MULTICULTURAL INFLUENCES ON LATVIAN ADVERTISING

This paper examines how multicultural influences have contributed to the formation of Latvian advertising today. It deals with the following features of the Latvian advertising: compression of information, personalization, inclusion, elements of graphic design in written texts and expressive language means. Off-grade advertising texts that often are hidden translations from English do not foster the interest of consumers. However, a positive multicultural impact benefits the development of the Latvian advertising language.

The features of the language used in advertising as well as its effect on Latvian in general have been discussed by Latvian scholars (Zauberga 1996;Veisbergs 1997;Liepa 2010). The cultural issues of advertisement transfer have been analyzed in our previous work (Ločmele 1999a;Ločmele 1999b;Ločmele 2003). The present paper is a continuation of this study, with a focus on current multicultural processes that leave their impact on the features of Latvian advertising language.

COMPRESSION
The compression of information is present in all types of advertising, and is a peculiarity of advertising in all cultures. The maximum concentration of the means of expression is how advertising solves the problem of time and space constraints. Compression will have an increasing role in the future. A good example is the further development of email advertisements. The growing trend to read emails on mobiles should be taken into account, which will require even more compressed advertising texts.
One does not usually search for deep thoughts about the meaning and purpose of life in advertising. However, many brands are meaningful around the world as well as in Latvia. Thus, the translation agency 'Mestako' has created its brand by compressing the words of its full name 'Melnā stārķa kompānija' ('the black stork company'). Black stork (Ciconia nigra) is rare in Europe and a protected species in Latvia, thus the company name has the connotation of being unique and providing exceptional service, as well as being nature-friendly which is both a global trend and trend in Latvia as well. The name of the company is not explained, thus retaining an element of a mystery, but the meaning can be decoded from the stylized picture of a stork on the company's logo. It is hard to imagine the modern world without the internet. Informative However, a new trend has emerged in the usage of acronyms and abbreviations in Latvia: they are explained in contrast to the oversaturation of advertisements with borrowed abbreviations and other foreign elements that were observed in the past: Baltcom piedāvā līdz šim Latvijā nebijušu jaunumu -internetu NGN (Next Generation Network -Nākamās paaudzes tīkls)... (Kas Jauns. 2009. No. 27) (Literally, 'Baltcom offers a new product not offered in Latvia before: the internet NGN (Next Generation Network)'.) It is hard to imagine the modern world without the internet. Informative internet addresses in outdoor advertisements, as the one for the radio station 'Kurzemes radio' www.kurzemesradio.lv, or another for a clinic offering plastic and laser surgery www.lazerplastikasklinika.lv, can perform the very compressed function of a headline, a caption or even of a text if an advertisement does not contain any other text due to space restriction or other reasons. Besides, due to the omission of diacritics in internet addresses and a purposeful choice of internationalisms in the company names, the intended result is achieved, which is that the message can often be understood by consumers that speak a language different than that of the main language of the website: www.autoplus.lv (which is an advert for auto parts suppliers).
Sometimes information can be presented very concisely in an ad campaign due to the intertextual relation of an advertisement with the other elements of the campaign, as the full amount of information has reached the target audience at an earlier stage of the campaign. The overall context of the advertisement helps to add missing information as well. In the summer of 2009, a banner advertisement for Lexus which read 'Lexus: Limit. Debesis' ('Lexus: Limit. The Sky') was placed at the Riga airport and was targeted both at those speaking English as well as Latvian speakers. The information was easily decoded by both audiences, as the Anglophone addressee was used to the idiom: 'The sky's the limit', while the Latvian addressee associated it with 'augstāk ir tikai debesis'-a phrase used when a considerable height is reached, the next point above it being the sky. The picture of the advertised Lexus car was another key for decoding the message, as the part of the target audience that was interested in the Lexus brand was familiar with its slogan 'The pursuit of perfection' and could decode the message on the banner as: The Sky is no limit. Augstāk ir tikai debesis. However, the addressees seeing this advertisement for the first time were able to develop their own associations by connecting the flight they just experienced with the car, the noun debesis ('sky') and the adjective debešķīgs ('heavenly'), which was not mentioned in the advertisement, but the meaning of which was actualized in a broader context of the advertisement. The overall context prevented actualization of a different, quite negative meaning of the word 'limit', i.e. the limit of perfection the producer might have reached.
The omission of letters in the billboard advertisement for discounts at the shopping mall 'Spice' (2009) 'Zims kolecias izprdana!' (literally, 'Sles f wintr colectn!') was, for the Latvian cultural environment, an unacceptable case of phonetic compression. Many addressees perceived the text as an instance of a wrong and ugly use of language, and not as a planned analogy between falling prices of the products and words that have lost their letters. Phonetic compression, due to the peculiarities of English, is the most popular type of compression in English advertising, which could not be found in Latvian advertising 10 years ago. 2 Instances of its application is an attempt to make the Latvian advertising language more colloquial and, together with other factors (for instance, attempts to make it more appealing), is a result of the impact of English advertising language.

PERSONALIZATION
Personalization is important in all types of advertising. The imperative mood and both the singular and the plural form of the 2nd person pronoun are used in order to make a message personal.
Although using the singular form of the 2nd person pronoun is judged as impolite behaviour when addressing a stranger, or elderly person in particular, copywriters use it. It seems that this happens due to the influence of English advertising texts where the 2nd person pronoun has one form for singular and plural, and where advertising addresses its audience more directly and the distance between the text and the addressee is smaller than in Latvian. In Latvian, the usage of the singular form of the 2nd person pronoun creates a feeling that the main addressee of advertising is a young person, which is offensive towards older generations. Moreover, Latvian copywriters and translators seem to be guided by intuition when using the singular or the plural form of the 2nd person pronoun, as they use it inconsistently. The same lack of consistency can be observed in the spelling of the forms of the 2nd person pronoun with an upper-case letter (according to the Latvian convention for personal address in a personal letter) or a lower-case letter.
In a considerable number of texts, both forms are used: the singular form of the 2nd person pronoun is used in the headline and in the subheading, while the plural form of the 2nd person pronoun is in the body of the text.
Some of the texts show editors' errors in the agreement between the form of the 2nd person pronoun and the form of a verb (in Latvian, the pronoun is matched with the appropriate verb ending). This indicates the difficulty, the internal discussions about the choice of the form of the 2nd person pronoun in the agency.
Ten years ago, there were cases when translators deliberately avoided using 2nd person pronouns in the Latvian target text, whereas the ST in English contained more than 10 instances of their usage. Thus distance was created between the advertised product and the addressee, making the advertisement less personal in Latvian. A reason for this was undeveloped skills for advertising in Latvian and indecisiveness about the correct form of the pronoun to be used. Another possible cause for the lack of personalization at the beginning of advertising after Latvia regained independence in 1991 was the tradition of preserving a large power distance in Latvian culture (see Hofstede 2001, on cultural dimensions). Due to globalization, distancing in Latvian advertising has decreased, causing a more frequent use of 2nd person pronouns. However, the problems of the choice of the correct form of the 2nd person pronoun sometimes result in the avoidance of direct address. Thus, while the Russian version of the text of the flyer for the brand outlet sale contains the singular form of the 2nd person pronoun: 'Наконец-то ты сможешь нормально одеться' (literally, 'Finally you will be able to dress well'), the Latvian text opts for a conversational, yet impersonal: 'Beidzot varēs kārtīgi apģērbties' (literally, 'Finally, it will be possible to dress well').
('If one wants to opt out of this offer or reconnect it, the most convenient way to do it is in iCentre, the LMT customers service centre on the Internet.') The new service is called 'Līdzsavienojums' ('Call Hold') and 'Konferences zvans' ('Conference Call'), however, due to excessive compression in the headline, the capitalization in the second word combination ('Konferences zvans') may seem unmotivated and used under the influence of English language, as according to the Latvian language conventions, only the first word of the headline starts with an uppercase letter, which is contrary to the English tradition to capitalize all nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs of a headline.
The singular form of the 2nd person pronoun plays a more significant role in personalization. However, one should take into account the cultural conventions of Latvia, which is that excessive familiarity may cause a negative effect. One should also note that personalization does not occur if the plural form of the 2nd person pronoun starts with a lower-case letter in Latvian, because everybody is addressed in such a case, however no one is personally addressed.

INCLUSION
Advertising has to include, and not exclude, a person from its scope of readers, listeners or viewers. One needs to consider this inclusion when translating advertisements. An advertising brochure for the beauty salon 'ESPA Rīga' is inconsistent in following the principle of inclusion: Rīgā, vienā no lielākajām Baltijas tirdzniecības ostām, atspoguļojas bagāts kultūrslānis, gadsimtu burvība atklājas gan viduslaiku un neoklasicisma, gan lielākoties jūgendstila ēkās, kas sarindojušās gar Rīgas bruģētajām ielām.
('In Riga, one of the largest commercial ports of the Baltic, a rich culture layer is revealed. The charm of the centuries is reflected in both the Medieval and the Neo-Classical, and mainly in the Art Nouveau buildings that arrange themselves along the cobblestone streets of Riga.') Residents of Riga are not included in the fragment of the text, and information is provided only from the external point, i.e. for visitors of Riga. Besides, the information is misleading, as it makes one think that all of Riga is built in the Art Nouveau style and has cobblestone streets. Further on, the text attempts at resolving the inclusion problem by using the pronoun mūsu ('our'): Daudzslāņainā pilsētvide ietver krievu, vācu un skandināvu dzīvesstila atblāzmu, kas sajūtama mūsu pilsētas kafejnīcās mūzikas un mākslas dzīves norisēs, ik uz soļa.
('The multilayered city includes reflections of Russian, the German and the Scandinavian lifestyles that are felt in the cafés of our city, in the music and art life, and at every step [you make].') However the pronoun mūsu does not include all Rigans, as only Russians, Germans and Scandinavians are mentioned among the citizens of Riga. The part of the audience, who consider this as a case of putting down Latvian heritage, is lost.
A copywriter attempts to correct this mistake further on in the text by mentioning the architectural contribution of Latvian architect Konstantīns Pēkšēns. However, due to the lack of clarity in presenting the information, the text excludes and loses all of its addressees: Ievērojamā latviešu arhitekta Konstantīna Pēkšēna veidotā izsmalcinātā tīģeļa sirdī esošā fin de siécle ēka piedzīvojusi jaunu renesansi ...
(Literally, 'The fin de siécle building, which has been created by prominent Latvian architect Konstantīns Pēkšēns and is situated at the heart of the refined melting pot, has experienced a New Renaissance...') The French fin de siécle ('end of the century') is used not for information but for creating the atmosphere, however, it makes the illogical text even more complicated. The fragment ends with an ellipsis that indicates that the text will continue. However, a large part of the Latvian target audience is lost in the first paragraphs of the advertisement.
The Russian version of the text is provided next to the Latvian text in the brochure. Although the Russian text contains the same mistakes of inclusion (the residents of Riga are included only in the second sentence), the Russian text does not contain the factological errors observed in the Latvian version. The Art Nouveau buildings are described as the most famous ones, the cultural heritage of the city includes the contribution by Latvians, and the Russian text does not suffer from the excessive use of complicated and untranslated borrowings:
В самом сердце этого прекрасного города находится здание работы знаменитого латвийского архитектора Константина Пекшенса, которое пережило свой собственный Ренессанс … (Literally, 'Riga as one of the key ports of the Baltic, has absorbed many influences that can be observed in the medieval houses, the buildings in the Neo-Classical style and the most renowned ones-the Art Nouveau buildings standing in a row along its cobblestone streets.
The cosmopolitan-like atmosphere of the city, which includes elements of Latvian, Russian, German and Scandinavian cultures, from its traditional cafés and cuisine to its music and art, surrounds you everywhere.
A building by famous Latvia's architect Konstantīns Pēkšēns is situated in the very heart of this wonderful city. It has experienced its own Renaissance...') The text contains a politically marked usage of words российский (literally, 'Russia's'), instead of a more neutral pycckий ('Russian'), and латвийский ('Latvia's'). Slightly boosting political connotations, Riga is credited as having cultural elements of Russia but Konstantīns Pēkšēns is described as a famous architect from Latvia without a reference to his ethnicity, while the Latvian text underscores his Latvian origin. It seems that the Russian text is a translation of the Latvian text-the translator has created a clearer text, yet manipulating with its ideological overtones to increase the inclusion of the target Russian audience.
Untranslated advertisements for the products having a similar advertising campaign all over the world have lately developed an element for the inclusion of the audiencethe Latvian translation of an advertisement provided in a footnote: In an Absolut World opportunities always pop up.* *Absolut pasaulē vienmēr pastāv iespējas. (Vodka 'Absolut' advertisement, Kas Jauns. 2009. No. 27) However, the translation may be misunderstood, as 'Absolut' has no ending marking what case it is in. This causes ambiguity in Latvian-it can mean both the intended 'world of Absolut' and the opportunities that the brand may be provided with in the world, as Latvian translation can also be interpreted in the following way: 'For Absolut, opportunities always pop up in the world'. Fortunately, both meanings are positive.
Untranslated advertisements are published considerably less often than before. One needs to be careful with untranslated words that can be read and understood differently in two languages: they may create either a positive additional boost, or bring unintended negative associations in one of the languages. The latest example in Latvia is an ad for an Internet computer software store called ATEA. when pronounced, the brand reminds one of the Latvian word 'ateja', which means wC. As a consequence, the advertisement 'SONEX jauns nosaukums -ATEA' (literally, 'SONEX new name-ATEA' (a wC)) has caused unwanted humour. It is a parody of the ungrammatical speech of immigrant construction workers, as it violates the Latvian spelling rules and mimics the speech marked by errors specific to the immigrant community. The advertisement has a picture of a construction worker with dark skin. Due to this violation of the ethical and the speech etiquette norms, this advertisement is not inclusive or appealing, but abusive.
Another reason for excluding the audience is using lexis and grammar that would be used in written communication when forms mainly used in spoken communication would be preferable (in translated TV commercials, for instance): Atmodini jaunas šūnas ik dienu ar jaunajiem Dermo Genesis ādu atjaunojošajiem līdzekļiem. (TV3, 15.10.2008, 19:04) ('Awaken new cells every day with new Dermo Genesis skin renewing products.') The Latvian text would have benefited from a simple and understandable spoken form without the affix -ošajiem, which complicates the text. On a side note, the word jauns ('new'), which is one of the typical elements of advertising, seems to have been used too excessively in such a short text as this. Thus, although widely used in advertising in the world, the full potential of inclusion has not been developed in Latvian advertising. This also applies to transferred advertisements from sources having more elements of inclusion then their translations, as well as translations of Latvian advertisements into other languages where elements of inclusion are added.

GRAPHIC DESIGN OF ADVERTISING
For indicting the change of tone and attracting the consumer's attention, words in advertising are sometimes written in all capitals. In the advertisement for L'ORÉAL hair colour, the key words are emphasized by using this technique: Nokrāso jau 10 MINŪTĒS, padara tavus matus STIPRĀKUS, manuprāt, tas ir kas JAUNS un REVOLUCIONĀRS! (Shape. 2009. No. 4, 19) ('Colours in just 10 MINUTES, STRENGTHENS your hair I think it is something NEw and REVOLUTIONARY') For special emphasis in advertising, the first letter of a word is sometimes written in upper-case without sufficient motivation and seems to mimic English advertising, resulting in a violation of the orthographic norms of Latvian: Another violation of spelling norms is the use of an upper-case letter in the middle of the word, such as iCentrs (in the above advertisement for LMT service). Spelling and misspelling in advertising is sometimes called 'fantasy orthography', but is less acceptable in Latvian due to the tradition and norms of Latvian spelling. The neologisms of this kind appear in Latvian due to the impact of foreign trademarks and brands.
Letter style is one of the tools for making advertisements expressive and personal. A handwritten address on a letter decreases the distance between the advertiser and the consumer, makes the letter more personal, which increases the chance that it will be opened and read. Advertising brochures also can use a handwritten text for making the message personal. For instance, a handwritten text, such as a note on the margin, adds a lighter atmosphere to the advertisement brochure for the mail service company 'Mailmaster': Ar vienu rulli plēves pietiek, lai iesaiņotu veselu ziloni un kasti ābolu .
('One roll of film is sufficient to pack a whole elephant and a box of apples.') The smiley, which has been taken from mobile SMS messaging, adds to the impression of a handwritten message.
The quality of custom made shoes is implied by stylized upper-case letters that make an impression of been handwritten in the headline of the advertisement for the company ECCO shoes: MANS ECCO (Shape. 2009. No. 10, 3) ('MY ECCO') The caption-'MANA PASAULE. MANS STILS.' ('MY wORLD. MY STYLE.')and the signature at the end of the text-NINA-use the same letters that make an impression of been handwritten.

EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE MEANS IN ADVERTISING
The particular lexis, syntax, graphics and expressive means contribute to the specific style of advertising. In addition, Latvian advertising is often based on analogy. However, David Ogilvy (Ogilvy 1983, 82) considers that analogies do not work, as people do not contemplate them enough to fully understand them. A billboard for the 'Origo' shopping mall (2009) featured models holding bunnies with the following text: Pie mums izdevīgs pirkums ir kā zaķis. Ieraugi -ķer aiz ausīm! ('A good bargain (purchase) with us is like a bunny. As soon as you see it-grab it by its ears!') But the text was placed on the picture, and the letters were too small for people to be able to read it and understand the analogy. The bunnies caused an association with the Easter, and not with purchases that the authors of advertisement encouraged the addressees to make without hesitation. Although the advertisement contained rhyme ('pie mums -pirkums'), as well as an attempt at addressing both the older and the younger generation (zaķis 'bunny' in the slang of the young denotes a girl), the text was not successful, as the semantics of the noun pirkums ('purchase'), that implies a result, was not taken into account. If one has made a purchase, it cannot run away.
Although metaphors are a peculiarity of the language of advertising in general, Latvian advertising texts are less metaphoric than English and Russian ones. Latvian advertising language in this regard may be influenced by Latvian publicist texts which use metaphors rather cautiously.
A case of less expressive language in Latvian is the same advertisement in Latvian and Russian, where the Russian version of an ad for a pool is described by the epithet 'заражающий жизненной энергией' ('charging with life energy'), but the Latvian version is less expressive and does not contain the epithet: Latvians could think more about using their symbols in metaphoric names. Irena Smetonienė, who has dealt the use metaphors in the Lithuanian language of advertising, comes to the conclusion that too few Lithuanian symbols are used in Lithuanian advertising. For Lithuanians, a bee is a symbol of activity and precision, therefore a telecommunication company bearing its name cannot be unpopular. (Smetonienė 2006, 35). For Latvians, a bee is a symbol of diligence, but it was silk that was chosen for the advertisements of this company in Latvia. The management of the company SIA 'BITE -Latvija' wanted to associate the qualities of silk with the quality of 'Bite' coverage in the mind of its addressees. 'Zīda auduma īpašības -kvalitāte un vieglums -perfekti raksturo mūsu pārklājuma kvalitāti, kas jau tagad skar mūsu klientus un skars arī turpmāk' ('The features of the silk fabric-quality and lightness-perfectly describe the quality of our coverage that our customers experience today and will continue to experience in the future') (http://zparks.lv/lat/jaunumi/mobilie_sakari/?doc= 1114). Latvians, however, associate silk with lightness and softness, thus the expected associations are not created.
Rhyme is also considered when creating advertisements. Even if the rhyme is not complete, the adverts having it are easily memorized: Abonē vienu, otrs par puscenu! (Una. 2009. No. 142) ('Subscribe for one, get another for half-price [at once]!') The use of expressive means in advertising is determined by different linguistic and extra linguistic factors, including time, space, understanding of culture and language in general by people creating advertisements. Unfortunately one still can come across bad quality advertising that contains errors. The analysis of such cases is not provided in the article, as we tend to consider them as exceptions from the general current trends of Latvian advertising language.
CONCLUSION Seth Godin states that we live in a post-advertising era. Old marketing methods do not apply any longer, as consumers are too busy to pay attention to advertising (Godins 2007(Godins /2008. Off-grade advertising texts that often are hidden translations from English do not foster the interest of consumers. However, a positive multicultural impact can benefit the development of Latvian advertising language and add to its features. The language means originally used in covert translations (House 1977(House /1981 are taken over into the advertisements produced in Latvian. The multicultural impact of communication processes on the language of advertising has been revealed in the features of the Latvian advertising, which include compression, personalization, inclusion, graphic design, as well as expressive language means. The impact is stronger in some, such as personalization, inclusion, graphic design, and expressive language means (for instance, metaphors taken over from other cultures) and slighter in the others, such as compression, with some types still rather rare.