Abstract: ‘Nothing is impossible’ is an ordinary utterance, while ‘impossible is nothing’ is rarely used until recently. And the latter version is somehow more popular nowadays than the former. However, few can tell whether these two sentences convey different messages. The author of this paper attempts to analyze their semantic differences by referring to predicate logic and thematic structures and reaches the conclusion that the latter conveys a different message from the former. Finally the author illustrates the different implications of these two sentences.
Key words: nothing, impossible, theme, rheme, implication
1. Introduction:
Nothing is impossible is widely used, to mean everything is possible. English learners in China can easily utter such a sentence or understand it. However, when it comes to the sentence impossible is nothing, few English learners in China can tell the subtle difference implied. And some advanced learners even maintain that such a sentence must be ungrammatical, as impossible is an adjective which should not be used as a subject.
So, Does impossible is nothing have identical meaning with nothing is impossile? If not, what are the differences implied in each? This paper is trying to use semantics knowledge to answer these two questions.
1.1 Adidas compain slogan
To start with, let’s look at an advertising slogan from Adidas, the world’s leading brand for sports shoes.
Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It is an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary.
Impossible is nothing.
— Adidas
According to Adidas-group.com, “Impossible is Nothing” is Adidas’ biggest brand advertising campaign in six years and Adidas starts 2004 with such a campaign that brings to life the attitude Adidas shares with athletes around the world. Erich Stamminger, member of the Executive Board of Adidas-Salomon AG, once said that Impossible is nothing is the concept behind Adidas’ brand positioning “forever sport” that clearly and emotionally communicates their passion for sport.” He added, “As an athlete you always strive to go further, break new ground, surpass your limits. So do we as a brand, to achieve our mission to be the leading sports brand in the world.”
Adidas’ campaign is very successful, in the sense that it attracts and communicates to their consumers in a way that produces their desired results. The slogan conveys a sense of courage and self-fulfillment to their consumers. And consumers will likely response to the advertisement and make a purchase. The goal of advertising is to persuade the consumer to do something, usually to purchase a product (Wells, el at: 150). Adidas makes it.
2. Semantic differences between nothing is impossible and impossible is nothing
2.1 The definition of nothing and impossible
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) states that nothing can be used as a noun, which means a. not anything, no thing; b. nonexistence; nonentity; absence of being; nihility; c. a thing of no account, value, or note; something irrelevant and impertinent; something of comparative unimportance; utter insignificance; a trifle.
Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese dictionary states that impossible can be used as an adjective which means a. that cannot be done or exist; not possible; b. very difficult to bear, hopeless. The word can also be used as a noun (usually used together with the) which means thing that cannot be achieved.
(a) Nothing is impossible.
(b) Impossible is nothing.
Nothing in (a) is a noun used as a subject which means not anything, no thing, while nothing in (b) is a predicate noun which means a thing of no account, value, utter insignificance. Impossible in (a) is a predicate adjective which means that cannot be done, not possible. In contrast, impossible in (b) is a noun used as a subject which means thing that cannot be achieved.
Since impossible can be used as a noun, (b) should be a grammatical sentence, although impossible is usually used together with the when it is a noun. For instance, his assignment verged on the impossible. (Source: http://www.wordreference.com/definition/impossible). However, the noun impossible does sometimes used without the, especially in advertisement. A case at hand is another advertisement by Cannon Printer –Impossible makes possible.
As for the word nothing, we usually use it to mean not anything. For example, I have nothing to say. However, nothing can be used in other situations to mean a thing or person of no value or importance (Gu, 2005): He thinks himself to be something in the Department of the Environment, but actually he is nothing. Another example is often used when two persons are quarreling with each other: you are nobody. You are nothing.
2.2 Predicate logics of these two sentences
We can translate from a sentence in an individual language like English into an expression in a universal metalanguage. One such metalanguage is predicate logic (Saeed: 272). By referring to predicate logic, we can build on the investigation of sentence connectives in propositional logic and goes on to investigate the internal structure of sentences (Saeed, 1997: 272). Therefore, we attempt to explain the two different interpretations of nothing by using predicate logic.
As for the sentence nothing is impossible, its interpretation should be as follows:
For everything x, it is the case that x is not impossible.
It is represented in the formula (a):
( ∨x: Tx) ?I(x)
As for the sentence impossible is nothing, its interpretation should be as follows:
Impossible (that may be a fact or an attitude) is nothing.
It is represented in the formula (b):
N(i)
From the above two formulas, we can see that nothing in formula (a) is a universal quantifier, while nothing in formula (b) is a predicate constant. The scope of the former is ?I(x), while that of the latter is N(i). The different scopes of nothing attributes to their different interpretations.
2.3 Information and thematic structures of the two sentences
Information structure, deals with the information which the speaker assumes her hearers already know and the information that the speaker is presenting as additional or new (Saeed, 1997: 188). The former is called given information, while the latter is called new information. Thematic structure consists of theme and rheme. The theme is often understood as ‘known,’ ‘given,’ ‘previously mentioned’, or ‘presupposed’ information present in the context, while the rheme is defined as the negation of these characteristics (Bussmann, 1996: 483). According to Mathesius (Brown and Yule, 1983; Mathesius1942), the theme is the starting point of the utterance and a rheme is everything else that follows in the sentence which consists of what the speaker states about or in regard to, the starting point of the utterance.
With the above information, we can find out the information and thematic structures of these two sentences, which are presented in the following chart:
Given information (Theme) New information (Rheme)
a. Nothing is impossible. Nothing is impossible
b. Impossible is nothing. Impossible is nothing
From the above chart, we can see that in a, ‘nothing’ is the theme, the given information and the point of departure of the message as well, while ‘is impossible’ is the rheme, the new information, and ‘what the speakers states about the starting point of the utterance’. In b, however, ‘Impossible’ serves as the theme, and ‘is nothing’ serves as the rheme. ‘Impossible’ is the point of departure, and ‘is nothing’ is what states in regard to the theme. Generally speaking, new information,which has more value in communication, is put in the rheme (He & Ran, 2002: 265). That is to say, in a, ‘is impossible’ has more value in communication and is the focus of the sentence, but in b, ‘is nothing’ has more value and is the focus of the sentence. By referring to the thematic structures, we can see these two sentences are quite different.
3. Implication differences between nothing is impossible and impossible is nothing
As we have mentioned in the beginning of this paper, advertising is to attract and communicate to audiences to produce their desired result. Adidas chose impossible is nothing instead of nothing is impossible as their slogan, which shows these sentences are not really the same and that the former is a better option than the latter as an advertisement slogan. In the following paragraphs, we are going to illustrate the subtle but important implication of these two sentences.
3.1 What does each sentence convey?
Nothing is impossible denies the existence of things that are impossible, by claiming that everything is possible. That is to say, even for things that seem unlikely or bound to fail, there are chances for them to become likely or successful. Impossible means the chances to fail is 100%. So nothing is impossible means nothing is 100% bound to failure. In such a sense, nothing is impossible is kind of a conceited declaration.
Impossible is nothing believes that the thing that seems impossible “is not a fact but an opinion.” “Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it.” If we say Nothing is impossible is a ‘declaration’, then impossible is nothing is a ‘dare’. The latter conveys the courage and confidence: even for things that may be 100% bound to failure, I am not at all afraid and I regard the possibility to fail as a thing of no account, utterly insignificant, because “Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”
3.2 Impossible is nothing conveys a stronger force than nothing is impossible
The reason that Adidas picked up impossible is nothing as their campaign slogan is not merely the game of words—to inverse the order of nothing and impossible in the ordinary sentence nothing is impossible. Adidas hopes to convey to their consumers their value-to strive to go further, break new ground and surpass limits. Such value will be cherished by their consumers and a sense of recognition is achieved. To go with such a slogan, Adidas launched the campaign with the help of boxing legend Muhammad Ali and his daughter Laila Ali. Muhammad Ali has been ill in bed for a long time and it seems impossible for him to go back the arena and box again. But Muhammad Ali made it.
Therefore, impossible is nothing is a much better option than nothing is impossible, because the force in the former is much stronger than the latter. It can stimulate the courage and the confidence in the consumers. As a result, consumers can easily remember such an excellent sentence. Nowadays, more and more people utter ‘impossible is nothing’ and even use it as the name of their BLOG!
4. Summary
Impossible can be used as an adjective as well as a noun. Therefore, impossible is nothing and nothing is impossible are both correct. The implication differences in these two sentences are realized by the different meanings of nothing. Impossible is nothing is different from nothing is impossible in the sense that the former conveys a daring attitude and the latter is a description of one’s belief and therefore a better option as an advertisement slogan.
Reference:
Wells, W. Burnett, J. Moriarty, S. (1998) Advertising: principles & practice, 4th ed., Prentice Hall, Inc. 150-154.
Saeed, John I. 1997, Semantics, Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 271-278.
Bussmann, H. 1996, Routledge Dictionary of Language and Linguistics, translated and edited by Gregory P. Trauth and Lerstin Kazzazi, Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press by arrangement with Taylor & Francis Limited, 240, 483.
Brown, G. & Yule, G. 1983, Discourse Analysis, London: Cambridge University Press, 126-150
Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionary, 4th edition, Oxford University Press &The Commercial Press.
何自然,冉永平,2002,《语用学概论》,湖南教育出版社,264-278。
顾文利(2005),something就是“某事,某物”吗,《成人高教学刊》,2005年第4期59-61页
范亚刚(1995),符号学与广告分析的若干问题, 北京大学学报, 1995年第4期,66-73页
http://www.adidas-group.com/en/news/archive/2004/2004_02_05.asp
http://dict.die.net/nothing%20but/
http://www.wordreference.com/definition/impossible