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Foreign Language Display

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Foreign Languages in Advertising

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Abstract

This chapter deals with the first language strategy distinguished in this book: the use of foreign languages to express foreignness. It argues that the primary function of foreign language display is to link the advertised product to a specific country of origin. The chapter reviews research showing that a foreign language works better for products that are congruent (versus incongruent) with the language, and that it evokes ethnocultural stereotypes. We also review theories and empirical research on the role of comprehension, showing that better comprehension of foreign languages in advertising has a favourable but limited effect on consumer evaluations. Finally, we present psycholinguistic theories and experimental studies regarding the effects of foreign languages on curiosity, attention, and recall.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Jos Hornikx

  2. Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Frank van Meurs

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Hornikx, J., van Meurs, F. (2020). Foreign Language Display. In: Foreign Languages in Advertising. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31691-4_3

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