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Article published In: Chinese Language and Discourse
Vol. 16:1 (2025) ► pp.138–174

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Persuasive claims in Chinese real estate advertisements

A case study of presuppositions

ORCiD logo with link | Brittany University
ORCiD logo with link | Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
 | Hong Kong Metropolitan University
Published online: 3 December 2024
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/cld.22015.lai
Abstract
This exploratory study adopts qualitative and quantitative methods to examine Chinese presuppositions in 132 real estate advertisements from 2007 to 2022. From the advertisements, we have identified a list of lexical items and syntactic constructions that trigger presuppositions in Chinese. We analyze how the presuppositions convey persuasive claims in Chinese real estate advertisements and contribute to the literature by presenting a novel framework including new categories and subtypes for analyzing Chinese presuppositions for future research. Statistical frequencies of presupposition triggers are identified to describe their occurrence in Chinese real estate advertisements. The study provides insights for consumers to improve their ability to identify presupposition triggers and for regulatory bodies to monitor the presupposed contents.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical framework
    • 2.1Presuppositions as unchallengeable information in advertising discourse
    • 2.2Presupposition triggers in English and Standard Chinese
  • 3.Data and methods
    • 3.1Data
    • 3.2Methods
  • 4.Results and discussion
    • 4.1Referring phrases
    • 4.2Factive verbs
    • 4.3Non-factive verbs
    • 4.4Phasal verbs of change of state and continuatives
    • 4.5Adverbs of change of state and continuatives
    • 4.6Situation aspect sentence final particles
    • 4.7Expressions of repetition
    • 4.8Expressions of temporal relations
    • 4.9Quasi-cleft constructions [modified from cleft clauses by Valeika and Verikaite (2010)]
    • 4.10Comparative structures
    • 4.11Counterfactual conditionals
    • 4.12Questions
  • 5.Conclusion
  • References
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