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Chapter 14
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-8262-7.ch014
ABSTRACT
When targeting consumers on a global scale, companies make strategic use of languages in their adver-
tising campaigns. This chapter presents an overview of theories and research regarding the efective-
ness of the use of foreign languages (foreign language display, FLD) in advertising. The aim is to bring
together theories and empirical studies from various domains, and to show principled explanations for
the efectiveness of FLD from two perspectives. The frst, psycholinguistic perspective examines the way
in which foreign languages in advertising are mentally processed; the second, sociolinguistic perspective
links the foreign language use to characteristics of the country where the foreign language is typically
spoken. This chapter presents empirical evidence for the benefts and drawbacks of FLD, and identifes
areas for further research.
INTRODUCTION
In the current global economy, businesses target consumers from different nationalities and cultures. In
their communication with these consumers, businesses generally have three language strategies at their
disposal: standardization, adaptation, or foreign language display (cf. Alden, Steenkamp, & Batra, 1999).
In the case of standardization, one standardized language is used, generally English (Bhatia, 1992),
Foreign Language Display
in Advertising from a
Psycholinguistic and
Sociolinguistic Perspective:
A Review and Research Agenda
Jos Hornikx
Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Frank van Meurs
Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands