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Denotation and Connotation

Denotation and Connotation. They go together like peas and carrots. --Forrest Gump. Denotation. What a word “is” What it “describes”. Examples. Student IS describing someone who attends school. Boy IS describing a male. Job IS describing a profession / what someone does for a living.

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Denotation and Connotation

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  1. Denotation and Connotation They go together like peas and carrots. --Forrest Gump

  2. Denotation • What a word “is” • What it “describes”

  3. Examples • Student • IS describing someone who attends school. • Boy • IS describing a male. • Job • IS describing a profession / what someone does for a living.

  4. Clarification • The denotation of a word IS what it is. • There is NO “emotional loading” in the word. It is NEUTRAL. • The word doesn’t make you feel any particular way.

  5. Connotation • The “emotional” level of a word • Many ways to describe connotation of certain words • Positive • Negative • Ways we usually describe words’ connotations…emotional loading

  6. For example • Pleasant words: calm, friend, truth, clean, togetherness, honest, complete • Unpleasant words: stormy, opponent, falsehood, dirty, loneliness, dishonest, unfinished

  7. Why Do I Need to Know This? • When reading…. • Pick up writer’s bias (point of view) • Miss writer’s message if you miss his or her perspective! • When writing…. • Finding the perfect word for the situation. • Adding greater word choice to writing • Getting past….good…nice….things….stuff

  8. For example • Positive connotation: generous, wisdom, justice, patriot, happiness, heroic • Negative connotation: stingy, stupidity, injustice, traitor, sadness, cowardly

  9. And… Positive: • red-blooded, mouth-watering, true-blue, exquisite, saintly, magnificent Negative: • cold-blooded, two-faced, heartrending, rotten, sadistic, poverty-stricken

  10. We can combine words…. Positive: • complete honesty, sweet friend, cheerful grin, American cooperation Negative: • uncontrolled dishonesty, dirty opponent, sullen sneer, foreign interference

  11. What is the connotation of the underlined phrase? • She walked up to him and smilingly killed him. • Money rained down from above.

  12. Think about context…. • That's a lazy cat. • That's a lazy man. What’s the difference in the connotation of “lazy” in each?

  13. I made noise taking the dishes out of the cupboard. • I couldn't hear the speaker, because everybody around me was making noise. • That isn't music! That's noise! What is the difference in the connotation of the word “noise” in each?

  14. What is the Subtle Difference Between… • Joy • And…. • Pride

  15. Anger • And…. • Rage

  16. Boredom • And… • Despair

  17. You Try… • Stress and…. Tension • Calm and…. Relaxed • Friendliness and….. Love

  18. Exercise #1 Separate the words below into three categories • Positive, negative, or neutral (It is all right if you don't use all three categories.) • Use your first reaction to the word to decide which category to use for it. Here are the words:

  19. True • Boring • Sloppy • Dependable • Honor • Paramedic • Tidy • Interesting • Awkward • Nasty • Disorganized • Champion • Disloyal • Clumsy • Physician • Talent • Mismanage • Failure • Friendship • Messy

  20. Exercise #2 • Combine 5 positive words with 5 negative words to make 5 positive phrases. • You MAY change word forms, plural, etc. • reformed • patience • honesty • playful • criminal • strength • unrelenting • ghost • stubborn • unbending

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