Understanding Media Language: Audiovisual, Oral, and Advertising

Audiovisual Text Elements

• Visual Elements

  Every element perceived visually. Its representation is polysemous, suggesting a great capacity for interpretation.

• Sound Elements

  Four types: verbal, music, sound effects, and acoustic silence. These are integrated into realities of all kinds, both natural and artificial.

• Technical Elements

  A series of technical resources that enrich the expressive possibilities of the audiovisual message.

Oral Genres in Media

• Spontaneous Oral Genres

  These include TV or radio programs where there is no preconceived text, meaning they feature improvised interventions. They typically use daily, informal oral language.

  Examples of Spontaneous Oral Genres:

  • Program presentations
  • Live reports
  • Interviews
  • Chronicles
  • Discussions

• Scheduled Oral Genres

  These encompass oral texts that have been previously written to be read or performed. Most radio, television, and publishing content adheres to this model.

  Categories of Scheduled Oral Genres:

  • Simulating Spontaneity: Oral texts that are written but aim to appear spontaneous.
    • TV series
    • Specialized programs
    • Advertisements (commercials)
  • Explicitly Written: Oral texts where the written source is not hidden.
    • News broadcasts
    • Reviews
    • Recitations

Characteristics of Oral Language in Media

• Neutral Accent

  Aims to eliminate dialect differences, ensuring broader comprehension.

• Formal Register

  Utilizes cultured forms and registers to avoid colloquialisms and maintain professionalism.

• Formal Simplicity

  Employs simple syntax and lexicon, making the content understandable to the majority of viewers.

Common Oral Communication Errors

• Incorrect Intonation

  Using ascending intonation in declarative sentences where descending intonation is standard in Spanish.

• Misplaced Prosodic Emphasis

  Placing emphasis on unstressed syllables.

• Incorrect Emphatic Pauses

  Misuse of pauses for emphasis, disrupting natural flow.

• Mispronunciation of Foreign Words

  Incorrect pronunciation of words adopted from other languages.

• Incorrect Use of the Infinitive

  Using the infinitive form of a verb inappropriately (e.g., as an imperative).

Advertising Manipulation Techniques

Advertisements are persuasive texts that utilize various resources to convince consumers of a product's positive properties. The mechanisms of advertising manipulation can be both visual and verbal.

Common Manipulation Mechanisms:

• False Messages

  Information provided does not correspond to reality.

• True but Misleading Messages

  Employ subtle techniques of information omission to create a false impression.

• Subjective Messages

  Present opinions, feelings, or interpretations as objective facts.

Language Strategies in Advertising

• Phonetic-Phonological Level

  Employs phonetic figures such as alliteration, onomatopoeia, and rhyme to facilitate brand memorization and recall.

• Morphosyntactic Level

  • Uses a variety of sentence types (declarative, exclamatory, and interrogative) to highlight product qualities and engage the audience.
  • Employs comparative and superlative adjectives to emphasize superiority.
  • Aims for brevity and effectiveness in sentence structure.

• Lexical-Semantic Level

  • Utilizes neologisms (newly coined words) to create unique associations.
  • Employs various rhetorical devices to capture the receiver's attention and enhance the persuasive power of the advertising message.