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How Words Work:4

© Brenda Townsend Hall

Connotation The connotations a word acquires are perhaps the most changeable aspects of meaning. The denotative meanings of words change too: it is now almost impossible to use gay, for example in its earlier meaning. But connotation is that aspect of meaning which carries judgement, feeling or opinion, and as public attitudes changes or are moulded by commercial, political or other influences, so words acquire new connotations implying certain attitudes or emotions on the part of the user. Feminism and feminist were words used once to describe no more than a political orientation, but so vitriolic has the attack on this position been by the British press that the words now carry strong disapproval as of people with dangerously extremist but also rather absurd views. Connotation can be changed by the way words combine. The word element, standing alone to mean one part of something is neutral but combine it with words such as fringe, or hooligan or, indeed, feminist, and it becomes pejorative.

Connotation is thus a somewhat slippery aspect of meaning and one which teachers may find difficult to explain. It cannot be omitted, however, as it is a source of potential confusion for the learner. Implications for the Classroom

Learners need to be aware that:

a) meaning involves attitude and emotion as well as denotation

b) in different combinations and different contexts, the same word may acquire different connotations, e.g. the word handsome when applied to a woman is still complimentary but has different overtones from its application to a man

c) that the speaker or writer, in manipulating connotation, may be trying to influence the attitudes and feelings of the listener or reader.

Register While connotation involves attitude and feeling, register is connected with activity, role and relationship. On one level, register will dictate a set of lexical items appropriate to the field. Thus scalpels, swabs, masks, blood transfusions belong to a surgeon's activities and it is wrong to refer to a kitchen implement as a scalpel. Beyond this, however, register dictates styles of speech and writing. Scientific writing is couched in impersonal terms, as the writer strives for objectivity. Legal writing involves much archaic language which is not found outside the field. Register also dictates the level of formality between interlocutors, depending on their relationship. Hence a dentist speaking to a patient might be expected to use an entirely different style of address from a taxi driver picking up a fare.