A Linguistic Approach to Brand Naming in Korean

³ëÀüÇ¥(¿¬¼¼´ë °æ¿µÇаú ±³¼ö)

¼­ÁøÈñ(¿¬¼¼´ë °æ¿µÇаú)

Abstract

  Branding is the identification of a particular product or service. The linguistic element is the essence in branding which directly affects the function of brand names. As Charmasson (1988) has pointed out, the degree of market promotion and legal protection that can be derived from the use of a commercial name depends almost entirely on the intrinsic characteristics of the syllables, words, and phrases.

  It is generally believed that linguistic principles in brand naming include the following: being easy to pronounce, showing positive connotations, and bearing product characteristics. Despite of the practical implications, these principles still lack in theoretical robustness and in-depth linguistic foundation to guide brand naming. In this respect, Huang and Chan [1997(1), 1997(2), 2001] and Chan and Huang (2001) conducted a series of studies on Chinese brand naming using content analysis from a linguistic perspective. There are, however, few studies that investigate Korean brand names from a linguistic viewpoint and that propose principles in terms of main linguistic areas in a more comprehensive and systematic manner.

  This study explores the grammar of brand names in Korean from a linguistic perspective. Specifically this study investigates the linguistic principles of brand names in Korean based on analyses of 500 Korean brand names of soft drinks. This study attempts to generalize the characteristics of Korean brand naming and identifies the preferred syllable, morphological and semantic structures.

  Naming a Korean brand is a complicated task and this study shows that the linguistic aspect of a brand is of particular concern for the success of a product. The linguistic component proves crucial in Korean brand naming for the 500 soft drinks in our data, which sets up the general branding framework for all products. This framework makes morphological requirements (multiple morpheme compounding with a structure of modifier-noun), phonological requirements (multi-syllable; foreign-like; syllables without codas and with liquids or nasals), semantic requirements (with positive connotation), and syntactic requirements (phrasal). Under this framework, the formation of a specific category of products is generally guided by the semantic field the marketers choose to reflect the nature and function of the products, or the target consumers and the culture of the consumer society.

  To accomplish the purpose of this study, this study attempted to generalize the characteristics of Korean brand naming from a linguistic perspective and identify the preferred syllable, morphological, and semantic structures. This study could contribute to the establishment of in-depth linguistic foundation that will guide brand naming in Korean and provide insights for further research.     

References

Bergh, B.V. Adler, K. and Oliver, L. (1987), "Linguistic distinction among top brand names," Journal of Advertising Research, August/September, pp.39-44.

Chan, A.K.K. and Yue-Yuan Huang (2001), "Chinese brand naming: a linguistic analysis of the brands of ten product categories," Journal of Product and Brand Management, Vol.10 No.2, pp. 103-119.

Chramasson, H. (1988), The Name Is the Game-How to Name a Company or Product, Dow Jones-Irwin, Homewood, IL.

Fromkin, V. (2000), Linguistics: An introduction to Linguistic Theory. Oxford: Backwell.

Huang, Y.Y. and Chan, A.K.K. (1997(1)), "Chinese brand naming: form general principles to specific rules," International Journal of Advertising, Vol.16 No.4, pp. 320-35.

Huang, Y.Y. and Chan, A.K.K. (1997(2)), "Brand naming in China: a linguistic approach," Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Vol.15 No.5, pp. 227-34.

Huang, Y.Y. and Chan, A.K.K. (2001), "Principles for brand naming in Chinese: the case of drinks," Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Vol.19 No.5, pp. 309-18.

Lee, Hyun-woo (1998), "Advertising Slogans and Brand Naming: A Linguistic Approach," Advertising Research, Vol.40, pp. 125-145.

Park, K-S. (1999), Arumtaun Urimal Kakkugi ¡°Cultivating our tongue (in Korean)". Jipmwundang Publising Co. Seoul, Korea.

Parker, F and Riley, K. (2000), Linguistics for Non-Linguists. (3rd ed.) Allyn & Bacon. MA.