What is connotation: concept, functions, expression of evaluative emotions and examples. Positive connotation

(cm... MEANING). Sometimes also referred to as (semantic) association. The connotation of a word reflects a feature of the object it denotes, which, although it does not constitute necessary condition for the application of this word, but is stably associated with the designated object in the minds of native speakers. For example, in many European languages the word for fox has the connotation of "cunning" or "deceit". It is clear that these signs are insignificant for a given class of animals: in order to name a certain animal fox, we don't need to check if it's tricky. Consequently, the sign of cunning is not included in the definition (interpretation) of this word, but nevertheless it is steadily associated with it in the language, as evidenced by at least portable use the words fox(a) applied to a cunning person. Connotations embody the assessment of the object or fact of reality designated by the word, accepted in a given linguistic community and enshrined in the culture of a given society, and reflect cultural traditions. Thus, cunning and deceit are constant characteristics of the fox as a character in animal tales in the folklore of many peoples.

Connotations are a kind of so-called pragmatic information associated with the word, since they reflect not the objects and phenomena of the real world, but the attitude towards them, a certain view of them. Unlike other types of pragmatic information, this attitude and view belongs to the speaker not as an individual, but as a representative of the linguistic community. So, for example, the word nag carries emotionally evaluative pragmatic information about the speaker's attitude as a person to the object designated by this word, and when using this word in relation to a certain horse, we inevitably express our own disapproval of it. In contrast, the speaker, using a lexeme that has a certain connotation, does not express his personal point of view on the designated object; for example, using the word Fox to denote an animal, we do not thereby express our opinion about the cunning of the fox. Nevertheless, the connection between the fox and cunning is present in the mind of the speaker - in the area that in social psychology called the collective unconscious.

Other examples of connotations are the signs of "stubbornness" and "stupidity" in the word a donkey, "monotony" of the word to nag, "speed" and "inconstancy" of the word wind... Connotations of words reveal themselves in a number of phenomena belonging to language or speech. To linguistic manifestations of connotations, i.e. such that are fixed in the language system include figurative meanings (compare the meaning of "stupid and / or stubborn person" in the word a donkey), familiar comparisons (cf. mulish), the meanings of derived words (cf. windy in the meaning of "frivolous"), the meaning of phraseological units (cf. blown away by the wind, which means the rapid disappearance of someone / something).

Among the objective manifestations of the connotations of a word, one should also include the phenomena of speech, which are usually not recorded in dictionaries and grammars, but are reproduced with sufficient regularity in the process of generating and interpreting an utterance with a given word. One of these phenomena is the relative uniformity in the interpretation by native speakers of the so-called pseudo-autologous constructions that have the form X is X, for example German is German... From a logical point of view, such statements are tautological (true by virtue of their form), which means they should have been avoided in speech as uninformative: their predicate does not carry anything new in comparison with what has already been expressed with the help of the subject. However, this does not happen - they are perceived as completely normal statements, which are informative precisely because they implicitly attribute to object X in an implicit form a property that is stably associated in the minds of speakers with objects of this type. In particular, the fact that most native speakers of the Russian language put approximately the following meaning in the above example of pseudotautology: “What do you want from a German, they are all so neat (or pedantic)”, shows that such properties are attributed to a German with a high degree of regularity , as "accuracy" and "pedantry", which are firmly associated in the minds of Russian speakers with the word German, certainly without referring to the essential features of the class of persons designated by this word.

The speech manifestations of the connotations of a word also include the restriction on the compatibility of this word with words expressing its connotations, within the framework of specific constructions that can be considered diagnostic in this regard. So , correct use constructions kind He X, but he's Y as shown in a number of papers on union semantics but, implies that the speaker has an opinion that in the norm X is not Y-ov (= does not have the property of Y-ovality). Since the connotation of the word NS Is the feature that is stably associated with the object X denoted by this word, one should expect that, substituting in this construction instead of Y the name of the connotative feature of the object X, we will get a strange, anomalous statement - it is enough to compare, for example, the strangeness of statements ? He is a bachelor, but he is unpretentious in everyday life / unkempt / careless with absolute naturalness He is a bachelor, but he is very homely / well-groomed / very thorough and serious person.

The connotations of words are specific to each language. L.V. Shcherba noted the following difference between the Russian word water and the French word for the same substance eau: French eau, unlike Russian water, it is not characteristic of a figurative use in the sense of "something devoid of content", but the French word has a meaning that more or less can be conveyed to Russians decoction (eau de ris"rice water", literally "rice water", eau d "orge"barley broth"), and from this it follows that Russian concept water emphasizes its food uselessness, while French eau this sign is completely foreign. And there are a great many such examples. So the word elephant in Russian it has the connotation of "heaviness", "clumsiness" (cf. stomp like an elephant;like an elephant in a china shop), and in Sanskrit its translation equivalent gadja- the connotation of "lightness", "gracefulness" (cf. gadjagamini"light gait", literally "elephant").

In the same language, words that are similar in meaning can also have very different connotations - this is well demonstrated by the example of the difference between the connotations of a word belonging to the Russian expert on lexical semantics Y.D. Apresyan a donkey("stubbornness", "stupidity") from the connotations of the word ass("willingness to work a lot and resignedly").

The capriciousness and unpredictability of connotations make it necessary to fix them in the dictionary, striving for the completeness of the description of the information associated with the word. see also SEMANTICS.

The section is very easy to use. In the proposed field, just enter the desired word, and we will give you a list of its meanings. I would like to note that our site provides data from various sources - encyclopedic, explanatory, word-formation dictionaries. Also here you can get acquainted with examples of the use of the word you entered.

Meaning of the word connotation

connotation in the crossword dictionary

Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1998

connotation

CONNOTATION (Wed-century lat. Connotatio, from lat. Con - together and noto note, designate) in linguistics an additional, concomitant meaning of a linguistic unit or category. Includes semantic and stylistic aspects related to the core meaning.

Connotation

[Late Latin connotatio, from the Latin con (cum) ≈ together and noto ≈ I mark, denote], an additional, concomitant meaning of a linguistic unit. K. includes semantic or stylistic elements, in a certain way associated with the basic meaning and superimposed on it. K. serves to express expressive-emotional and evaluative shades of the statement. For example, the word "blizzard" denoting strong wind with snow, can serve K. in such combinations: "the fluff whirled in a blizzard", "a blizzard of fiery sparks soared into the sky." The concept of K. includes an element of the grammatical meaning of a word that predicts the appearance of another word in the text (for example, a preposition predicts a noun in a certain case). The concept of K. in this sense was introduced into linguistics by K. Buhler.

Wikipedia

Connotation

Connotation(late Latin connotatio, from - together and noto- note, designate) - the concomitant meaning of the linguistic unit.

Connotation includes additional semantic or stylistic functions that are consistently associated with the main meaning in the minds of native speakers. The connotation is intended to express the emotional or evaluative shades of the statement and reflects the cultural traditions of the society. Connotations are a kind of pragmatic information that reflects not the objects and phenomena themselves, but a certain attitude towards them.

Examples of the use of the word connotation in literature.

It can be generated either by parts of speech transformed in relation to the original in the text, with a modified set of valencies, which will be illustrated below, or by secondary meanings of the word, overtones, connotations and occasional meanings involved in interpretation, as, for example, in the case of the opposite meaning in the irony so frequent in Platonov.

Therefore, the terms, or quantifiable objects, variables and constants, are various ordinals, formulas that quantify predicate and propositional variables, there are various cardinals, and, finally, meaningless terms quantifying logical connectives by L'Hôpital's rule, allowing relations between finite and infinite, there are various transfinitive numbers, sets they are countable in the sense of Peano, his theory of definitions, terms are referents, meaningless terms are designators, quantifications are, respectively, reference, denotation and connotation, in case quanta are abstracted, designated and connotated.

The connotation of a word reflects such a feature of the object designated by it, which, although it does not constitute a necessary condition for the use of this word, is firmly associated with the designated object in the minds of native speakers. For example, in many European languages, the word for fox has the connotation of "cunning" or "deceit". It is clear that these characteristics are insignificant for this class of animals: in order to call a certain animal a fox, we do not need to check whether it is cunning. Consequently, the sign of cunning is not included in the definition (interpretation) of this word, but nevertheless it is steadily associated with it in the language, as evidenced by at least the figurative use of the word fox (a) in relation to a cunning person. Connotations embody the assessment of the object or fact of reality designated by the word, accepted in a given linguistic community and enshrined in the culture of a given society, and reflect cultural traditions. Thus, cunning and deceit are constant characteristics of the fox as a character in animal tales in the folklore of many peoples.

The connotation of the lexical-semantic variant is emotional (for example, interjections), evaluative (positive / negative), expressive (there is a figurative and magnifying one), stylistic.

Stylistic connotation involves the use of a word in a specific functional style. A cultural connotation is adjacent to it - an element that is part of the culture of the word, conditioned by the national culture and carries for the speakers of a given language some information related to the culture of its people. Connotations are permanent (inherent) and contextual (occasional). Words that have an inherent connotation are labeled. Stylistic labeling divides vocabulary into colloquial, with a neutral stylistic coloring and literary-book (for example, mummy-mother-female parent; kid-child-infant). Most colloquial words began to be used as separate lexico-semantic variants 1) due to the transfer of meaning by contiguity (cinema-> movies-> pictures) 2) using affectionate suffixes (dad-daddy, loony, shorty). Colloquial vocabulary is usually subdivided into general literary vocabulary and phraseology and non-literary vocabulary and phraseology.

Question 42. The nature of metaphor, its role in language and text

Metaphor is the transfer of a name to objects of a different kind or type based on the similarity of secondary features (color, shape, size, internal qualities, etc.).

There are four components involved in the education and analysis of metaphor. These are the main and auxiliary subjects of metaphor, to which paired terms are applied (literal frame and metaphorical focus, theme and "container", referent and correlate) and the related properties of each object or class of objects. These components are not fully represented in the structure of the metaphor, in particular, the properties of the main subject remain unidentified.

metaphors that make up its semantics. As a consequence, the metaphor allows for different interpretations. The meaning of a metaphor is formed by the features of the class of objects (or their analogs) that are compatible with the subject of the metaphor.

The image contained in a linguistic metaphor usually does not acquire a semiotic function, i.e. cannot become a signifier of some meaning. This distinguishes metaphor from symbol (in the narrow sense). In a metaphor, meaning is stable. It is directly associated with the word as its signifier. In a symbol, an image is stable that performs the function of a signifier. He can be not only named, but also depicted. The meaning of the symbol does not have clear outlines. The metaphor combines with the symbol and distinguishes from signs and signals the absence of a regulatory function, and, consequently, of direct addressing.

Metaphor is not only a resource for figurative (poetic)

speech, but also a source of new meanings of words that are capable of performing a characterizing and nominative function, being assigned to the individual as his names. In this case, metaphorization leads to the substitution of one meaning for another.

The metaphor reflects many aspects and therefore it is the subject of study of a number of branches of knowledge and sections of linguistics. As a certain type of trope, metaphor is studied in poetics (stylistics, rhetoric, aesthetics). As a source of new meanings of words, metaphor is studied in lexicology, as a special type of speech use - in pragmatics, as an associative mechanism and object of interpretation and perception of speech - in psycholinguistics and psychology. Metaphor is studied as a way of thinking and cognizing reality in logic, philosophy, and cognitive psychology. The most fully studied metaphor in lexicology. Both of the main types of full-valued words - the names of objects and the designations of signs - are capable of metaphorizing meaning. Among the names, these are, first of all, concrete nouns - the names of natural genders, realities and their parts, as well as names of relational meaning that create metaphorical paraphrases ("darling of fate", "pet of abuse"). Among the characteristic words are adjectives denoting physical qualities ("prickly response"), descriptive verbs ("conscience gnaws"). Sometimes a metaphor is generated by an analogy between whole situations (“Don't throw words down the drain”).

To clarify the nature of a metaphor, it is important to determine its syntactic properties. A sentence with a metaphorical predicate is syntactically similar to a statement of identity in the following features: it expresses a factual judgment, indicates an ungraded feature, gives a constant characteristic of an object, does not allow syntactic dissemination by feature words indicating the degree of similarity. It differs from sentences of identity in the following ways: the truth of a metaphorically expressed judgment cannot always be logically established, a predicate (figurative) metaphor cannot be coreferent to its subject, a metaphorical sentence is asymmetric. These properties bring metaphorical sentences closer to statements of similarity and similarity.

Opening the dictionary, we find there the basic and literal interpretation of the word. But in real life it can be overgrown with many emotions and associations, which in linguistics is referred to as "connotation". What it is is important to know in order to understand the meaning of the text. Indeed, sometimes the figurative meaning can differ significantly from the original one.

Historical reference

Latin connotatio can be translated into Russian as a "connotation". Despite the fact that the word has been used by learned men for 800 years, its exact semantic interpretation is still the subject of controversy both between linguists and philosophers.

In the development of the term, the following milestones can be distinguished:

1. It was introduced into circulation at the beginning of the 13th century in philosophical science to debate the hidden meanings of words;
2. A hundred years later, they began to use it to separate abstract and concrete phenomena, to distinguish lexical units by image and action;
3. In the 17th century, the term was adopted by French linguists, and since then it has been firmly associated with the science of language;
4. In the 19th century, this is how they began to denote the emotional content of lexemes and expressions, as opposed to their "dry" initial meaning;
5. The concept acquired a modern interpretation thanks to the works of the British researcher John Mill.

Connotative meaning arises when individual features are isolated from the literal meaning and amplified many times over. This process is not always logical.

For example, it is not entirely clear why hares are called cowardly, and not any other representatives of the fauna.

Structure of connotations

Structurally, the connotation consists of the following elements:

Connotation: examples

This technique is quite common in Russian speech. Let us give specific examples from live communication:

• "Champagne" in Russian has an extremely positive connotation. This is not just a bubbling sparkling wine, but also a symbol of weddings, happiness, prosperity and wealth (“ Who does not take risks, he does not drink champagne»);
• The word "clever" also has a purely positive connotation and can be used to refer to both male and female persons (the so-called "common gender"). “Clever man”, on the contrary, has a negative connotation of meaning: they mean arrogant and selfish know-it-alls;
• "Cheap" mark a petty, overly economical and thrifty person. The negative connotation is obvious;
• "Pride" in Russian is positioned as positive quality, inherent in every worthy person. “Pride,” on the other hand, is devoid of positive connotations and is used to label selfish and even sociophobic inclinations;
• "Prostitutes" are called not only representatives of the most ancient profession, but also unprincipled and windy personalities. In politics, this insult is used quite often ("Trotsky the prostitute, political prostitute").

Lexemes with negative semantic connotations are much more common than with positive ones. The reason for this is the sufficient coarseness of character inherent in man throughout most of history.

An array of negative connotations includes:

• An ironic attitude towards a phenomenon or a specific person;
• Condemnation of antisocial behavior;
• An indication of self-destructive qualities for a person;
• Neglect or contempt.

Individuals as well as entire social groups can be selected as the object of attacks. So, for centuries on the American continent the word “ nigger"Was used to denote a lazy and stupid slave. As blacks emancipated in the United States, it was replaced by the more politically correct "African American".

In Russia, the "Negro" has never been abusive and is completely devoid of the negative content that white English-speaking Protestants endowed him with.

In most cases peiorativa(i.e., terms with negative connotations) are not swear words, although they can become so over time.

Connotation and denotation

Denotation is a completely opposite concept that indicates the direct (and not figurative) interpretation of the word... This is a simple definition of the term that is free from human prejudice, personal preference and emotional burden. It is the denotative definition that is indicated in dictionaries and encyclopedias.

Often, one lexeme can have several dictionary definitions - this case is called ambiguity.

For example, "donkey" denotes primarily a species of animals and only in some cases - narrow-minded people.

Thus, each element of the language can have the following hypostases:

1. Denotative - literal and immediate, basic meaning;
2. Connotative - applicable to a certain situation, personality, social stratum;
3. Mythological - divorced from the original meaning and located at the level of social prejudices.

If there is a desire to offend someone, it is not at all necessary to fish out vocabulary abusive expressions. Negative connotations are also great for these purposes. What it is is familiar to every "donkey" and "goat". Even if the latter do not have a tail and horns.

Video about negative connotations

In this video, Arseny Khitrov will tell you where the negative connotations of the term “ideology” came from: