A study on denotation and connotation in english

HUNG YEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION
FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

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GRADUATION PAPER
FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS

A STUDY ON DENOTATION AND CONNOTATION
IN ENGLISH
(NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ NGHĨA BIỂU VẬT VÀ NGHĨA
BIỂU THÁI TRONG TIẾNG 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
(NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ NGHĨA BIỂU VẬT VÀ NGHĨA

BIỂU THÁI TRONG TIẾNG ANH)

Student: Ngo Thi Duong
Student number: 11317086
Supervisor: Hoang Thi Huyen, M.A
( Ký tên )

Hung Yen - 2021


i

DECLARATION
I certify my authorship of the study report entitled “A study on denotation and
connotation in English”.
This graduation paper is the result of my own work and effort, and that it has not
been submitted anywhere for any award. Where other sources of information have been
used, they have been acknowledged.

Hai Duong, June, 2021
Signature


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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.


iii

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.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION ..................................................................................................................i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................ ii
ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................... iii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1
1.1 Rationale ....................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Aims of the study .......................................................................................................... 1
1.3 Research questions........................................................................................................ 2
1.4 Method of the study ...................................................................................................... 2
1.5 Scope of the study ......................................................................................................... 2
1.6 Design of the study ....................................................................................................... 2
PART 2: LITERATURE REWIEW .................................................................................... 4
2.1 Definition of word meaning .......................................................................................... 4
2.2 Type of word meaning .................................................................................................. 4
2.2.1 Grammatical meaning ...................................................................................... 4
2.2.2 Lexical meaning ............................................................................................... 4
2.3 Components of word meaning ...................................................................................... 5
2.3.1 Denotative meaning (Denotation) .................................................................... 5
2.3.1.1 Definition of denotation ........................................................................... 5
2.3.1.2 Type of denotation ................................................................................... 6
2.3.1.3. Denotation and reference ......................................................................... 7
2.3.2 Connotative meaning (Connotation) ................................................................ 7
2.3.2.1 Definition of connotation ......................................................................... 7
2.3.2.2 Type of connotation ................................................................................. 9
2.3.3 Structural / associative meaning ....................................................................... 9
2.3.4 Categorical meaning ....................................................................................... 10
PART 3: THE STUDY ...................................................................................................... 11
3.1 Relatedness between denotation and connotation ...................................................... 11
3.2 Distinction between the denotation and connotation .................................................. 16

3.3 Some suggestions for studying denotation and connotation ....................................... 23
CHAPTER 4 : CONCLUSION ......................................................................................... 27


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4.1 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 27
4.2 Limitation of the study ................................................................................................ 27
4.3 Suggestion for further study ....................................................................................... 27
REFERENCES .................................................................................................................. 28


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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.


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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.

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- 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.


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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 wordmeaning 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.
2.2.1 Grammatical meaning
Grammatical meaning is what unites words with different lexical meanings. It is the
meaning recurrent in identical sets of different words.
It divides words into groups with their own grammatical features. So, the

grammatical meaning of “house, book, man, word, etc” is that they are nouns in singular
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.


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2.3 Components of word meaning

Components of word meaning

Denotative

Connotative

meaning

meaning

Structural/ associative

meaning

Categorial
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)


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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 worn 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...


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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 corner”, 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)


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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
carries, 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.


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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.
2.3.2.2 Type of connotation
There are three types of connotative meaning (Cruse, 1997) mentions in linguistics
literature, they are presented as follows.
a) Positive
Positive or pleasant of connotative meaning is also honorific, or words that people
feel good. People often use a form of speech called euphemism to try and buy the same
thing in more positive or pleasant way. And do not to offend someone’s feeling. For
instance: instead of saying “you’re tired”, you say “we’re downsizing”. Positive means
creates confident in someone, laudable, hopeful, show beneficial progress, good thinking,

always sure and not in doubt.
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 40th 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 40th President of the US), which sounds cool.


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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.
2.3.4 Categorical meaning
Actually, categorical meaning is one part of grammatical meaning which words
derive from being a member of one category rather than another.
E.g:

wide (adj)

width (n)

widen (v)

widely (adv)

In conclusion, the word meaning has four components. They are denotative meaning,
connotative meaning, structural meaning, and categorical meaning. But, in my thesis, the
author only focus on denotative meaning and connotative meaning.


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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.


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Another way to describe this is the signifier is “what we see” and the signified is “how we
see”. The relationship between the signifier and signified is referred to as signification and
is ordered as follows:
• Denotation: is the first order of signification that conveys a sign literal meaning.
Denotation is what recognises, describes and identifies a sign.
• Connotation: is the second order of signification that relates a socio-cultural
association/conceptual meaning. Connotation is a result of previously conceived ideas,
personal associations and emotional responses related to a sign.
These two terms are easy to confuse because they describe related concepts.
Additionally, both denotation and connotation stem from the Latin word “notāre”,
meaning “to note”.
Take a closer look at how connotation and denotation relatedness with the examples.

❖ The word - sea
It denotes the salty water that covers a large part of the surface of the earth, a large
area of salty water, smaller than an ocean, that is partly or completely surrounded by land.
It connotes overwhelming space, danger, instability.

❖ The word - Earth
It denotes the planet third in order of distance from the sun, between Venus and
Mars; the world on which we live.
It connotes safety, fertility and stability.

❖ The word - sun
It denotes the star that provides light and heat for the Earth and around which the
Earth moves.

It connotes power, lordship, light, illumination, fun, summer, life, fertility. It is no
surprise that powerful kings and organisations want to associate themselves with the sun.

❖ The word - woman
Its denotation: An adult female human being.
Its connotation: Woman may mean positively devotion, patience, generosity…, and
negatively frailty, inconstancy, irrationality.

❖ The word - hot
It denotes high temperature but when we say “she/he is hot”, what mean is that
she/he is extremely cute, attractive, beautiful,...


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❖ The word - cool
It denotes low temperature but when we describe a person as cool, what we mean
is that the person is calm and unemotional, especially in a difficult situation.

❖ The word - fox
Its denotation: A fox is a wild mammal belonging to the dog family that has a
pointed face and ears, a wide tail covered in fur, and often reddish-brown fur.
Its connotation: In many cultures, the fox appears in folklore as a symbol of cunning
and trickery, or as a familiar animal possessed of magic powers.

❖ The word - lion
It denotes a large wild animal of the cat family with yellowish-brown fur that lives
in Africa and southern Asia.
It connotes strength, courage, royalty, important, successful, powerful kingship and
leadership.

❖ The word - horse
It denotes a large animal with four legs that people ride on or use for carrying things
or pulling vehicles.
It connotes a symbol meaning willingness to work and independence. The horse
symbol meanings of power are widespread through most cultures, and it is linked as an
emblem of life-force. Many cultures assign the attributes of the four elements to the Horse:
Earth, Fire, Air, and Water.

❖ The word - cow
Its denotation: A large female farm animal kept to produce meat and milk.
Its connotation: In many cultures the cow is symbolic of Mother Earth, and has been
a symbol of fertility, nurturing, and power. The cow is also a lunar symbol.

❖ The word - snake
It denotes a reptile with a long body and no legs.
It connotes horrible, dangerous, scary, a treacherous person; an insidious enemy, a
cold-blooded person.

❖ The word - camel
Its denotation: A large animal with a long neck, that lives in the desert and has one
or two humps ( = large raised areas of flesh ) on its back.


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Its connotation: Camels are symbols meaning both humility, willingness to serve
and obstinacy.

- In medieval art and sculpture, the camel was used to represent humility and the

willingness to bear another's burden, largely because camels are trained to kneel down to
receive heavy loads.

- In the East, camels are famous as being disagreeable and obstinate.
- For Egyptians, camels are symbolic of complainers and those who are slow on
their feet.

❖ The word - tiger
Its denotation: A large wild animal of the cat family with yellowish-orange fur with
black lines that lives in parts of Asia.
Its connotation:

- In Japan, the tiger is the emblem of the great aristocratic warriors famously known
as the samurai. The tiger represents the virtue of courage. It also means revision,
improvement, change, and the zen good.

- In Chinese culture, tiger bring neutral connotation of dignity, ferocity, sternness,
courage.
❖ The word - cat
Its denotation: A small animal with fur, four legs, a tail, and claws, usually kept as a
pet or for catching mice.
Its connotation:
- The positive connotation of graceful motion, affectionate playfulness, noble
reserve and admirable self sufficiency.
- The negative connotation of stealthiest, spitefulness, coldness and haughty disdain.

❖ The word - white dove
It denotes a stocky seed or fruit-eating bird with a small head, short legs, pointed tail
and a cooing voice
Its connotates peace, love, innocence, gentleness, tenderness, harmony, tranquillity.

❖ The word - sunflower
Its denotation: A plant, usually having a very tall stem and a single large, round, flat,
yellow flower, with many long, thin, narrow petals close together.


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Its connotation: Sunflowers symbolize adoration, loyalty and longevity, warmth,
positivity, power, strength, and happiness since it bears such a strong resemblance to the
Sun itself. Sunflowers are known for being “happy” flowers, making them the perfect gift
to bring joy to someone's (or your) day. In Chinese culture, sunflowers are said to mean
good luck and lasting happiness which is why they are often given at graduations and at
the start of a new business.

❖ The word - rose
Its denotation: A garden plant with thorns on its stems and pleasant-smelling flowers,
or a flower from this plant.
Its connotation: In fact, each rose colour has a different meaning.

- Most of us are familiar with what the red rose means, having been used across
cultures to represent love, romance and Valentine’s Day.

- The meaning of yellow roses is warmth and happiness.
- The meaning of white roses is purity and grace.
- The meaning of purple roses is enchantment and love at first sight.
❖ The word - lotus
Its denotation: A type of tropical water lily (a plant with large, flat leaves that float
on the surface of lakes and pools).
Its connotation: Lotus color is related to meaning this flower carries within.

- White lotus flower is a symbol of purity, spiritual perfection, innocence, goodness,
heaven and faith.

- Pink lotus flower is a symbol of harmony, romance, love, tenderness, relaxation
and affection.

- Blue lotus flower is a symbol of peace, inspiration, confidence, sincerity, wisdom,
and rest.

- Red lotus flower is, as you can suppose, associated with passion, romance, love,
power, and domination.
❖ The word - blue
It denotes the colour of the sky without clouds on a bright day, or darker or lighter
type of this.


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It connotes positively calm, peace, truth, wisdom, loyalty, optimism and faith and
negatively sadness, bore.
❖ The word - green
The denotation is a colour between blue and yellow; of the colour of grass.
The connotation is the life, renewal, nature, and energy, is associated with meanings
of growth, harmony, freshness, safety, fertility. Green is also traditionally associated with
money, finances, banking, ambition, greed, jealousy, and wall street.

❖ The word - purple
The denotation is any color having components of both red and blue, such as
lavender, especially one deep in tone.

The connotation is often associated with royalty, nobility, luxury, power, and
ambition. Purple also represents meanings of wealth, creativity, wisdom, dignity,
devotion, peace, pride, mystery, independence, and magic.

❖ The word - home
Its denotation: the actual building someone lives in.
Its connotation: it most often refers to family, comfort, and security.
❖ The word - Hollywood
The name “Hollywood” denotes an area of Los Angeles, worldwide known as the
center of the American movie industry.In the same time, the name “Hollywood” connotes
such things as glitz, glamour, tinsel, celebrity, and dreams of stardom.

❖ The word - heart
It denotes the organ in your chest that sends the blood around your body.
It connotes love, affection, soul, will, life-giving, complex, courage, compassion.
In general, we can understand simply that denotation shows the concepts, and
connotation shows characteristics related to the concepts. Connotation and denotation
meaning always appear in the meaning of words because they are part of it and exist
together. It is realized that through research, denotation and connotation of words work
together as a collaborative way of identifying the value of a certain term.
3.2 Distinction between the denotation and connotation
Connotation and denotation are not two separate things/signs. They are two aspects/
elements of a sign, and the connotative meanings of a word exist together with the
denotative meanings.


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As mentioned above, the author gave many definitions of denotation and
connotation. In general, we may distinguish between two types of meaning: denotation

and connotation. Denotation is the literal meaning of a word. Connotation, on the other
hand, is an indirect or implied meaning or feeling. For example, the words “home” and
“house” have similar denotations or primary meanings: a home is “a shelter that is the
usual residence of a person, family, or household” and a house is “a building in which
people live”. However, these terms carry different associations or secondary meanings,
also known as connotations. Many people would agree that home connotes a sense of
belonging and comfort, whereas house conveys little more than a structure.
A distinction currently made by modern linguists is that between the denotation of a
word and the connotations associated with it. Let us see these ideas:
For instance, Bell (1991, p.98) points out that: Denotation refers to the meaning
which is referential, objective and cognitive and, hence, the shared property of the speech
community which uses the language of which the word or sentence forms a part.
Connotation, in contrast, refers to the meaning, which is not referential but associated,
subjective and affective. This kind of meaning, being personal, may or may not be shared
by the community at large. For example, the denotative meaning of the item “dog” in
English is straightforward and common property (so to speak). The connotations vary
from person to person, extending, no doubt, from servile dedication to the well-being of
the species to utter abhorrence and from society to society; the connotations of “kalb” for
Arabs are likely to be more negative than those for dog for English-speakers, even though
the denotation of the two words is identical.
Other, like Lyons (1977, p.287) and Leech, do not accept the binary distinction and
prefer to use denotation and connotation in a rather specific sense. However, these
divergent views can not conceal the fact that connotation is closely associated with
synonym. In other words, synonyms may have the same denotation, i.e cognitive, or
conceptual meaning, but differ in connotation.
For examples:

❖ The words - slender, scrawny, bony, gaunt
Denotation: All of these words are synonyms of thin and are used to describe
someone or something without much body fat.

Connotation:


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- Slender is often used as a way to describe someone who is both thin and attractive.
- Scrawny is often associated with weakness.
- Bony usually conjures up images of someone who is unattractive and hard-looking.
- Gaunt is often associated with hunger and malnutrition.
Other examples:
❖ The words - chef and cook
Denotation: Both words denote someone who prepares food.
Connotation: A “chef” has the connotation of being professional and accomplished,
while a “cook” has a connotation of being someone who makes food as an amateur or for
friends and family.
❖ The words - shrewd and clever
Denotation: Both words denote intelligence.
Connotation: “shrewd” has a connotation of selfishness and trickery; “clever” has a
much more positive connotation of quick-wittedness but without the sense of selfishness
that is connected to “shrewd”.
❖ The words - skinny and slim
Denotation: Both words denote thinness.
Connotation: “skinny” has a connotation of overly thin, bony, or a bit awkward,
“slim” has a connotation of a graceful or beautiful thinness.
❖ The words - journalist and newshound
Denotation: Both words denote someone who reports on the news.
Connotation: “journalist” connotes a certain sense of honor and nobility in the job,
whereas “newshound” connotes a kind of amoral, “feeding frenzy” quality to the gathering
and dissemination of the news.
As far as the attitude of the speaker is concerned, denotation is regarded as neutral,

since its function is simply to convey the informational load carried by a word. The
connotative aspects of meaning are highly subjective, springing from personal experiences,
which a speaker has had of a given word and also from his/her attitude towards his/her
utterance and/or towards the interlocutors. (Leech, 1990: 14)
Furthermore, Shunnaq (1992, p.47) argues that: Denotation involves the relationship
between lexical items and non-linguistic entities to which they refer, thus, denotation is
equivalent to referential, conceptual, propositional, or dictionary meaning. Connotation,