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Knowledge of the meanings of “denote” and “connote” is essential for understanding spoken and written language. Denotation is the literal and direct meaning that a word or phrase has . Instead, the connotation is the additional or complementary meaning it possesses.
denotative and connotative languages
The choice of words plays a very important role in communication, both written and oral. Especially, in literature and linguistics, denotative and connotative languages give one or more meanings to everything that surrounds us.
To better understand what each one consists of and how they are used, it is necessary to look at them in detail.
what is denotation
According to the Royal Spanish Academy, the term denote derives from the Latin denotare , which means “mark”, “note”, “designate” and means:
- Indicate, announce, signify.
- Objectively mean.
Therefore, denoting is just that, indicating, objectively pointing out something. That is, the denotation is the usual, literal, objective and direct sense of a word or phrase.In the denotation, that sense is explicit . For example: “The apple is red.” Here the color of a particular object is mentioned, without further ado. The meaning of this sentence is clear, direct and can be easily interpreted.
The denotative language allows to express in a precise and effective way the message to be communicated.
The denotation is common in dictionaries, encyclopedias, scholarly articles, and news.
what is connotation
The term connotate means to carry, imply, have a complementary sense, in addition to its own or denotative meaning. Connotation gives a word or phrase additional meaning that is implied and indirect, subjective, and symbolic. Its interpretation will depend on the context and the vision, imagination and personal experience of the recipient.
To connote means to add a double meaning or a figurative meaning to an expression. For example: “His eyes of him are two stars.” Here the connotative meaning may be that his eyes are bright, big, far away, etc., as are the stars.
The connotation gives a greater richness to the text, since it allows expressing a broader meaning within a context and using different linguistic resources such as comparison, metaphors, allusions, etc.
Connotative language is generally expressive and appears frequently in fictional literature and poetry.
Difference Between Denote and Connote
Taking the above into account, the main differences between denoting and connoting are quite evident. On the one hand, denotative language indicates a single meaning, which is direct and explicit, while connotative language marks more than one meaning, is more indirect and implicit.
On the other hand, denotative language is objective and can be easily interpreted, without the need to take context into account. Instead, connotative language is subjective and depends almost entirely on the interpretation of the receiver and the context.
Examples of denotation and connotation
Some common examples of denotation and connotation are:
- Denotation: “I have two pets: a dog and a cat.” / Connotation: “My parents get along like cat and dog”. I mean, they don’t get along.
- Denotation: “My cousin has very thin arms.” / Connotation: “My cousin has two spaghetti.” His arms are as thin as spaghetti noodles.
- Denotation: “Pearl necklaces are expensive.” / Connotation: “Her smile of hers is full of pearls.” That is, their teeth are white and shiny like pearls.
- Denotation: “The price of gold is rising.” / Connotation: “The girl’s golden curls moved with the wind.” The girl’s hair is blonde.
- Denotation: “It is important to read in sufficient light.” / Connotation: “That player is a light.” The player is intelligent, fast, intuitive…
- Denotation: “Benzema was the top scorer in the 2022 European Champions League.” / Connotation: “That young player is going to be a Benzema”. The young player in question, if he continues like this, can become intelligent, subtle, quick, charismatic, generous, an excellent scorer and even, if there is justice for once in awarding him, a Ballon d’Or. Benzema.
- Denotation: “Seeing that poor boy moved him.” / Connotation: “Seeing that poor boy broke his heart.” Seeing the child moved him, saddened him.
- Denotation: “The drops of water are identical.” / Connotation: “My brother and my cousin are two peas in a pod.” They are very similar.
- Denotation: “Pigs usually eat all kinds of food.” / Connotation: “He ate like a pig over the weekend.” He ate a lot over the weekend.
