The ‘literal’ meaning of something, an image or idea. It is, in a way,
the “dictionary” definition.
Connotation
The extra added meanings that we attach to images, objects and
ideas that are not ‘literal’ but based on our experience, culture, age,
gender etc. They are often shared within groups e.g. people of a
similar age, people from a particular religion or country.
Examples
These pairs roughly denote the same thing but have different
connotations
- Cat/Moggy
- Prostitute/Whore
- Nanny/Au Pair
Connotation are usually
Shared
Similar
Influenced by each other, the media and personal experience
They are often understood and shared by groups. These groups can
be based on many things, including;
- Race
- Age
- Geography/Where we live
- Gender
- Occupation
Sometimes when reading a text, a person may read the text
differently than was perhaps expected by the text’s producers – this
is sometimes a partial acceptance of the ‘intended’ meaning and
sometimes a complete rejection of it. These are called negotiated
and aberrant readings respectively.
- Identify each sign (denotation).
- What does it stand for? (connotation)
- Does it have more than one meaning?
- Which groups of people can/cannot read it? e.g. because of age, geography etc
Task:
Make a list of colours and their connotations. e.g. red connotes danger, warning, passion etc
