Chapter One Introduction
1.1 Background of the study
Dialogue is pervasive both in our daily life and virtual world, which can conveymany kinds of dialogic contents, for example an eye contact may be a dialogue. InText Linguistics: Theories and Applications, Wu pointed out that it is clear toeveryone that conversation is dialogic. In fact, language in use is dialogic even whenit is not directly face to face (Wu Xianzhong, 2010: 60). In many areas such asliterature critics, semiotics, philosophy and linguistics, they have deep research indialogism at abroad and domestic country. Also, there are many achievements indialogic context at home and abroad, but little in commercial context dialogism. Wecan have a more deep understanding about dialogism in English commercialadvertisement with the help of Bakhtin’s dialogism and Halliday’s systemic functionalgrammar theory. The main feature of commercial text is dialogic, we can have a newcomprehension and deep understanding about many language phenomena incommercial dialogism from this point of view.
………
1.2 Objectives of the study
No matter in China or abroad, there are many researches on dialogism in variousareas, of which are literary area and linguistics. However, less analysis on dialogism in advertisement let alone English commercial advertisement. This paper borrows theideas from previous research findings to analyze dialogism in advertising discourses.So, this study will fill this gap.This paper tries to attract more researchers’ attention to the dialogism incommercial advertising discourse. It is expected that this thesis can benefit for bothadvertisers and consumers.Dialogism is a common feature for all texts. As time goes by, everything ischanging, so does language. Language changes in a dynamic way. Just like thefamous scholar Saussure said that, “Absolute stability in language is never found”(Saussure, 1983). It demonstrates that the development of language is dynamic andcontinuous. So dialogism is the result of language development.There are many research results relevant to dialogue discourse, but less aboutdialogism in advertising discourse. The dialogism theory will give us a thoroughunderstanding about dialogic property in commercial advertisements. An essentialfeature of commercial advertisement is dialogism, based on this point, we cancomprehend many new language phenomena from new perspective. Therefore,dialogism plays an important role in non-literary texts. Bakhtin’s dialogism brokethrough the limitation of syntax, semantics and pragmatics, undoubtedly paved theway for linguistic research (Zheng Huan, 2001). Hence, the study of dialogism incommercial advertisements is of great significance and importance for languagelearners.
………….
Chapter Two Literature Review
2.1 Dialogism
Although Bakhtin was active in aesthetics and literature area, his distinctiveposition didn’t become well-known until he was rediscovered by Russian scholars inthe 1960s, so did his dialogism theory. When Bakhtin’s theory was introduced byKristeve to Europe and America, ‘intertextuality’ began to be used at that time. In theearly 1970s, English edition of Volosinov’s Marxism and the philosophy of Languagewas published and then aroused western linguists and litterateurs’ interest immediately.After that, dialogism had far-reaching influence both on linguistics and literature. Inlinguistics, because structuralism dominated vital place, less attention was paid todialogism of discourse and intertextuality. Only in recent years, some theories andresults are applied to critical discourse analysis and then obtained ideal effects (XinBin & Chen Tenglan, 1999).
………..
2.2 Advertising Discourse
“Every day and for most of our lives we see and hear many advertisements. Evenif you don’t read a newspaper or watch television, and walk around the streets witheyes down, you will find it impossible to avoid some forms of publicity, even if it’sonly a trade display at a local store, uninvited handbills pushed through the letter boxor card displayed in the window of the corner newsagent.” (Dyer, 1982)Advertising, since its emergence, has been the object of studies in the followingdisciplines: economics，aesthetics，acoustics，optics and psychology, but surprisinglynot so many studies in linguistics. This paper is aiming at conducting an analysis ofEnglish commercial advertisement from the perspective of the dialogic nature of language, and expounding how dialogue takes place between the advertiser andpotential audience. The nature of the dialogue and how it is achieved are considered，and aspects of dialogue prominent in the language of commercial advertising areinvestigated. Although this paper focuses on advertising discourse, it had better begin with thedefinition of advertising. ‘Advertising’ means “drawing attention to something,notifying or informing somebody of something.” In English ‘advertise’ resulted fromLatin word ‘adverture’ which means to trigger someone’s attention to something andguide them to some directions. ‘Adverture’ turned to ‘advertise’ in the medieval times.With the development of business, ‘advertising’ became popular in the late of 17thcentury. At that time, ‘advertising’ referred to a series of advertising activities ratherthan a piece of advertisement.
………..
Chapter Three Methodology.....18
3.1 Research Questions......18
3.2 Research Method .........18
3.3 Data Collection .....19
Chapter Four Realization of Dialogism in English Commercial Advertisements ....23
4.1 Characteristics of Dialogism......23
4.2 Realization of Dialogism in English Commercial Advertising ..46
4.2.1 Halliday’s Standpoint on Interpersonal Function ......46
4.2.2 Other Scholars’ Views on Interpersonal Function .....48
4.2.3 Realization of Dialogism in Interpersonal Function.........48
4.3 Functions of Dialogism in English Commercial Advertising.....57
Chapter Five Conclusion ..........61
5.1 Major Findings......61
5.2 Implications of the Present Study ......63
5.3 Limitations of the Present Study.......64
5.4 Suggestions for Further Study ..........65
Chapter Four Realization of Dialogism in English Commercial Advertisements
4.1 Characteristics of Dialogism
Dialogism is an essential nature in all texts without exception in advertisingdiscourse. The goal of making advertisement is to propagate product or servicethrough interaction between advertisers and audience by adopting positive and activemeans. It indicates the social nature of language and addressee–oriented principlewhich reflects social and interpersonal function of advertisement. Dialogism relates tosuch factors as interlocutors, dialogue contents and modes. Dialogism is necessary toexist in dialogic and question–answer format, even it is meaningful in a single word.Any true utterance has directivity and performed in explicit and implicit methods.From this point of view, dialogism of advertising discourse can be classified intoostensive dialogism and covert dialogism which are opposite to each other. Ostensivedialogism which is characterized by the actual dialogue between interlocutors with two or more voices to introduce product’s property; by covert dialogism, there onlyhas one voice to introduce product without code–switching that represent dialoguebetween advertiser and audience (Hou Huili, 2005).
………..
Conclusion
Based on the Critical Discourse Analysis and Bakhtin’s dialogic theory, thisthesis analyzes the dialogism in non-literary text: English commercial advertisingdiscourse that is a special genre. Russian scholar Mikhail Bakhtin has left theoreticalframework, inspiration and novel point for the current study. As the title indicates ofthis thesis, the theoretical basis from which English commercial advertisements areapproached is dialogism. Dialogism penetrates into his utterance theory, literary critictheory as well as linguistic theory. Since his work published, dialogism has earnedwidespread respect in literary field while ignored in linguistics. So this thesis studiesthe less unexplored but promising aspect in commercial advertisement.This thesis starts from a general introduction to this study, after that it comes theconcept, classification and functions of dialogism and advertisement. Chapter 3 andChapter 4 are the main bodies of this thesis. Chapter 3 is methodologic part thatcontains research questions, research method and data collection. Chapter 4 isRealization of Dialogism in English Commercial Advertisements that is divided intothree parts, analyzing dialogism from ostensive and covert point of view. Becauseinterpersonal function in Systemic-Functional Grammar coincides with dialogism, soit is also a main objective of this research and has discussed from mood and modalitysystem and then is the functions of dialogism. The last chapter is the ending part forthis study.
…………
Reference (omitted)
