Journal of Language Research and Practice

Gender Differences in Lexical Selection of Online Perfume Advertisement Descriptions: A Study of Adjectives and Nouns

Satayu Torhirun — 2025-12-29

In the digital age, online advertising has become a dominant marketing tool, allowing brands to reach global audiences. Perfume advertising remains especially challenging, as scents cannot be directly communicated through media. Gender is a key factor in perfume marketing, with fragrances often framed within a male–female binary. This study examines gender differences in the lexical selection of adjectives and nouns in online perfume advertisement descriptions through quantitative and qualitative analyses. Data were drawn from five global brands—Dior, Gucci, Bvlgari, Chanel, and YSL—covering 20 advertisements (10 male-oriented and 10 female-oriented). The analytical framework combined Lexical Selection Theory, Sensory Integration Theory, and Synesthetic Metaphors in Thai. Findings indicate five main lexical strategies, with “ingredients of perfume” most common and “time” least used. Male-oriented texts emphasized identity-related terms, while female-oriented ones favored sensory and emotional descriptors. Adjective use was similar across genders, though nouns appeared slightly more in female-oriented texts. While overt gender bias was limited, certain lexical choices still reinforced stereotypes in subtle ways. This study fills a gap in applied linguistics by analyzing online rather than print perfume marketing and offers valuable implications for linguists, marketers, and advertisers in crafting gender-targeted yet stereotype-conscious texts, while also providing a stronger foundation for future cross-cultural and multimodal research.

A Comparative Study of Feminist Speeches: Malala Yousafzai and Angelina Jolie through Critical Discourse Analysis

Stella Scarsi — 2025-12-29

This study aims to conduct a Critical Discourse Analysis of Malala Yousafzai’s 2013 speech at the United Nations Youth Assembly and Angelina Jolie’s “Equality for Women” speech, both delivered at the United Nations. The objective of this research is to analyze the persuasive elements and linguistic structures present in these speeches, utilizing Fairclough’s Three-Dimensional Model of Critical Discourse Analysis as a framework for interpreting the feminist discourse. The findings reveal that both Malala Yousafzai’s and Angelina Jolie’s speeches employ persuasive language and linguistic structures that show similarities and little differences. Malala most frequently uses modes of the sentence (22.97%), thematic structure (21.62%), and nominalization (20.95%), while Angelina emphasizes nominalization (22.84%), modes of the sentence (21.73%), and thematic structure (20.89%). Other features, including pronouns, figurative language, repetition, and modality, appear less frequently but still contribute to the persuasive and ideological impact of their speeches.

A Comparative Study of Logical Fallacies in Campaign and Inaugural Speeches Delivered by Donald Trump

Kanyarat Phruekhom — 2025-12-29

This study investigates the use of logical fallacies in Donald Trump’s campaign speech (October 21, 2024) and inaugural address (January 20, 2025), examining how rhetorical strategies shift between persuasive and ceremonial contexts. Using a mixed-methods approach, 19 types of logical fallacies were identified and categorized with Zhou’s (2018) framework, combining qualitative interpretation and quantitative analysis. Results show that the campaign speech relied on ad hominem attacks, hasty generalizations, and emotional appeals (ad populum, motivism), reflecting a confrontational style aimed at mobilizing support. The inaugural address, in contrast, featured fewer personal attacks but more inductive fallacies and appeals to shared values (hasty generalizations, appeals to tradition), aligning with its unifying and legitimizing purpose. Comparative analysis indicates that logical fallacies persist in political rhetoric but vary according to context and audience. A psycholinguistic perspective suggests these patterns reflect a narcissistic and ambitious communication style, characterized by authority, confidence, and emotional engagement. The findings enhance understanding of how political leaders use fallacies to influence opinion, sustain authority, and shape collective identity, highlighting the need for critical awareness in democratic engagement.

Pragmatic Failures in Translating Thai Subtitles in Movies: A Case Study of the Barbie Movie

Plaifa Settheepodok — 2025-12-29

This research examines the pragmatic failures in the Thai subtitle translation of the Barbie movie. Pragmatic failures occur when the translation fails to convey the intended meaning, which leads to the recipients not understanding or misunderstanding the context. The study collected data from the Thai subtitles of the Barbie movie, which faced significant criticism on social media for mistranslations in both linguistic and sociological aspects. The samples were six scenes of the Barbie movie that were intentionally chosen using the three-act structure, focusing on pragmatic failure in translation, specifically pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic failure. The research used descriptive qualitative methods to analyze and describe the failures in the subtitles. The findings revealed 27 instances of pragmatic failures in the subtitles, consisting of 25 pragmalinguistic failures and 2 sociopragmatic failures. The pragmalinguistic failures were mainly related to deixis, with person deixis being the most common. The sociopragmatic failures were found only in request speech acts. Despite the identified failures, this research aims to inform and address how these two types of pragmatic failures can impact the audiences' interpretation and comprehension. Nevertheless, the ideal translation does not exist. While a perfect translation may be unattainable, this research seeks to provide insights that could contribute to the enhancement of translation practices in the audiovisual translation field, particularly for subtitle translation in Thailand.