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Article In: Journal of Language and Pop Culture: Online-First Articles

The use of LSP in digital cosmetics advertising

A corpus-based critical discourse study

ORCiD logo with link | University of Naples L’Orientale
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Abstract
This study explores the use of Language(s) for Specific Purposes (LSP), particularly terminology from chemistry and dermatology, in social media advertising by UK-based cosmetic brands Byoma and The Inkey List. It investigates how these brands use LSP to construct scientific credibility and how users linguistically respond to such content. Employing corpus-based critical discourse studies, the research analyses two corpora: brand posts on Instagram and TikTok, and the respective users’ comments. The British National Corpus (BNC) was accessed via Sketch Engine to examine key lexical patterns and contrasts in usage. Findings reveal that brands strategically use LSP to convey authority, while users also adopt scientific terms, though more casually, often blending them with evaluative or informal language. This partial uptake contributes to the broader popularisation of scientific discourse but may lead to misunderstandings. The study also emphasises the ethical need for clearer scientific communication in health-related consumer advertising.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The language of advertising and LSP in consumer contexts
    • 2.1The language of advertising and cosmetic discourse
    • 2.2Language(s) for specific purposes (LSP)
    • 2.3Science popularisation and scientised language
    • 2.4Digital media, interactivity, and linguistic diffusion
  • 3.Discourse-analytical framework for cosmetic advertising
    • 3.1Critical discourse studies (CDS)
    • 3.2Rhetorical moves and genre analysis
    • 3.3Multimodality and digital advertising
    • 3.4Language, identity, and consumer authority
  • 4.Methodology
    • 4.1Research design and data collection
    • 4.2Corpus construction
    • 4.3Analytical tools, criteria, and framework
  • 5.Findings and analysis
    • 5.1LSP in brand-generated contents
    • 5.2LSP in user-generated comments
    • 5.3Contrastive analysis between posts and comments
  • 6.Discussion
    • 6.1Strategic deployment of LSP by brands
    • 6.2Consumer identity and science popularisation
    • 6.3Misunderstanding, confusion, and scientised uptake
    • 6.4Ethical considerations and brand responsibility
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
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