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TYPES OF MEANINGTypes of Meaning

Regrettably, the multifaceted approach to

linguistic meaning baffles the student of

semantics.

This approach has, however, one advantage: itleads to a distinction of the types of meaning,

based on the focus of language use

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Connotative Meaning

Connotative meaning is thecommunicative value an expression has byvirtue of what it refers to, over and above

its purely conceptual content . In other word, connotative meaning is the

'real word' experience one associates withan expression when using or hearing it. Itis peripheral, unstable, indeterminate andopen-ended.

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For example, the connotative meaning of'woman' could include the followingproperties, none of which is accepted by

most speakers of the same linguisticcommunity.

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social ('gregarious', 'subject to maternalinstinct')

typical but not invariable ('capable of speech','experienced in cookery', 'skirt-or-dress-

wearing') putative, due to the viewpoint adopted by an

individual or a group of people or a wholesociety ('frail', 'prone to tears', 'cowardly',

'emotional', 'irrational', 'inconsistent'[viewpoints of misogynists], 'gentle','compassionate', 'sensitive', 'hard-wording[viewpoints of feminists')

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Denotative meaning

Denotative meaningis the same term forliterature meaning when their definition isas listed in the dictionary.

Yet denotative meaning is vice versa ofconnotative meaning, while literaturemeaning is vice versa of figurative

meaning.

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Examples: 1. Envelope; a flat, usually square or

rectangular, paper container for a letter.Sentence: I have posted my letter to you withblue color envelope.

2. Watch; a small clock which is worn on astrap around the wrist or, sometimes, connectedto a piece of clothing by a chain.

Sentence: My watch seems to have stopped - itsays 10:15 but I'm sure it must be later.He glanced nervouslyathis watch.

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Stylistic Meaning

Stylistic Meaning

It is the social circumstances of languageuse, such as the following situationalovertones conveyed by an expression:

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Demographic information of a speaker.

Education received of a speaker.

Social Status of a speaker.

The genre of the writing

For example, 'domicile', 'residence', 'abode','home' all have the same conceptual meaning,

but their stylistic meanings are different. Theyimply 'official', 'formal', 'poetic', 'general',respectively.

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Affective Meaning

Affective meaning is the feelings andattitudes of the speaker /writer conveyedby an expression (such as politeness,

admiration, hatred, love, annoyance,etc.)Compare:

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Shut up!vs. I hate to interrupt, but couldyou please lower your voices a little bit?

In addition to choosing different words,using different tones of voice can changethe affective meaning as well.

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Collocative Meaning

Collocative meaning refers to theassociation with words which tend tocollocate (or co-occur) with the expression

in question.

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pretty

girl

handsome

Boyboy Manwoman Carflower Vesselgarden Overcoatcolor Airlinervillage Typewriter

Collocative Meaning

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Associative meaningAssociative meaning is that part of meaning

which has been supplemented to theconceptual meaning. It is the meaning whicharises of the associations a word acquires. Itis open-ended, unstable and indeterminate,

because it varies with culture, time, place,class, individual experiences, etc. Associative

meaning includes connotative, stylistic,affective and collocative meanings.

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Thematic Meaning

Thematic meaning is what is communicated bythe way in which a speaker or writer organizesthe message in terms of ordering (linguisticselements of a sentence

focus and emphasis (of the information). It isoften the case that two sentences have thesame conceptual meaning in that acceptance ofthe truth value of one entails the acceptance ofthat of the other; however, they are stilldifferent from each other in other aspects. Forexample,

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ordering Mrs. Bessie Smith donated the first prize

(answering what did Mrs. Bessie Smith did/donate?Mrs. Bessie Smith is OLD INFORMATION, i.e. weknow who she is.)

The first prize was donated by Mrs. Bessie Smith(answering who was the first prize donated by?Mrs. Bessie Smith is NEW INFORMATION, i.e. wedon't know who she is until we hear this sentence.)

focus I like Danish Cheese best. Danish cheese I like best. It's Danish cheese that I like best.

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references

Kempson, R. 1977. Semantic Theory.London: Cambridge University Press.

Leech, G.N. 1981. Semantics. Hardsworth:

Penguin. Lyons, J. 1981. Language and Linguistics.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Watts, N. 1989. Language andCommunication. Palmerston North.:Dumore P

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