The medium and the message

Many of my friends frown upon the use of the term "vernacular." It is a term generally used in India for denoting the linguistic medium of schooling when it is other than English.

Regardless of the various shades of meaning and connotations with which the term is employed, it might be interesting to look at the etymology of the word. It is the language of Verna - "home-born slave" (Not servant, mind you, but 'slave'). A word of Etruscan origin.

The word is no more used in respectable and politically correct discourse. But many of us continue to do so, especially those, who think it elegant and royal to flaunt colonial legacies.

It is fashionable these days, to scoff at schooling in regional languages as "low quality education." Time and again N number of experts and educationists have preached to the contrary. But unfortunately the vernacular mentality of the neo-colonists has been propagating lies among the innocent.

I'd like to draw your attention to a UNESCO study titled "The importance of mother tongue-based schooling for educational quality" under The Quality Imperative, by Carole Benson (2004)

The study addresses various myths like :

The one nation—one language myth.

The myth that local languages cannot express modern concepts.

The myth, which holds that bilingualism causes confusion and that the first language must be pushed aside so that the second language can be learned.

The L2 as global language myth.

The myth that parents want L2-only schooling.

"Instruction through a language that learners do not speak has been called “submersion” (Skutnabb-Kangas 2000) because it is analogous to holding learners under water without teaching them how to swim;" quotes the paper.

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'Tinker, tailor, soldier...'

Image via Wikipedia

It all started with a hurried blog post on our other blog. (My true intention was to test whether the "read more" tag was working.)

A "Yateendra" commented to point out many errors in the text and in also styling the format. Since his profile was not accessible, I searched for a possible Yateendra and wondered if he were the "Yateendra Joshi," who writes the Editage blog and is the author of 'Communicating in Style' - the book praised by John le Carré, well-known British spy novelist, as "A gem. Courteous, unfrightening and essential. A perfect companion to Fowler’s A Dictionary of Modern English Usage for today’s communicators."

With any mention of John le Carré, I am invariably reminded of his 'Tinker, tailor, soldier, spy', the first one of his books I had chanced to read. Eventually I read the other ones, but this remained as one of my favourites. The title is an adaptation of the famous rhyme. You can read the various versions of the cherrystone rhyme here.

It seems that the rhyme has inspired many an author. Another work I chanced to refer was P. R. Wilkinson's "Thesaurus of Traditional English Metaphors."

Entries in this compilation are arranged under a highly original scheme following this old rhyme 'Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, beggar-man, thief' with the additional categories 'at home' 'at school and 'at play'.

This also illustrates how the consciousness of a region is a storehouse of its trades and the thesaurus aptly illustrates how these find expression in the language the people there use.

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The Last Lecture

Reading or buying a book prompted by some impressive review is not exactly my forte, and even less so after reading a review on the net. But after reading the author's interview as part of Editorial Review of this book, I decided that I'd read the book if I came across it. The name Randy Pausch meant nothing to me but the whole thing started with his video Cover of The Last Lectureon time management and it also led me to the review of the book cited above.

Strand Book Stall also mentioned the book in their newsletter at about same time and it caught my attention. When I went to Strand, at least two other customers were asking for it. I did buy it but wondered whether I was getting drawn into some systematic propaganda.

But when I started reading it, an unpudownable spell unleashed itself on me and it still lingers after so many days. I'd unhesitatingly recommend it to anybody and everybody.

The last chapters appear to be preaching and are bit irritating at times but just so. Jeffrey Zaslow, a columnist for The Wall Street Journal, attended the last lecture, and wrote the story . His craft has made the book intensely readable, and has done full justice to the author's intensity of feeling.

Despite its grave background, the narrative is never depressing. Certainly a collector's item, with a capacity to recharge your dampened spirits on every re-reading.

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VOW ! What a medium!!

VOW is Video On Wheels.

They are also used as a cable or satellite TV on a large 100 to 300'' screen with ultra modern audio equipment.

VOW travels from village to village with a programme announced a day in advance creating a media event and getting coverage in local press - a double exposure with multiplier effect.

According to a research, on an average, VOW covers 1.5 lakh viewers a month. It operates on a generator where electricity is scarce.

1980 elections witnessed the incarnation of video vans, alias video raths. Devi Lal is said to be the first politician to use VOW for campaigning in Haryana. Since then it every political party, especially, the BJP, has exensively used VOW.

VOW is the brainchild of Dr. Jain of Jain satellite TV. After the elections, the video vans were rented out by Dr. Jain's company to various companies for marketing their products.

Companies like Hindustan Lever, Brooke Bond, ITC, Proctor & Gamble, L&T, Godrej and Pepsi have successfully used the medium to promote their products. VOW offers advertisers a complete communication solution that enables them to make inroads into the far flung rural Indian market and includes

* demonstration of product
* promotion
* market research
* retailer motivation
* instant reaction and
* opportunity to sell.

VOW is also being used for educational purposes. You can read more about VOW in this book.

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What is Surrogate Advertising?

The literal meaning of ‘Surrogate advertising' is copying the brand image of one product to promote another product of the same brand. It can be defined as the strategy used by manufacturers and advertisers to promote a product surreptitiously, the advertisement of which, is banned by the law of the land. Liquor and tobacco companies often advertise their products in this clandestine manner.

In India an attempt has been made to prevent the electronic media from advertising harmful products.

Thus, Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, (CTNRA), Rule 7(2)(viii)(A) of the Advertising Code states that "no advertisement shall be permitted which promotes, directly or indirectly, the production, sale or consumption of cigarette, tobacco products, wine, alcohol, liquor or other intoxicants."

Many companies have worked around this rule by bringing out soda, glasses, and fruit juice, playing cards and what not, by the same name to promote the brand. This is known as  in advertising lingo. Some say that genuine "Brand Extension" is different from surrogate advertising.   But many people believe this to be a fraudulent approach garbed in politically correct terminology.

These advertisements employ techniques of persuasive communication, strategically using "lifestyle" as an appeal to attract impressionable consumers. Celebrities from every field are roped in to eulogise the virtues of the surrogate product on screen, only to remind the target about the real thing and the gullible find it hard to escape this powerful dragnet.

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A useful study-technique.

"Constructed Response Questions" or popularly called simply "Constructed Questions" are thematically connected short questions grouped together as one question. e.g.

'' What was the total wheat production in India in 2007? How does it compare with the record production figures for the decade? Interpret the data in comparison with the trends for other developing nations of Asia taken together.''

Compare this question with a typical descriptive question like "Discuss the wheat production scenario for developing nations in Asia (with special emphasis on India)."

Constructed response questions are designed for eliciting precise responses and also to to test higher level cognitive abilities. The marking or scoring is done as per a pre-determined schedule or rubric corresponding to the abilities being tested. Refer this page for a broad idea of how a marking schedule is prepared.

Answers to Constructed Questions help compare and contrast various points of view, find and link causes and effects, interpret changes in trends, identify patterns or classify and draw conclusions from the data. This also makes plotting graphs or tabulations easier. Answers may also successfully explain or predict the events.

This is the reason why we find such questions drafted for University level question papers. While preparing notes on study topics, it is therefore useful to tackle various small questions as and when they get posed and club the questions and answers together in plausible permutations and combinations as the exams approach nearer.

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What is the purpose?

Advertisements are categorised in a number of ways. This categorisation* may be based on the the specific advertising objectives or it may also depend on the stylistic features of the ads or again on the type of target readership.

Based on the purpose of the ad, the classical approach divided ads into 10 types:

1. Hard selling ads:  The purpose of these ads is to achieve immediate results. These ads are variously known as 'functional ads' (following primary ad functions), the 'persuasive ads' or the 'reason why' ads.

Some of the writers propose four of the primary functions (AIDA) whereas some others, particularly those with a classical approach are proponents of a five function formula:

Attract Attention: There are various non-verbal devices that help attraction - the colour, the illustration, position of the ad, size, etc. The copywriter adds her own device viz. the headline. The headline should be in tune with the layout, display , illustration and the body copy and / or the base line.

Interest: It must retain attention once captured by arousing interest. Sub-headlines and body copy are expected to perform this function.

Desire: The reader who is attracted and whose interest is aroused should be made to desire the product. This is achieved by employing psychological appeals in the copy along with the other attractive devices discussed above. Other ad techniques like bargain advantage, bandwagon or testimonials are also applied for this purpose.

Inspire: The total effect of the ad should achieve this. The ad must exude the confidence of the advertiser that the product advertised is the best. If the ad message is timid it will not inspire the reader (Crudities and too much exaggeration should be avoided. It can repel and prove counter-productive). If puffery is used, the claim should be substantiated by citing a trustworthy source, e.g., a survey.  

Action: The message to enthuse the reader to ACT should be interwoven in the ad. It can use pressure technique use command in headline and say "Do this NOW." There are other devices like "coupons" which prompt action.

2. Reminder Ads: Reminder advertising is employed to maintain sales. This is achieved by constantly hammering the product name of brand. Poster advertising is mostly reminding advertising. Slogan + Product name forms most of the display. The technique employs publication or broadcasting of ads with considerable frequency. Small and medium sized staple goods manufacturers generally resort to reminder ads. These are the ads that promote habit formation and exploit slogans to that effect.

3.Informative ads: Informative ads attempt to mould public opinion about a product or class of products. They are also called educative ads. These ads do not attempt to aid the sales conclusion immediately. They educate the public by disseminating information about the product and cultivate buyers over time. Once in a life-time purchases or expensive products rely more on informative / educative ads.

4. Prestige ads : This type of ad is sometimes referred to as "Image Ad" These ads not only get published in prestigious places and publications, their intent is to enhance the prestige or the image of the brand or to attract up-market clients. This instils confidence in the minds of stake-holders, assists the PR function for the brand and ultimately aims at adding value to goodwill.  

5. Distributor ads: Also called as 'Trade' ads these ads target wholesalers of retailers rather than the end users. These ads are written  to emphasize the benefits the traders will derive by stocking and selling the product. These magazines appear in trade journals and publications of traders' associations.

6. Co-operative ads:  Co-operative ads are so called because many manufacturers or service providers from a particular industry co-operatively publish these ads. Though the techniques employed by other types of ads do get employed here, the main characteristic difference is that a common theme is sought to be advanced by numerous individual advertisers on cost-sharing or subscription basis. Associations of Banks, POL products, Merchants' Associations of specific foodstuffs like eggs and plantation products like tea, coffee or coir etc advertise co-operatively to further their common themes.

7. Technical ads: These ads get published in technical magazines and are addressed to technicians or professionals. Mostly they advertise speciality products and the target customers are people from that particular trade, proficiency or practice.

8. Mail order catalogues: Mail ordering is not advertising but in fact, a mode of sale. Mail order traders use press ads and sales letters or direct mail appeals for persuading customers to buy through post. However writing catalogues is a craft in itself as it has to substitute direct handling or experiencing the products. The desire to buy normally traverses the route of 'Sight - Touch - Possession'. The catalogues therefore need to crafted to entice similar feelings. In the contemporary scenario, offer brochures accompanying credit card bills or mobile phone bills fall in this category.

9. Direct Mail letters: Direct mail should not be confused with mail order. It is not necessarily an offer to sell through post but is in essence, a direct communication from the advertiser to the target customer. It requires that the names and the addresses of the customers be known. Mostly these are in the form of a personal letter skilfully written to appeal the customer and plant a desire to buy some product. The selling point can be anything from a local store to a mail order-delivery system.

10. Retail advertising: This type of advertising is more for the store of the retailer than a particular product. Departmental stores, malls, supply chain outlets, advertise their quality retailing services through these ads. They employ some or all of the techniques used by other types of ads mentioned above, but their focus is on the qualitative and beneficial aspects of their sales rather than the products they sell. The conveniences can include one-stop shopping, lifestyle purchasing experience or novel ambience.

*References

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