a study on denotation and connotation in english nghiên cứu về nghĩa biểu vật và nghĩa biểu thái trong tiếng anh

Clearly, studying word meaning in general and denotation and connotation in particular is necessary for learners of English so that they can understand and apply them better.. Chapter 2:

HUNG YEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION

FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

GRADUATION PAPER FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS

A STUDY ON DENOTATION AND CONNOTATION

IN ENGLISH

(NGHIEN CUU VE NGHIA BIEU VAT VA NGHIA

BIEU THAI TRONG TIENG ANH)

Supervisor: Hoang Thi Huyen, M.A Student: Ngo Thi Duong Student number: 11317086

Hung Yen - 2021

HUNG YEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION

FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

GRADUATION PAPER FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS

A STUDY ON DENOTATION AND CONNOTATION

IN ENGLISH

(NGHIEN CUU VE NGHIA BIEU VAT VA NGHIA

BIEU THAI TRONG TIENG ANH)

Student: Ngo Thi Duong Student number: 11317086 Supervisor: Hoang Thi Huyen, M.A

( Ky tén )

Hung Yen - 2021

Hai Duong, June, 2021

Signature

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

During the whole process of doing this graduation paper, I have taken any necessary help and assistance from my teachers, family, and friends This support whether more or less, direct or indirect, whether by action or just honest advice, have helped me tremendously

First of all, I would like to express my respect and my special gratitude to my great supervisors, Ms Hoang Thi Huyen, who has always been willing to assists me with an erudite knowledge and valuable advice Following the direction that she led me, my essay has been successfully conducted Once again, my deepest thanks to her

My sincere thanks are also sent to the teachers of Hung Yen University of Technology and Education for their time, dedication and knowledge during the time we studied there

Last but not least, I would like to thank my parents and my classmate who willingly share and support to me during my study and my research work as well

11

ABSTRACT

Learning language is not simply a matter of learning words It is a matter of correctly relating our words to the things and happenings for which they stand It is the need of knowing how meanings of words vary from one cultural context into another We can interpret any given statement in more than one way Sometimes the difference is simply literal versus figurative interpretation We better understand that words are not limited to one single meaning Most of the words do not simply express a thought, but also express feelings beyond the word’s literal meaning Denotation and Connotation are two principal methods of describing the meanings of words This thesis is a study on denotation and connotation in English The findings of the study help to find out some relatedness and distinction between denotation and connotation These findings can be utilized by second-language learners in the process of understanding the denotative and connotative meaning of the English language Moreover, the thesis also gives learners of English some suggestions for learning denotation and connotation

1V

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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2.3.1.1 Definition of denofatIOH - -á 5Á c1 SH HH HH TH HH HH HH Hiện 5 2.3.1.2 Nho on ốc cố cố 6 2.3.1.3 Denotation and reÍ€T€TIC€ «5Á S11 HH HH TH HH HH HH HH Hit 7

2.3.2 Connofative meaning (ConnotafIOT)) - HH HH HH HH HH, 7

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°s 0 27 4.2 Limitation of the ng 27 4.3 Suggestion for further study oo ố ố 27

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rationale Language is one of the most important cultural elements among other elements Learning language is not simply a matter of learning words It is a matter of correctly relating our words to the things and happenings for which they stand It is the need of knowing how meanings of words vary from one cultural context into another

Through language, people can express and describe what they are doing, thinking, and what they are wanted We can interpret any given statement in more than one way Sometimes the difference is simply literal versus figurative interpretation We better understand that words are not limited to one single meaning Most of the words do not simply express a thought, but also express feelings beyond the word’s literal meaning Denotation and connotation are two principal methods of describing the meanings of words

Everyone knows the saying that “A picture is worth a thousand words’ The opposite is true, also: “One word is worth a thousand pictures” Most words have a dictionary definition that specifies what the meaning of that word is For example, a

“church” is a building in which people worship That is its denotation Some people, though, may have an idea in their mind that a “church” is a place to receive comfort, or a building in which marriages are performed, or a place they were forced to go every Sunday as children.Those are the word’s connotation meanings that are inferred by the person understanding the word “church” through different contexts But sometimes we don’t pay attention about that and sometimes we misunderstand and get confused Clearly, studying word meaning in general and denotation and connotation in particular is necessary for learners of English so that they can understand and apply them better That is reason inspired the author to choose the research topic “A study on denotation and connotation in English”

1.2 Aims of the study

This study aims at several points:

- To point out the relatedness between denotation and connotation

- To clearly show the distinction between denotation and connotation

- To get some suggestions for studying denotation and connotation

1.3 Research questions

The study is an attempt to enhance knowledge about denotation and connotation in English, then can apply them well and use them easily and avoid misunderstanding Thus,

it seeks answers to the following questions:

1 What are the relatedness between denotation and connotation?

2 What are the distinction between denotation and connotation?

3 What are the suggestions for studying denotation and connotation?

1.4 Method of the study

This research is carried out basing on the main method which analyzes and gives examples for denotation and connotation

Firstly, to do this research, the author essentially collected my acknowledgment about word meaning, especially about denotation and connotation And then, the author systemized them and analyzed them Moreover, the author differentiated denotation and connotation After that, the author illustrates them by some examples Besides it, to do this

research, the author referred so websites online, dictionary and different books on

denotation and connotation

Furthermore, my graduation paper also bases on myself experience and my knowledge during the process of learning English

1.5 Scope of the study Within the shortage of time, experience, and references, my graduation paper can not cover all aspects of word meaning It mainly focuses on the main features of denotation and connotation in English and give typical examples for illustration 1.6 Design of the study

The study is divided in four parts Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION

It includes the rationale, aims, research questions, method, scope and design of the

study

Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

- Definition, types of word meaning

- Components of word meaning Chapter 3 : THE STUDY

- Relatedness between denotation and connotation

- Distinction between denotation and connotation

- Some suggestions for studying denotation and connotation

Chapter 4 : CONCLUSION Summaries all things, mentioned previous parts of the study and suggestions for further study

PART 2: LITERATURE REWIEW

2.1 Definition of word meaning Word meaning is able to discuss object in the English language because one “word” can be consists of more than one meaning Leech stated (1981) the word “meaning” its corresponding verb “to mean” are among the most eminently discussable terms in English language It is not easy to understand about the word-meaning because sometimes misunderstanding and confusing will come when we lack of agreement of the word- meaning itself Connotation and denotation are meaning that commonly appear in words

“Word meaning can be more or less described as a component of the word through which a concept is communicated.” (Nguyen Hoa, 2004)

2.2 Type of word meaning Word meaning is made up of various components which are usually described as types of meaning According to Hoang Tat Truong (1993, p.53): There are two main types

of meanings found in words: grammatical meaning and lexical meaning

and grammatical common case The meaning of “pretty, tall, dark, white, lexical, etc” is

that they are adjectives

2.2.2 Lexical meaning

Lexical meaning is the realization of concept or emotion

When we hear or see the word “house” for example, our concept is realized and the picture or image of a house occurs to our mind Therefore, this realization is called lexical meaning

Lexical meaning is divided in two types :

- Direct meaning (literal meaning): is the meaning that directly denotes something without comparing it or associating with other things

- Indirect meaning (figurative meaning): is the meaning that indirectly denotes something To understanding it we have to compare it or associate with other things

2.3 Components of word meaning

Components of word meaning

Denotative Connotative Structural/ associative Categorial

meaning meaning meaning meaning

2.3.1 Denotative meaning (Denotation)

2.3.1.1 Definition of denotation When we look up a word in a dictionary, what we get is one kind of meaning It is called denotative meaning (also known as objective, literal, intellectual, or cognitive meaning) According to Rababah (2015, p.114), denotative or conceptual meaning is the direct or dictionary meaning of a word Denotative meaning is a term used in semantics as part of a classification of types of meaning Crystal (2008, p.136), stated that “denotative meaning is the set of properties that something has to have to allow the expression to be applied to it.”

According to Nguyen Hoa (2004, p.93): Denotation by definition is the ability of a word to identify all those things or objects that are correctly covered by it For example the word “hat” is used to help the speaker of a language to see and recognize all the things that may be called hat

According to Hoang Tat Truong (1993, p.54): The denotational meaning indicates (denotes) or points out things, concepts, etc For example, “bird” denotes an animal that can fly “Father, dad and daddy” denote the male parent “Ran, shine” denote the phenomena of nature

Denotation is the meaning of a word which is primarily refers to the real word, the

“dictionary definition’’ It is the type of meaning which may be described in terms of a set

of semantic properties which serves to identify the particular concept associated with the

word in question For instance, “cow” shows a kind of animal, “house” shows a kind of building (Fromkin, 1990, p.205)

Lyons (1995, p.77-81) defines denotation as “a relation which hold primarily, or basically, between expressions and physical entities in the external world” For example, the lexeme “trouser” denotes a class of pieces of clothing worm on the lower part of the

body; the lexeme “woman” denotes all the women in the world; the lexeme “sad” denotes

the property of being sad Further, he asserts that denotation is basically connected with the term reference

Richards, Platt and Platt (1992, p.101) perceives denotation as “the meaning of a word or phrase that relates it to phenomena in the real world or in a fictional or possible world” For instance, the denotation of the English word “bird” is a two-legged, winged, egg-laying, warm-blooded creature with a beak Elaborating on denotation term, they indicate that “in a meaning system, denotative meaning may be regarded as the “central” meaning or “core” meaning of lexical item It is often equated with referential meaning and with cognitive meaning and conceptual meaning although some linguists and philosophers make a distinction between these concepts.”

Trask (2005, p.46), mentioned that denotative meaning is the central meaning of something which might reasonably be applied to the word From those explanations, denotation(denotative meaning) can definite as the standard definition or the meaning of word which comes from the word itself

From the explanation above, the researcher concludes that the denotative meaning

of a word is its literal meaning - the definition you did find in the dictionary Denotation refers to “the words whose meanings exist in the dictionary” In the simple way, a denotative meaning is the real meaning of word The denotative meaning can be found in the dictionary

2.3.1.2 Type of denotation According to Nguyen Hoa (2004): Denotation, which includes: conceptual and referential meanings

a) Conceptual meaning (sometimes called denotative or cognitive, denotation)

This of meaning is widely assumed to be the central factor in linguistic communication It has a complex and sophisticated organization (it is useful to be reminded that there are two structural principles that seem to lie at the basis of all linguistic patterning: contrastiveness and structure)

E.g : A word “table” : a piece of furniture used for writing at

b) Referential meaning This is the ability to refer to objects or things (often called referent)

E.g : Can you get me a book? vs_ I bought a book this afternoon

It could be a history book, a notebook, or whatever image appears before the mind’s eye representing to that person

2.3.1.3 Denotation and reference According to Nguyen Hoa (2004): Some scholars argue that the denotation of a word/expression includes another part called the referential component (or reference)- hence a confusion between denotation and reference

Denotation by definition is the ability of a word to identify all those things or objects that are correctly covered by it For example, the word “hat” is used to help the speaker of

a language to see and recognize all the things that may be called hat In this respect, it is the conceptual component of the lexical meaning of a word Thus, the denotation of a word or expression is the invariant and utterance-independent: it is as J-Lyons (1995) puts

it, part of the meaning which the word has in the language-system, independently of its use on particular occasions of utterance Reference, on the other hand, is the relationship that holds between a word or expression and the objects it refers to (called referent) When one says: “I saw a car in the comer”, the phrase “a car” or “my car” or “his car” will refer

to a particular member of the class on a particular occasion Therfore, reference is variable and utterance-dependent Regrettably, the different between denotation and reference is often ignored

2.3.2 Connotative meaning (Connotation)

2.3.2.1 Definition of connotation According to Hoang Tat Truong (1993, p.54): The connotational meaning shows us how things, concepts etc are indicated (denoted) It conveys the speaker’s attitude,

emotions and so on “Father, dad, daddy” as mentioned above, have the same denotational meaning but have the different connotational meaning, and so do “face, mug, muzzle” and

so on

“Connotative meaning is the communicative value that an expression has by virtue

of what it refers to, over and above its purely conceptual that an expression has by virtue

of what it refers to, over and above its purely according to culture, historical period, and the experience of the individual ” (Nguyen Hoa, 2004, p.52)

E.g A word “snake”

* To people in general: neutral connotation: a cold-blooded, legless, reptile, has little emotional content

* To snake - bitten people: negative connotation: horrible, dangerous, scary animal Connotation arises as words become associated with certain characteristics of the items to which they refer, for instance, the burdening of woman for many years with attributes such as frailty, inconstancy and irrationality has resulted in these becoming connotations of the word woman for many people The words “for many people” are important here because connotation is related to the real word experience that one associates with a word and they will therefore vary (unlike denotative meanings) from individual to individual, and community to community The word “woman” has different connotations for a misogynist than will have for a feminist (Fromkin, 1990, p.205) According to Barker (2001, p.4) connotative meaning is the communicative value

an expression has by virtue of what it refers to over and above its purely conceptual content On the other hand, connotative is the implicit meaning of a word

Connotation is more complicated than denotation According to Widarso (1989, p.69) states that besides the denotative meaning, a word sometimes has the emotional overtones

or we call connotative meaning

Furthermore, Wilkins (1983, p.122) states that connotative meaning is additional to denotative meaning and need be related to it only in an indirect way It is altogether more concerned with the attitudes of the language user, his emotional reactions to the use of a word

According to Online dictionary Wikipedia defines “A connotation as a commonly understood subjective cultural and/or emotional association that some word or phrase catries, in addition to the word's or phrase’s explicit or literal meaning, which is its denotation A connotation is frequently described as either positive or negative, with regard to its pleasing or displeasing emotional connection.” (such as the images below):

The denotation is a red rose with a green stem

The connotation is a symbol of passion and love - this is what

the rose represents

The denotation is a brown cross

The connotation is a symbol of Christianity

General, it is difficult to give exact definition of connotation But the author thinks connotation is an idea that is suggested by or associated with a word that expresses rhetorical or emotional feelings Connotations can be considered as an additional meaning

to denote The connotation is vary considerably according to culture, historical period and personal experience

b) Negative

Negative of connotative meaning is often pejorative, words that provoke a denotative emotional response This type is reversible to positive one Negative means lacking of helpfulness, optimism It shows disadvantages of something, disagreement Expressing, containing, refusal or denial, unpleasant, gloomy and pessimistic It shows a contradiction, bad thinking, and doubt about showing something

c) Neutral

Neutral of connotative meaning is words that cause no emotional react

2.3.3 Structural / associative meaning According to Nguyen Hoa (Understanding English Semantic, 2004) it includes: reflected meaning, collocative meaning, associative meaning, thematic meaning

a Reflected meaning This is the meaning which arises in cases of multiple conceptual meaning, when one sense of a word forms part of our response to anther sense

E.g: The 40" president of the US and the Great Communicator both refer to Ronald

Reagan The Great Communicator sounds better, and is more about Reagan’s personality

than his job (the 40" President of the US), which sounds cool

b Collocative meaning

It consists of the associations a word acquires on account of the meanings of words which tend to occur in its environment

E.g: The word “pretty” and “handsome” represent collocative meaning Whereas,

“pretty” tends to collocate with “girl, woman and flower’, “handsome” tends to collocate with “boy, man, car, and airliner.”

c Associative meaning This is also the meaning which arises because of its association with other meanings E.g: good vs bad; buy vs sell

When a person hears the word “good” for example, he is more likely to think of

“bad” as well

d Thematic meaning

This is the kind of meaning which is communicated by the way in which a speaker

or writer organizes the message in terms of ordering, focus, and emphasis

E.g: A man is waiting in the hall vs there’s a man waiting in the hall

As competent learners of English, we know that the above examples have different topics or theme “A man is waiting in the hall” tell us where the man is, whereas “There’s

a man waiting In the hall” is an existential sentence signaling the existence of the man

PART 3: THE STUDY

3.1 Relatedness between denotation and connotation Connotation and denotation are a part of language and communication They are two principal methods of describing the meanings of words

Denotative meaning and connotative meaning: both of them are based on a relationship between words & world Denotation is the meaning of a word which is primarily refers to the real word, the “dictionary definition” for instance “cow” shows a kind of animal, “house” shows a kind of building Connotation meaning is the aspect of meaning added to the denotation of a word it relates to the association that a word has above its denotation The connotative meaning differs from one society to another Connotation may be subject to variable exchange from generation to the next Connotation may be rather subjective and not shared in the same way by all speakers of a language Our individual experience of language and its relation to the world is to some extent unique and idiosyncratic Connotation is not stable

Wilkins (1983, p.122) states that connotative meaning is additional to denotative meaning and need be related to it only in an indirect way It is altogether more concerned with the attitudes of the language user, his emotional reactions to the use of a word Barthes (1983, p.107) uses the term orders of signification First order of signification is denotation while, connotation become the second order of signification Concept semiotic connotations by Roland Barthes, when the system examines the sign it does not hold on to the primary meaning, but they are trying to get it through connotations meaning The first order includes the signifier and signified that organized as sign, this sign is called denotation meaning, then from these signs born another meaning, another mental concept that attached to the sign (signifier) This new naming then called connotation

Semiotics is the science of sign systems and symbols used in human communication

These signs and symbols are experienced as “words, images, sounds, odours, flavours,

acts or objects” (Chandler, 2014) Signs are composed of two analytically distinctive elements that have an interdependent relationship, which are referred to as the signifier and the signified The signifier denotes the perceptual component/physical representation of the sign and the signified connotes an associative/conceptual meaning