Https www csun edu bashforth 098_pdf 06sep15connotation_denotation pdf

Communication Final Essay

Relationships are a complicated thing. Many of us share the incorrect assumption that the language and words we use are a simple building block that we use to build and maintain those relationships. Unfortunately, this is not true. Most words actually have two levels of meaning that operate at the same time and are equally “true” meanings. These are the denotative and connotative levels of meaning.

What does that mean? It means that when a speaker says a word using the denotative meaning, it is entirely possible that the listener will understand it to reflect the connotative meaning. Both the speaker and listener are starting with the same word, but two very different meanings.

Denotative Meaning

Consider this conversation:

Alicia: Oh, he looks so hot! Betina: Uh, I guess he looks good… Alicia: No! I mean he looks like he is overheated, his cheeks are flushed and he looks worn out! Betina: That makes more sense.

In this conversation, Alicia is using the denotative meaning of hot. Denotative meaning is the formal meaning, or dictionary definition of a word. If you look up hot in the dictionary, the definition looks something like this (thanks to Dictionary.com):

1. having or giving off heat; having a high temperature.

2. having or causing a sensation of great bodily heat; attended with or producing such a sensation.

3. creating a burning sensation, as on the skin or in the throat.

4. sharply peppery or pungent.

5. having or showing intense or violent feeling; ardent; fervent; vehement; excited.

However, as you can see in the above example, the denotative meaning of hot can mean five different things, from a hot temper to a hot pepper to a hot pan. This is because language is ambiguous, a single word can have many different meanings in our language.

Connotative Meaning

In the same conversation, Betina was thinking of the connotative meaning of the word, an informal or personal meaning associated with a word. In this case, she was thinking of the informal, slang meaning of hot. Hot is also used to say that someone is very attractive, particularly in a romantic or sexual manner. Many words share this denotative and connotative challenge, words like crib, sick, and cheddar all have completely different slang meanings than their formal, dictionary meaning.

Connotative meaning also refers to the personal meaning, or values and ideas we attach to a word. Here’s another conversation:

Alex: This Calphalon pan is cheap! I am buying it. Bennett: I wouldn’t say Calphalon is cheap, it’s an excellent quality pan and it will perform well and last a long time. Alex: No, man, I mean it’s inexpensive, the sale price is over 70% off retail! I need a better skillet and this is a great price. Bennett: Oh! You’re right, that is a great price.

In this case, Alex was thinking of cheap as meaning inexpensive. Bennett, however, understood to cheap to carry a negative connotation, that it meant something was of poor quality. This is a secondary meaning that some people attach to cheap. In this case, the additional ideas we have about the negative or positive connotation, are not wrong but they do often cause some difficulty in understanding the intended message.

Another example of the personal meaning that can be involved in the connotation of a word are caused by our personal experiences. For example, most people have a positive connotation of the word dog, thinking of a beloved pet or man’s best friend. However, for those who have been attacked or had a traumatic experience with a dog, the word alone can make them frightened or panicked. For those people, the word dog has a deeply negative connotation.

Here’s a helpful link to a pdf to help you better understand denotative and connotative meaning:

https://www.csun.edu/~bashforth/098_PDF/06Sep15Connotation_Denotation.pdf