1.05 Connotation & Denotation - Part 2

Earlier we talked about how interpreting connotation is something everyone constantly does without even thinking about it. Grammar and usage rules don't exist just to keep your English teachers busy; they exist to make communication clearer.

You probably already know this, but words mean things. Many words mean different things, and some words mean similar things. In any given language, there are very few words that denote and connote the exact same things; people are simply too lazy to invent, use, and popularize alternatives to words that are perfectly identical in concept. Words are typically invented to fill a lexical gap, a phrase that was invented when somebody noticed that there was no way to describe ideas for which there are no words.

Think of all of the tools and ideas that have been realized in the recent past. Before the popular website went public in 2004, would people have understood how "Googling" something was different from "researching" it?

Before it was invented in 2002, would anyone have taken you seriously for talking about "smartphones"?

These are words that were invented to describe newly realized concepts in ways that similar words could not; they were invented to make communication clearer.

Let's see how this works in practice:

On the morning of November 14, 1889, The Cosmopolitan publisher John Brisben Walker ENTERED/BOARDED a ferry from New Jersey to New York City.

1. As it is used in this sentence, what is the denotation of the verb enter?

Enter here means: to come or go into something

2. As it is used in this sentence, what is the denotation of the verb board?

Board here means: to go on board of, or enter a vessel

3. Why is one of these words better to use than the other? What does one connote that the other does not?

"Boarded" is better in this sentence because it connotes that Brisben is specifically entering some kind of passenger vehicle, like a ship or a plane

Let's try another example:

He was carrying a copy of The World, the most WIDELY/GENERALLY read newspaper of its time.

1. As it is used in this sentence, what is the denotation of the adverb widely?

Widely here means: by or among a large number of persons

2. As it is used in this sentence, what is the denotation of the adverb generally?

Generally here means: Usually; commonly; ordinarily

3. Why is one of these words better to use than the other? What does one connote that the other does not?

"Widely" is better in this sentence because "generally" connotes vagueness

1.05 Assessment:

Complete the 1.05 Connotation & Denotation - Part 2 work file and submit for grading.