v Connotation is the meaning that each speaker gives to words or expressions in specific contexts and under specific communicative situations. Since it is a meaning attributed by the speaker, it is a subjective meaning .
Connotation does not appear in dictionaries because it is not possible to cover so many underlying aspects of language that are subjective in nature, which refer to previous experiences, values, skills, etc.
- See also: Connotative language
Denotation
In contrast to the concept of connotation, denotation refers to the objective value that a word has in the linguistic realm, that is, its general and agreed-upon meaning among all speakers of that language.
Similarly, the images we see also sometimes have a denotative and a connotative value, the latter of which can vary greatly between different subjects.
It could be summarized by saying that denotation is the informative-referential value, which strictly depends on the linguistic code, while connotation functions as an added value, dependent on a social code as heterogeneous as society itself.
See also: Denotative language
Importance of connotation
The connotations of words are very important in interpersonal relationships, because even if we try to adhere strictly to their objective meanings, it is inevitable to make various types of associations, some of which can lead us to ideas that are quite far from the true intention of the speaker.
Society as a whole constructs meanings and connotative values around communicative elements, and the press and the Internet play a particularly prominent role in this regard.
Many authors consider figures of speech to be connotative devices, as they represent writing strategies that generate certain aesthetic effects by displacing words from their usual meaning. This category includes metaphor , personification , allusion , and others.
Politically correct speech
The concept of connotation has led to the frequent talk today of “politically correct speech,” understood as that which takes special care to avoid the use of words or expressions that may offend the sensibilities of a human group (ethnic, social, sexual, professional, etc.) or a particular person, given their real or assumed negative or pejorative connotation .
This happens, for example, with the word “black,” often replaced by “colored” (which, according to some, is nonsense, since we all have “some color”). The same thing happens with the word “disabled,” which today tends to be replaced by “person with different abilities.”
Examples of sentences with special connotations
- Mmmm…..that guy is kind of weird….
- The bitch pressured him to put the car in her name.
- Let’s see if someone wakes up here and says something useful.
- The teacher went all out on the exam. Only two passed.
- That boy is on a full-blown hormonal rampage…
- The role of kitten no longer suits her.
- Roll up your sleeves, there’s a lot to do.
- He did it holding his nose, but he did it.
- What a truck!
- Hit the gas.
- I got out of the bubble once and for all!
- He doesn’t go anywhere without his daddy and mommy.
- It’s clear you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth.
- It’s raining soup and I’m using a fork…
- Stop flying and find a common, rural job.
- I’m walking through walls.
- She glared at him, but he whistled softly.
- No organ hurts as much as your pocketbook.
- He’s just navel-gazing.
- How easy it is to have an opinion with yesterday’s newspaper.
