Definition and Example Denotation, Connotation, and Implication

Denotation Definition

Denotation is generally defined as literal or dictionary meanings of a word in contrast to its connotative or associated meanings.
Let us try to understand this term with the help of an example. If you search for meaning of the word “dove” in a dictionary, you will see that its meaning is “a type of pigeon, a wild and domesticated bird having a heavy body and short legs.” In literature, however, you frequently see “dove” referred to as a symbol of peace.

Denotation Examples in Literature

Let us analyze a few examples from literature:
1. An example of denotation literary term can be found in the poetic work of Robert Frost’s “Mending Wall”:

“And on a day we meet to walk the line
And set the wall between us once again.
We keep the wall between us as we go.
To each the boulders that have fallen to each.”

In the above lines, the word “wall” is used to suggest a physical boundary which is its denotative meaning but it also implies the idea of “emotional barrier”.
2. William Wordsworth in his poem “A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal” says:

“A slumber did my spirit seal;
I had no human fears–
She seemed a thing that could not feel
The touch of earthly years.
No motion has she now, no force;
She neither hears nor sees;
Roll’d round in earth’s diurnal course
With rocks, and stones, and trees.”

Wordsworth makes a contrast between a living girl and a dead girl in the first and second stanza respectively. We are familiar to the meanings of the words used in the last line of the second stanza; rock, stone and tree but the poet uses them connotatively where rock and stone imply cold and inanimate object and the tree suggests dirt and thus the burial of that dead girl.
3. Look at the following lines from Shakespeare’s play “As you Like It”:

“All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,”

Shakespeare moves away from the denotative meanings of words in the above lines in order to give a symbolic sense to a few words. “a stage” symbolizes the world, “players” suggests human beings and “parts” implies different stages of their lives.
4. Sara Teasdale in her poem “Wild Asters” develops a number of striking symbols by deviating from the denotative meanings of the words:

“In the spring, I asked the daisies
If his words were true,
And the clever, clear-eyed daisies
Always knew.
Now the fields are brown and barren,
Bitter autumn blows,
And of all the stupid asters
Not one knows.”

In the above lines, “spring” and “daisies” are symbol of youth. “Brown and barren” are a symbol of transition from the youth to the old age. Moreover, “Bitter Autumn” symbolizes death.

Function of Denotation

Readers are familiar with denotations of words but denotations are generally restricted meanings. Writers, therefore, deviate from the denotative meanings of words to create fresh ideas and images that add deeper levels of meanings to common and ordinary words. Readers find it convenient to grasp the connotative meanings of words because of the fact that they are familiar to their literal meanings.

Difference between Denotation and connotation

The terms, denotation and connotation, are used to convey and distinguish between two different kinds of meanings or extensions of a word. A denotation is the strict, literal, definition of a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude, or color. The connotation of a word or term adds elements of emotion, attitude, or color. The meaning or use of denotation and connotation depends partly on the field of study.

The meaning of denotation and connotation

• In media-studies terminology, denotation is the first level of analysis: What the audience can visually see on a page. Denotation often refers to something literal, and avoids being a metaphor. Here it is usually coupled with connotation, which is the second level of analysis, being what the denotation represents.

• In logic, linguistics, and semiotics, a denotation of a word or phrase is a part of its meaning; however, several parts of meaning may take this name, depending on the contrast being drawn:
• Denotation and connotation are either
  • in basic semantics and literary theory, the literal and figurative meanings of a word, or,
  • in philosophy, logic and parts of linguistics, the extension and intension of a word

• Denotation can be synonymous with reference, and connotation with sense, in the sense and reference distinction in philosophy of language.

• In Computer science, denotational semantics is contrasted with operational semantics.

• In Semiotics, denotation also has its own meaning.

In logic and semantics, denotational always attracts the extension, meaning "in the pair," but the other element genuinely varies.
The distinction between connotation and denotation corresponds roughly to Gottlob Frege's ground-breaking and much-studied distinction between Sinn (sense) and Bedeutung (reference).
Bertrand Russell, in 1905, published a seminal article on the topic of denotation, entitled "On Denoting."
Denotation often links with symbolism, as the denotation of a particular media text often represents something further; a hidden meaning (or an enigma code) is often hidden in a media text.

Examples

In order to understand fully the difference between denotation and connotation in media studies and semiotics, it is helpful to examine some examples:

The denotation of this example is a red rose with a green stem. The connotation is that 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 religion, according to the media connotation. To be more specific, this is a symbol of Christianity.

The denotation is a representation of a cartoon heart. The connotation is a symbol of love and affection, not in the way of a rose, but a symbol of true love.

Definition of Connotation

A connotation is a subjective cultural and/or emotional coloration in addition to the explicit or denotative meaning of any specific word or phrase in a language.

Usage

Within contemporary society, connotation branches into a culmination of different meanings. These could include the contrast of a word or phrase with its primary, literal meaning (known as a denotation), with what that word or phrase specifically denotes. The connotation essentially relates to how anything may be associated with a word or phrase, for example, an implied value judgment or feelings.

• A stubborn person may be described as being either "strong-willed" or "pig-headed." Although these have the same literal meaning (that is, stubborn), strong-willed connotes admiration for someone's convictions, while pig-headed connotes frustration in dealing with someone. Likewise, "used car" and "previously owned car" have the same literal meaning, but many dealerships prefer the latter, since it is thought to have fewer negative connotations.
• It is often useful to avoid words with strong connotations (especially disparaging ones) when striving to achieve a neutral point of view. A desire for more positive connotations, or fewer negative ones, is one of the main reasons for using euphemisms. (Although, not all theories of linguistic meaning honor the distinction between literal meaning and connotation).

Logic

In logic and in some branches of semantics, connotation is more or less synonymous with intension. Connotation is often contrasted with denotation, which is more or less synonymous with extension. A word's extension is the collection of things it refers to; its intension is what it implies about the things it is used to refer to. So, the denotation or extension of "dog" is just the collection of all the dogs that exist. The connotation or intension of "dog" is (something like) "four-legged canine carnivore." Alternatively, the connotation of the word may be thought of as the set of all its possible referents (as opposed to merely the actual ones). So saying, "You are a dog," would imply that the subject was ugly or aggressive rather than a literal canine.

As nouns the difference between implication and connotation is that implication is (uncountable) the act of implicating while connotation is a meaning of a word or phrase that is suggested or implied, as opposed to a denotation, or literal meaning a characteristic of words or phrases, or of the contexts that words and phrases are used in.  implication English Noun (en-noun) (uncountable) The act of implicating. (uncountable) The state of being implicated. (countable) An implying, or that which is implied, but not expressed; an inference, or something which may fairly be understood, though not expressed in words. (logic) (countable ) The connective in propositional calculus that, when joining two predicates A and B in that order, has the meaning "if A is true, then B is true". Derived terms * material implication * strict implication Related terms * implicate * implicative * implicit * implicitness * imply  connotation English Noun (en-noun) A meaning of a word or phrase that is suggested or implied, as opposed to a denotation, or literal meaning. A characteristic of words or phrases, or of the contexts that words and phrases are used in. The connotations of the phrase "you are a dog" are that you are physically unattractive or morally reprehensible, not that you are a canine. A technical term in logic used by J. S. Mill and later logicians to refer to the attribute or aggregate of attributes connoted by a term, and contrasted with denotation . The two expressions "the morning star" and "the evening star" have different connotations but the same denotation (i.e. the planet Venus). Denotation is the literal meaning of a word as defined by its context. Connotation is the suggestion or implication represented by a word which alludes to its social context. The most common example to use is the red rose. Red is the denotation of a colour, and rose is the denotation of a flower. Together they present a description of a flower of a particular colour: a red rose. The connotation of red rose is a symbol for love. The words red and rose simply describe a noun in terms of its colour and define a type of flower. Social convention has meant that the red rose as an idea represents or symbolises love.