- •English Lexicology
- •Preface
- •Organization and Content
- •Contents
- •Part I: Introduction
- •1.2 Methods and Procedures of Lexicological Analysis
- •Part II: The Structure of the English Lexicon
- •2.1 Words and Their Associative Fields
- •2.2 Word Families
- •2.3 Word Classes
- •2.4 Semantic, or Lexical, Fields
- •3.1 Synchronic Approach to the Structure of the English Vocabulary
- •3.1.1 Common, Literary, and Colloquial layers
- •3.1.2 Neologisms
- •3.2 Diachronic Approach: Etymological Survey of the English Word-Stock
- •3.2.1 Definition of Etymology
- •3.2.2 English Lexemes of Native Origin
- •3.2.3 Borrowed, or Loan, Lexemes
- •3.2.4 Classification of Borrowings according to the Degree of Assimilation
- •3.2.5 Etymological Doublets and Triplets
- •3.2.6 Folk Etymology
- •Part IV: The Word
- •4.1 Defining a Word
- •4.2 Morphological Structure of Words
- •4.2.1 Free and Bound Morphemes
- •4.2.2 Roots and Affixes
- •4.2.3 Stems
- •4.2.4 Types of affixes
- •4.2.5 Derivational and Functional Affixes
- •Inflection of Derived or Compound Words
- •4.2.6 Cliticization
- •4.2.7 Internal Change/Alternation
- •4.2.8 Suppletion
- •4.2.9 Reduplication
- •Part V: Word-Formation
- •5.1 Derivation/Affixation
- •5.1.1 Types of Derivational Affixes
- •5.2 Stress and Tone Placement
- •5.3 Compounding
- •5.3.1 Classification of Compounds
- •5.3.2 Endocentric and Exocentric Compounds
- •5.4 Reduplication
- •5.5 Conversion
- •5.6 Blend(ing)
- •5.7 Eponyms
- •5.8 Backformation
- •5.9 Clipping
- •5.10 Acronyms and Abbreviations
- •Part VI: Semantics
- •6.1 Types of Semantics
- •6.2 Word-Meaning
- •6.3 Types of Meaning
- •6.3.1 Grammatical Meaning
- •6.3.2 Lexical Meaning
- •6.3.3 Denotative Meaning
- •6.3.4 Connotative Meaning
- •6.3.5 Differential Meaning
- •6.3 6 Distributional Meaning
- •6.4 Phonetic, Morphological, and Semantic Motivation of Words
- •6.5 Semantics and Change of Meaning
- •7.1 Similarity of Sense
- •7.2 Oppositeness of Sense
- •7.3 Sense Categories: Hyponymy
- •7.4 Sense Categories: Meronymy
- •7.5 Related Senses
- •7.6 Unrelated Senses: Homonymy
- •7.7 Semantic Deviance
- •Part VIII: Word Groups and Phraseological Units
- •8.1 Basic Features of Word-groups
- •8.2 Phraseology
- •8.3 Definition of a Phraseological Unit
- •8.4 The Criteria of Phraseological Units
- •8.5 Classification of phraseologisms
- •8.6 The Origin of Phraseological Units
- •8.6.1 Native Phraseological Units
- •8.6.2 Borrowed Phraseological Units
- •8.7 Semantic Structure of Phraseological Units
- •8.8 Phraseological Meaning
- •8.9 Semantic Relations of Phraseological Units
- •8.9.1 Similarity of Sense
- •8.9.2 Oppositeness of Sense
- •9.1 Differences in Vocabulary between American and British English
- •9.2 Spelling Differences between American and British English
- •7.3 Grammatical Differences between American and British English
- •Part X: Lexicography
- •10.1 Main Types of Dictionaries
- •10.1.1 Non-linguistic Dictionaries: Encyclopaedias
- •10.1.2 Linguistic Dictionaries
- •Imitation
- •Glossary
6.3.4 Connotative Meaning
Connotation refers to the personal aspect of lexical meaning, often emotional associations which a lexeme brings to mind” (Crystal, 2005, p. 170). Connotation creates a set of associations. These associations create the connotation of the lexeme, but they cannot be its meaning. Sometimes a lexeme is highly charged with connotations. We call such lexemes loaded, e.g., fascism, dogma, and others. Irina Arnold differentiates between connotation and denotation. She believes “The conceptual content of a word is expressed in its denotative meaning; however, connotative component is optional” (1986, p. 40). Some scholars, such as Stephen Ullmann (1962, p.74), find a binary distinction between connotation and denotation. The best explanation of the relationship between denotation and connotation is given by Leech (1981): “The connotations of a language expression are pragmatic effects that arise from encyclopaedic knowledge about its denotation and also from experiences, beliefs, and prejudices, about the contexts in which the expression is typically used” (as cited in Allan & Brown, 2009, p. 138). Connotations express points of view and personal attitudes; therefore, they may cause certain reaction, which will motivate semantic extension and creation of a new vocabulary.
As part of the connotative meaning, lexemes may contain an element of emotive evaluation. The words console, condole, solace, comfort, cheer up, and sympathize refer to the assuaging of unhappiness and grief, but the emotive charge of the words console, condole, solace are heavier than in comfort, cheer up, and sympathize. Condole and solace are formal, and condole sounds fusty and pompous, whereas condole may sound more precious. Console may suggest the attempt to make up for a loss offering something in its place. “The emotive charge is one of the objective semantic features proper to words as linguistic units and forms part of the connotative component of meaning” (Ginzburg, Khidekel, Knyazeva, & Sankin, 1979, p. 21).
Stylistic Reference
Words differ in their emotive charge and in their stylistic reference. There is a relation between stylistic reference and emotive charge of words, and they are interdependent. Stylistic reference is discussed in more detail in 3.1 (Synchronic Approach to the Structure of the English Vocabulary). Stylistically, words can be identified as literary, neutral, and colloquial layers. With the exception of the neutral layer, all other layers are emotively charged, i.e., they have some connotational meaning. If we compare the following words such as pain, ache, pang, stitch, throe, and twinge, they all mean some state of physical, emotional, or mental lack of well-being. Among them, pain is neutral, and it is not emotively charged. When we use the word ache, the connotation of ‘long-lasting’ is added to the meaning of pain. On the contrary, pang is pain but is sudden and sharp and is like to recur. A twinge is pretty much like a pang but milder in intensity. A throe is a violent and convulsive pain, and a stitch is a sudden, sharp, and piercing pain.
Also, these words except stitch have figurative application to mental and spiritual suffering: the pain of separation, the ache of loneliness, a pang of remorse, the throes of indecision, and a twinge of regret. “The emotive charge is one of the objective semantic features proper to words as linguistic units and forms part of the connotational component of meaning” (Ibid, p.21).