denotation and connotation

Language

2022

We explain what denotation and connotation are, their differences and characteristics. Also, examples of each.

"Living like a dog" should be understood in a connotative sense.

What are denotation and connotation?

In linguistics, denotation and connotation are two levels of word meaning: the literal level and the contextual level, respectively. This is possible since the words not only say what the dictionary strictly dictates, but they are accompanied by a whole contextual framework that gives them deeper layers of meaning.

Therefore, the denotation is the plain and main meaning, evident and universal, that a word or an expression has. It is the main meaning that the dictionaries collect and that is common to all the speakers of a language, without taking into account nuances, nor contexts, no second or third intentions.

Instead, the connotation encompasses deeper or more figurative, implicit or particular meanings that that same word or expression can have, depending on who uses it, in what context, within what group of speaks or with what shades. These types of senses often vary with the geography, the social class wave tradition cultural to which you belong.

Within the language, however, denotation and connotation coexist, and feed into each other. The connotative senses tend to be superimposed on the denotative ones in common speech (that is, the use is imposed on the norm), but with the passage of time these figurative senses also tend to be incorporated into the language (the use becomes the norm). This is the case, for example, of the common places of the language.

Even so, it is possible to differentiate even in those cases the plain and the figurative meaning, that is, the denotation and the connotation. Let's look at, as an example, the commonplace "being a diamond in the rough." As we know, the phrase has a figurative (connotative) meaning that refers to having a talent or skill that is yet to be discovered or perfected.

That sense is probably handled by all Spanish speakers, although it differs from its literal (denotative) sense, which would be stating that a person is not really a person, but rather an inanimate object made of carbon molecules. intensely compressed.

The difference between one sense and another becomes evident, in fact, if we think of a word or an expression as if we were foreigners and we were learning to speak our language: the denotative sense is what we initially grasp, and the connotative one requires a greater knowledge of language and culture.

It is also common for this difference to be accentuated in literary or poetic discourses, in which metaphor and a "hidden" meaning of everything said.

Characteristics of denotation and connotation

Denotation and connotation are characterized in:

  • They are both forms of meaning or meaning of language, which exist simultaneously.
  • However, the denotative sense is self-evident, while the connotative sense is figurative and usually requires contextual knowledge to be understood.
  • Denotation allows the emergence of connotation, and the latter at the same time builds new meanings that are fixed over time.
  • The denotation is universal and identical for all speakers of the same language, while the connotation is individual, subtle and depends largely on the expressive style of each person.

Examples of denotation and connotation

Here are some examples of denotation and connotation in Spanish:

  • "Lead a life of dogs"

Denotation: literally living like a dog: eating dog food, sleeping on the floor, believing oneself a dog.
Connotation: living below everyone's acceptable minimum standards, having a bad time or suffering a lot.

  • "Be a stone in the shoe"

Denotation: literally being a stone in someone's shoe.
Connotation: to be a nuisance, to be an impediment or to be annoying.

  • "I feel like Christmas"

Denotation: the speaker feels as he usually feels in December.
Connotation: the speaker feels like a family, perhaps, or feels nostalgic, or whatever his subjective and individual assessment of Christmas consists of.

  • "Treat someone like trash"

Denotation: throw someone in the garbage can or sweep them with the broom.
Connotation: treat someone badly, treat someone as less than people.

  • "Being a sock licker"

Denotation: having a fondness for sucking on certain items of clothing.
Connotation: to be a flatterer, to flatter others for your own benefit.

Denotative and connotative language

In general, the terms "denotative language" and "connotative language" are, respectively, synonyms of denotation and connotation.

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