ENGLISH USAGE IN BUSINESS SLOGANS: PERSPECTIVES FROM THE BUSINESS OWNERS AND THE CUSTOMERS

Abstract

Despite having a mediocre number of literate people, many business owners in Indonesia, especially in Pontianak, maintain to apply this common foreign language into their business features. Some of which are incorporated in the business or product slogan. As a slogan mostly containing a short, engaging, and easy-to-remember phrase, countless companies, including small businesses, promote their products or services through English. Such promotion was supposed to attract readers' attention and prove the business's existence in prospective customers' eyes that they are professional, exclusive, and millennial. One of the businesses that use this strategy can be found in food courts in Pontianak, where some of the vendors used English as their slogan language. This research aims to find out the cause of some entrepreneurs chooses English as their slogan language. In this regard, the writer wants to know the customers' opinions of the English language slogan. This research is descriptive qualitative research through observation and interview. The result shows that English usage in slogans makes the marketed product are more engaging in advertising. Moreover, the use of English in the slogan is a way for business owners to show the marketed product's quality.