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Chapter 3: The Emotive Function of Language

Chapter 3: The Emotive Function of Language. Denotation, Connotation, and Cognitive Meaning (p. 18). The denotation of a term consists of all the objects picked out by the term.

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Chapter 3: The Emotive Function of Language

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  1. Chapter 3: The Emotive Function of Language

  2. Denotation, Connotation, and Cognitive Meaning (p. 18) • The denotation of a term consists of all the objects picked out by the term. • The connotation of a term consists of those properties (characteristics) a thing has in virtue of which it is contained in the denotation.

  3. Denotation, Connotation, and Cognitive Meaning (p. 18) • Types of Connotations • The objectiveconnotation consists of all the properties objects in the denotation have in common (whether or not anyone knows what they are). • The subjective connotation consists of all the properties you use to pick out the objects in the denotation. • The conventional connotation consists of all the properties a group of people use to pick out the objects in the denotation. The conventional connotation is what you usually find in a dictionary.

  4. Denotation, Connotation, and Cognitive Meaning (p. 18) • Cognitive meaning alludes to the connotation of a term in any one of the three previous senses. The cognitive meaning tells you what the characteristics of a thing are.

  5. Emotional Connotations of Words (pp. 18-21) • Different words with the same or approximately the same cognitive meaning can affect you in different ways. • Does it make any emotional difference whether you describe someone as a killer, a soldier, or a military hero? • Euphemisms • Death is nasty. It is much better to “pass away.” • Euphemisms disguise the negative emotional impact of unambiguous terms such as ‘death’.

  6. Why noticing emotional connotations is important (pp. 20-21) • Biases • Biases can blind a person regarding what is seen (Chapter 10) or what is important (Chapter 11). • The choice of words can show one’s biases regarding a person, a group, an organization, or an object. • Positive and negative biases should be taken into account in evaluating the accuracy and completeness of descriptions (Chapter 4) and the evidence presented to support a position.

  7. Why noticing emotional connotations is important (pp. 20-21) • Emotional terms and arguments • Arguments provide reasons to accept the truth of a claim (the conclusion). Only factual claims are relevant to accepting the truth of a claim. • Weasel Words: There are words such as ‘of course’ or ‘certainly’ that have positive emotional connotations and suggest that there is evidence even when none is presented.

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