Meaning and Connotation. The Art Of Saying Precisely What You Mean.
Posted: Wednesday, March 24, 2010
by Andrew Latham
http://WWW.andrewlatham.info
“I'm afraid that if I look at a thing long enough, it loses all of its meaning." (Andy Warhol)
Getting the meaning of a word right is like shooting a moving target, difficult. The English language has hundreds of thousands of words. That alone would make it hard to find the right word, but what makes it worse is that they are constantly changing their meaning. To illustrate, the latest edition of Webster’s dictionary included some 10,000 new words along with 100,000 new meanings to words already existing and some 225,000 revised definitions.
A well known example is “nice", which described people who were foolish and stupid in the Dark Ages, then changed significance many times through to the 18th century with meanings like wanton, extravagant, elegant, strange, modest, thin, shy and coy. Now, of course, it refers to something good and pleasing or thoughtful and kind.
An equally interesting word is “silly" that began its existence meaning blessed or happy in the 11th century, transforming into pious, innocent, harmless, feeble minded and ends up describing someone foolish or stupid.
Often knowing the history, or etymology, of a word informs us on the meaning of new words and expressions. For example a bead was a prayer and a neck was a parcel of land which finally provides some logic to that strange expression: “how are things going in your neck of the woods?"
All this makes the concept of meaning a hard one to define - a rather satisfying irony.
Change of meaning is only one of the reasons “meaning" is a hard concept to grasp. The main cause is that meaning in itself is an arbitrary convention with little if any logic attached to it. There is no real reason we call a structure to live in “a house" we just agree to. However, meaning does not only describe the world as a simple labeling system; it changes the way we see and feel about the world.
This is especially noticeable when we first try to learn a new language. We all somehow feel that when we learn a new vocabulary there will be equivalents for every word in our own tongue. This is, of course, not true, which is why translating accurately from one language to another is very difficult and requires an understanding of the background and culture of the speakers of the language. Each vocabulary owes its existence to different cultural and environmental factors, unique to each language.
Words also change meaning depending on where they are placed. The word “great" seems a pretty straightforward term to understand, but its meaning, the images and ideas it creates in our mind change drastically when you speak of a “great man", a “great river" or a “great elephant".
The art of choosing the right word is also dependant on what the register for the concept you want to convey is, or what your options are. The same general idea or object has a number of words that describe it. Using the right one will make our writing and speech more accurate, descriptive and interesting. However, the words we didn’t choose might tell the reader or listener even more than the ones we do pick. Take for instance, nice, as mentioned above it refers to things that are good and pleasing; a perfectly adequate and kind word to describe a dress, or a woman. But what happens if your wife asks you how she looks in a new dress. If you answer:
“You look nice"
The word seems to transform meaning into plain, not too bad, or even not that good. Why? Simply because there are other words besides nice that can be used to describe a dress or how a woman looks much more positively or forcefully.
The question we must therefore ask ourselves is not: Does this word communicate the meaning I want it to? But, is there one that expresses it better?
To illustrate, look at these three phrases.
“the little house".
“the diminutive house,"
“the petite house"
How does the meaning of the phrase change with little, diminutive or petite? All these words have overlapping and synonymous meanings but each one provides a particular flavor.
“Little" may suggest endearment as well as size; “diminutive," good construction; and “petite," prettiness and quaintness.
Of course there are no set rules, the meaning of words are constantly changing and will also depend on the background of the reader and the context in which they are used. Diminutive house, for instance, might also convey to someone else the idea of a pitiable or contemptible residence and not particularly that of a good construction.
Let’s experiment with meaning by looking again at the effect using similar words has on a simple phrase.
Activity 2.1
Fill in the gap of the phrases below with words synonymous of large and describe the effect the precise meaning of the synonyms had on your phrases. Did they make them warmer, harsher, more violent, empathetic or did they completely change the sense of the phrase?
The large
man held my hand.
The _____ man held my hand.
The _____ man held my hand.
Try with these if you get blocked: Fat, huge, hefty, outsized, great
and bulky.The _____ man held my hand.
The _____ man held my hand.
Connotation.
Connotation is, of course, an element of meaning but its effect on our writing and our choice of words is so powerful it deserves a section of its very own.
Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines connation as: The suggesting of a meaning by a word apart from the thing it explicitly names or describes.
Names like Napoleon, Lincoln or Jesus cannot be uttered without invoking a world of ideas. Words like drunk, or pervert, call up horrible images that their dictionary definitions by themselves simply don’t warrant.
This is why words with a strong connotation must be used purposefully; careless use can completely change the sense of our text.
If we use connotation correctly we can add character and personality to our writing invoking a whole world of ideas in the reader’s mind. Use it badly and words will bleed into each other like a new red T-shirt in a mixed wash.
Let us practice this concept with another exercise.
Activity 2.2
Read the three phrases below and think about how and why the meaning of the phrases transform by changing one word. Focus on the meaning and connotation of the words.
An assembly of barons awaits us.
A group of barons awaits us.
A pack of barons awaits us.(Quoted from the film: “The Lion in Winter" 1968.)
A group of barons awaits us.
A pack of barons awaits us.(Quoted from the film: “The Lion in Winter" 1968.)
Again, there are no correct solutions for this exercise. Meaning and connotation work in different ways for different people. However, many may agree that an assembly of barons describes a more organized and controlled group than a pack of barons which we might associate with a fierce “pack" of wolves. On the other hand a group of barons provides much less information, a more sterile description than an “assembly" which gives us the idea of a structured meeting instead of a casual gathering of nobles.
So what have we learned about Meaning and Connotation? Let’s summarize.
SUMMARY
Meaning is
a difficult concept to understand and use effectively because:
1)
The meaning of words is
constantly changing. The word gay is a classic. 2) Meaning changes depending on where words are placed and what other words could have been used. If we hear “I like you" on a first date it is wonderful, but its meaning changes completely if you just proposed and the words you hoped to hear were “I love you".
3) Words have an inherent connotation that changes their basic meaning and that of the words it touches. White can suggest purity, oak strength, Judas treason, lion courage, serpent deviousness. What makes this even more complicated is that what is suggested by each word will depend on the person who hears the word, their experiences and personality.
Tip: When
choosing our words, we can ask ourselves these questions:
1)
Does this word express the
meaning I want?
2) Will my readers understand it in the same, or similar, way?
3) Are there other words that express my thoughts and emotions more accurately?
4) What connotation does this word carry and how does it affect the rest of the sentence and paragraph.
2) Will my readers understand it in the same, or similar, way?
3) Are there other words that express my thoughts and emotions more accurately?
4) What connotation does this word carry and how does it affect the rest of the sentence and paragraph.
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