DIALOGUE ANALYSIS

BY ROSNIZA AND PESHAMINI

INTRODUCTION
Conversation between the interviewer and the famous Bollywood actress, AishwaryaRai.

Cont..
Referring expression Connotative and denotative Ambiguities

Reference
relationships between language and the world. when a speaker utters something it indicates which things in the (including persons) are being talked about.

Referring expression

any expression used in an utterance to refer to something or someone that the speaker already has as a referent in his mind. Sometimes, it is possible that an expression could be a referring expression or not. This is based on the indefinite noun phrases that are used. Using the word certain right after the indefinite article can solve these ambiguities.

Cont..
Examples (from the interview) 1. Not the only but one of the initiators. the initiators in the example above is a referring expression because the speaker has a group of people in her mind and referring to them as the initiators. 2. Actually way back when Abhishek and I were just coactors, I kept telling him 'let's be a part of a troupe and go on a world tour'. The personal pronoun him is a referring expression as it refers to Abishek in the sentence.

3. I am happy that Abhishek gave me such a wonderful and caring family. The expression a wonderful and caring family is referring to Abisheks family members. Although this expression is using the indefinite article it is still a referring expression.

Ambiguity

Ambiguity is a term used in writing, and under conditions where information can be understood or interpreted in more than one way and is distinct from vagueness. Context may play a role in resolving ambiguity.

You too are married for over a year. Are you more 'a Bachchanbahu' or Abhishek's wife? Both are the same. When she was asked if she is more a Bachchanbahu or Abhisheks wife, she answered Both are the same. This can be interpreted, in this context, as she has to carry her name well as she is related to the two famous people in India. When a woman gets married, she has to carry her husbands name. In this case, AishwaryaRai will change to AishwaryaBachchan. So that makes it the same to be the daughter in law of AmitabhBachchan or the wife of AbhishekBachchan.

Connotation and Denotation

Connotation is a subjectivecultural and/or emotionalcoloration in addition to the explicit or

Denotation is the literal meaning of any specific word or phrase in a language,

Cont..
Examples in the interview I am already a superwoman in real life. When Aishwarya said that, she meant that she is a woman who is capable of doing a lot of thing not that she is a woman with supernatural powers.

Conclusion
All three referring expression, ambiguities and connotative and denotative are important aspects of semantics in a conversation They help make the conversation more interesting yet confusing at times due to different contexts