A Socio-Linguistic Investigation on the Effectiveness of French in - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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A Socio-Linguistic Investigation on the Effectiveness of French in Singaporean Fashion Boutique Signs

SOH03 Laetitia Sherry Purnama | Anglo-Chinese Junior College Yap Kang Ren Gabriel | Hwa Chong Institution

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La Boutique Française

Introduction

Using French without relevance to products on sale

(Kelly-Holmes, 2005) (Ng, Yan and Zheng, nd)

High culture Haute couture Lifestyle elegance Strong Brand Impression Profit Maximisation Greater authenticity & Positive Connotation

AIMS & OBJECTIVES

Ai Aims & & Ob Objectives

The effectiveness of French in Singaporean fashion boutique signs, relative to the extra-linguistic factors, in influencing consumers’ preference and thus overall sales

LITERATURE REVIEW

Lit Liter erature re Re Revie iew

The use of French is usually superseded by the brand image and reputation itself “The country which a consumer associates with a certain product or brand being its source, regardless of where the product is actually produced” The Added Value of European Languages in Advertising

Curtin, 2009; Ong, Ghesquière & Serwe, 2013

The Country of Origin Effect

Kelly-Holmes, 2005

Curtin (2009): The key function of the French language is to convey the social connotations associated rather than literal meanings

Lit Liter erature re Re Revie iew

Setting / Scene Geographical location of the shop Participants Intended customers Ends Intended purposes / messages of the sign Act Sequence Sequence of speech acts that form a speech event (Not relevant) Key Tone, manner or spirit of the sign Instrumentalities Analysis of individual words, structure and grammar of the sign Norms Socially accepted forms and styles of speech (Not relevant) Genre Genres of speech and subsequent context (Not relevant) Hymes’ SPEAKING Model

Hymes, 1974; Huebner, 2009

Lit Liter erature re Re Revie iew

Shop Atmosphere

Countryman and Jang S. (2006)

Quality and Nature of Product

Emir (2006), Major and Steele (n.d.)

Colour Illumination Style Ambience Layout of Space Customer Loyalty Type of product Product Quality Trendiness

Lit Liter erature re Re Revie iew

Price Point

Wu, 2017

Lower-end Products Higher-end Products Relatability and attainability Class and prestige

Literature Review

Synthesised Multidimensional Model

Impression

• f the shop

Linguistic/ Semantic Elements Ends and Key Intended purposes or messages of the sign name Instrumentalities Analysis of individual words, structure and grammar of the sign Extra-Linguistic Elements Setting or Scene The sign’s placement vis-à-vis to its reader, its fonts and colours Geographical location of the shop Participants Intended customers Atmosphere Lighting, placement of clothes, decor, background music, etc. Desirability

• f product

Nature of Product Whether the consumers likes the design of the clothes Price point The retail price of the apparel sold

METHODOLOGY

Methodology

Hypothesis Extra-linguistic factors are more effective in determining a shop’s sales compared to linguistic factors.

Methodology

1st Approach : Understanding the point of view of the retailers

4 fashion boutiques which utilised French in their shop signs were chosen :

Methodology

Each of the shop assistants were interviewed separately using the aforementioned synthesised multimodal table and the recording was transcribed afterwards

How is it being conducted ?

Methodology

2nd Approach : Understanding the point of view of the customers

76 respondents ( age 14-60 ) took part in the online survey which is divided into 2 parts : This is sent to both shop patrons and general public. Bipolar Survey Questionnaire s

Methodology

Pictures of the fashion boutiques were taken which include:

Exterior of the shop Interior of the shop Types of clothes sold Boutique Signs

Methodology

Give a score for how important each factor is in determining whether you will patronise the shop / your preference for the shop Extra-Linguistic Factors Not important Neutral Important Score

• 3
• 2
• 1

+1 +2 +3 Signage fonts and colours Geographical location of shop

• E.g.

Atmosphere of shop

• E.g.

Nature and quality of product Price Point Linguistic Factors Usage of French Language in Shop Sign Accuracy of language used in shop sign

• E.g. Grammar, whether words used make

sense

Bipolar Survey

Methodology

• d. sophisticated

• e. modern

• f. trendy

• 4. Do you know the literal meaning of the shop sign?

• 5. Do you think the usage of French at this shop will attract you as a customer?

• 6. If you rated the non-linguistic factors like _________________________ higher than linguistic factors, why do you think they are more

Methodology

Questionnaires

RESULTS & DISCUSSION

Results and Discussion

1. Semantic Analysis of French Used in Boutique Signs

Literal translation: Is there any correlation to the product?

Rue Madame Déjà Vu Vintage enVie de Pois Lafont Common French linguistic features “La” “de” “madame” Greater emphasis in making customer aware of foreign language used over literal meaning of sign

Results and Discussion

• 2. Point of View of Retailers

Implications of French usage and comparison with other factors

Suggests that there is a limitation to the usage of French in boutiques Use commonly known French words to avoid coming across as pretentious Accessible + Still prestigious

Results and Discussion

• 2. Point of View of Retailers

Implications of French usage and comparison with other factors

Usage of French relates to French theme in products Accuracy of French language used Literal meaning of French shop sign represents sold products Customers’ own knowledge of meaning of shop sign Most important linguistic factor

behind effectiveness of French usage

Least important linguistic factor

behind effectiveness of French usage

Curtin (2009)’s findings: The usage of foreign language is to convey positive social connotations rather than literal meanings

Results and Discussion

• 2. Point of View of Retailers

Implications of French usage and comparison with other factors

“Times have changed [...] people are more well travelled so [the French shop name] does not carry much weight.” Globalisation and a more well-travelled customer base has led to customers being less susceptible to the marketing strategy of utilizing foreign language

Results and Discussion

• 2. Point of View of Retailers

Implications of French usage and comparison with other factors

Results and Discussion

• 3. Point of View of Customers

Implications of French usage and comparison with other factors

• Association with upper class
• Sophistication of foreign European

language

• Sense of luxury
• Expensive and inaccessible
• Depends on proper usage of

language itself

Results and Discussion

• 3. Point of View of Customers

Implications of French usage and comparison with other factors

enVie de Pois

64.5%

Lafont

68.4%

Déjà Vu Vintage

72.4%

“In which of these shops does the usage of French not attract you as a customer?

Rue Madame

55.3%

Results and Discussion

• 3. Point of View of Customers

Implications of French usage and comparison with other factors

“In which of these shops does the usage of French not attract you as a customer? Most Ineffective usage of French

• “Déjà Vu” has been absorbed

into English lexicon (not associated with French)

• Boutique does not “look

French”

Déjà Vu Vintage

72.4%

Results and Discussion

• 3. Point of View of Customers

Implications of French usage and comparison with other factors

Rue Madame

55.3%

“In which of these shops does the usage of French not attract you as a customer? Least Ineffective usage of French

• Shop interior “matched the

theme” of the sign

• Boutique looks most French-like

→ Usage of French needs to cohere with products and atmosphere of shop

Results and Discussion

Nature and quality of products, price points, and geographical location Usage of French language

• Shop names only provide a marginal first impression / brand perception
• Consumers prioritise product quality as products will be owned by them

→ Sense of attachment towards products over shop signage

• Geographical location determines accessibility to consumers

Extra-linguistic factors → dealbreaker for consumer purchases Linguistic factors → Formation of brand impression

CONCLUSION

Conclusion In General, Linguistic factors like the usage of French

( including the accuracy as well as grammatical correctness )

were found to affect consumers preference and sales the least as its marginal utility decreases after forming their first impressions.

Conclusion The usage of French language can be effective to a limited extent: When it is correlated to the products on sale as well as the atmosphere in the store. Ergo, there needs to be a French thematic coherence in the entire boutique for the usage of French in boutique shop signs to be effective.

Conclusion In the Singapore Context, Perhaps the reason as to why many of the local boutique stores, despite their effort in utilising French to attract more consumers, are still not as successful in increasing their sales is because of the nonchalant nature of Singaporeans that value convenience and practicality, and supported by the fact that many of Singaporean consumers are illiterate in the French language to make a distinction.

LIMITATIONS OF STUDY

Li Limitations of st stud udy

Geographical location Many stores are not ready for the exposure about their shoppes and hence decline our invitation of doing the interview Language used E-commerce & online boutiques Cultural stereotypes despite low literacy of the language

FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS

Fut uture re Deve velopments

Analysis of how convenience and practicality of Singaporeans take paramount importance above all linguistics and extra linguistic factors Incorporation of technology in boutique business models and how it affect sales Include other languages that is closely affected to fashion such as Italian

Merci Beaucoup!

Acknowledgements

We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to :

• Mr Jean Francois Noel Ghesquiere for his guidance and invaluable advice.
• Ms Adeline Cheong, Mr Brandon Ang and Mr Low Kay Siang, our teacher-supervisors for

their dedication and feedback in the course of our research project.

• Our respondents and interviewees for taking time off their busy schedules to contribute

to our research

• Shop owners and assistants of Lafont, Déjà Vu Vintage, Rue Madame, and enVie de Pois.
• Our friends and family and God, who supported us throughout the course of the project.

References

References