARD. (2014). The use of English in Japanese media. 言語と文化: 愛知大学語学教育

研究室紀要, 58(31), 47-58.

4. Leung, C. H. (2010). An empirical study on code mixing in print advertisements in Hong Kong. Asian
journal of marketing.

5. Kay, G. (1995). English loanwords in Japanese. World Englishes, 14(1), 67-76.

6. Rüdiger, S. (2018). Mixed Feelings: Attitudes towards English loanwords and their use in South
Korea. Open Linguistics, 4(1), 184-198.

7. Lee, J. S. (2006). Linguistic constructions of modernity: English mixing in Korean television

commercials. Language in society, 35(1), 59-91.

8. Olah, B. (2007). English loanwords in Japanese: Effects, attitudes and usage as a means of
improving spoken English ability. Bunkyo Gakuin Daigaku Ningen Gakubu Kenkyū Kiyo, 9(1),
177-188.

9. Hall-Lew, L. A. (2002). English loanwords in Mandarin Chinese. The University of Arizona.

10. Rebuck, M. (2002). The function of English loanwords in Japanese. NUCB JLCC, 4(1), 53-64.
11. Park, L. S. (2019). Language varieties and variation in English usage among native Korean
speakers in Seoul.

12. Kim, E. Y. J. (2012). Creative adoption: trends in Anglicisms in Korea. English Today, 28(2), 15.
13. Daulton, F. E. (2004). The creation and comprehension of English loanwords in the Japanese
media. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 25(4), 285-296.

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 Appendix

A Japanese poster

A Chinese poster A Korean poster

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 A Japanese commercial
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9SIVzjZhlk)

A Chinese commercial
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHiSLCUPsEw)

A Korean commercial
(https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rGc7SUBfsQBBGOvNIW3N_LVpANsWGSd8/view?usp=sharing)

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