ARTICLE / RESEARCH: THEMATIC WORDS with DIFFERENT MEANINGS & EXAMPLES
THEMATIC WORDS
with DIFFERENT MEANINGS & EXAMPLES
INTRODUCTION:
Many words with thematic meanings exist in the English language. Technically, almost every word has a Thematic meaning.
Any piece of literature does have a theme, maybe several. Typically, just to state a theme is to state the meaning of the theme. Say the theme is that life is hard.
Only a pedant is going to say, well, what does that mean, as if there is some deeper layer to this theme. So here’s my take: if you state a theme in a clear and complete way, you have done what they asked for in their professorial way.
The only wiggle room I see here for the pedants is if you try to state a theme like this: money. That’s too open-ended, and somebody might follow up by asking, well, what is the meaning of money to this author? They want you to show command of the literature.
But the associative meaning of a word often has very powerful communicative and argumentative consequences, so it is important to mention this aspect of meaning.”
(Jerome E. Bickenbach and Jacqueline M. Davies, Good Reasons for Better Arguments: An Introduction to the Skills and Values of Critical Thinking. Broadview Press, 1998)
BEFORE STATING DISCUSS ABOUT WORDS WITH THEMATIC MEANING IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND SOME BASIC DEFINITIONS
Those definitions are ABOUT homonyms, homophones, and homographs.
- Homonymsare words which have the same spelling and pronunciation, but have thematic meanings.
- Homophones are words which have the same pronunciation, but different spellings and meanings.
- Homographs are words that are spelt the same, but have different pronunciations and meanings.
“Thematic meaning” sounds like jargon to me. Any piece of literature does have a theme, maybe several. Typically, just to state a theme is to state the meaning of the theme. Say the theme is that life is hard. Only a pedant is going to say, well, what does that mean, as if there is some deeper layer to this theme.
So here’s my take: if you state a theme in a clear and complete way, you have done what they asked for in their professorial way. The only wiggle room I see here for the pedants is if you try to state a theme like this: money. That’s too open-ended, and somebody might follow up by asking, well, what is the meaning of money to this author?? They want you to show command of the literature.
CONNOTATION is a “PROBLEM AREA” for learners of a language:
“Because it is an important mechanism for the expression of attitude, it is of paramount importance that learners be aware of it in order to grasp the illocutionary intent of messages.”
EXAMPLES & OBSERVATIONS:
“A good example of a common noun with an almost universal associative meaning is ‘nurse.’ Most people automatically associate ‘nurse’ with ‘woman.’ This unconscious association is so widespread that the term ‘male nurse’ has had to be coined to counteract its effect.”
(Sándor Hervey and Ian Higgins, Thinking French Translation: A Course in Translation Method, 2nd ed. Routledge, 2002)
CULTURAL & PERSONAL ASSOCIATIONS
“A word can sweep by your ear and by its very sound suggest hidden meanings, preconscious association. Listen to these words: blood, tranquil, democracy. You know what they mean literally but you have associations with those words that are cultural, as well as your own personal associations.”
(Rita Mae Brown, Starting From Scratch. Bantam, 1988)
INSTRUCTIONS:
Each of the three short passages below (in italics) is fairly objective and colorless. Your job is to write two new versions of each passage: first, using words with positive connotations to show the subject in an attractive light; second, using words with negative connotations to describe the same subject in a less favorable way.
THE GUIDELINES FOLLOWING EACH PASSAGE SHOULD HELP YOU FOCUS TO UNDERSTAND THEMATIC MEANINGS OF THE WORDS.
A- Bill cooked dinner for Katie. He prepared some meat and vegetables and a special dessert.
(1) Describe the meal that Bill prepared, making it sound appetizing by using words with favorable connotations.
(2) Describe the meal again, this time using words with negative connotations to make it sound quite unappealing.
B- The person did not weigh very much. The person had brown hair and a small nose. The person wore informal clothing.
(1) Identify and describe this particularly attractive person.
(2) Identify and describe this particularly unattractive person.
C- Douglas was careful with his money. He kept his money in a safe place. He bought only the necessities of life. He never borro
D-The difference between the almost-right word and the right word is really a large matter. It’s the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning. (Mark Twain)
E- Careful writers choose words both for what they mean (that is, their dictionary meanings, or denotations) and for what they suggest (their emotional associations, or connotations). For instance, the adjectives slim, scrawny, and svelte all have related denotative meanings (thin, let’s say) but thematic connotative meanings.
F- And if we’re trying to pay someone a compliment, we better get the connotation right.
Here’s another EXAMPLE. The following words and phrases all refer to a young person, but their connotations may be quite different depending, in part, on the context in which they appear: youngster, child, kid, little one, small fry, brat, urchin, juvenile, minor. Some of these words tend to carry favorable connotations (little one), others unfavorable connotations (brat), and still others fairly neutral connotations (child). But referring to an adult as a child can be insulting, while calling a young person a brat lets our readers know at once how we feel about the rotten kid.
CONNOTATION refers to the emotional implications and associations that a word may carry, in contrast to its denotative (or literal) meanings. Verb: connote. Adjective: connotative. Also called intension or sense.
The connotation of a word can be positive, negative, or neutral. It can also be either cultural or personal.
(book Patterns and Meanings (1998), Alan Partington)
Here’s an example:
To most people the word cruise connotes–suggests–a delightful holiday; thus its cultural connotation is positive. If you get seasick, however, the word may connote only discomfort to you; your personal connotation is negative.
(Vocabulary by Doing, 2001)
HERE’S AN OTHER EXAMPLE
The following words and phrases all refer to a young person, but their connotations may be quite different depending, in part, on the context in which they appear: youngster, child, kid, little one, small fry, brat, urchin, juvenile, minor. Some of these words tend to carry favorable connotations (little one), others unfavorable connotations (brat), and still others fairly neutral connotations (child). But referring to an adult as a child can be insulting, while calling a young person a brat lets our readers know at once how we feel about the rotten kid.
DEFINITION
Denotation refers to the direct or dictionary meaning of a word, in contrast to its figurative or associated meanings (connotations). Verb: denote. Adjective: denotative. Also called extension or reference.
Put another way, “Linguistic expressions are linked in virtue of their meaning to parts of the world around us, which is the basis of our use of language to convey information about reality.
The denotation of an expression is the part of reality the expression is linked to”
(Kate Kearns, Semantics, 2011).
Denotative meaning is sometimes called
cognitive meaning,
referential meaning, or
EXAMPLES & OBSERVATIONS
- Vizzini:He didn’t fall? Inconceivable.
Inigo Montoya: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
(The Princess Bride, 1987) - “You know a phrase I never understood?King size. It’s used to denote something larger, but most of the kings you see are short. You ever notice that? Usually a king is a short little fat guy.”
(George Carlin, Napalm & Silly Putty, 2001)
- Wally:I can’t believe I fell for counterfeit Superbowl tickets. The guys will be crestfallen when they find out.
Homer: Yes, if by “crestfallen” you mean they’re going to kill us.
(“Sunday, Cruddy Sunday,” The Simpsons)
DENOTATION & CONNOTATION: “House” & “Home”
“The denotation of a word is its primary signification or reference; its connotation is the range of secondary or associated significations and feelings which it commonly suggests or implies. Thus ‘home’ denotes the house where one lives, but connotes privacy, intimacy, and coziness; that is the reason real estate agents like to use ‘home’ instead of ‘house’ in their advertisements.”
(M.H. Abrams and Geoffrey Galt Harpham, A Glossary of Literary Terms, 9th ed. Wadsworth, 2009)
“The denotation of a term is its exact and literal meaning. Consider the word home. Its denotation, or precise meaning, is ‘residence or fixed dwelling place.’ The denotation of the word city is ‘center of population and commerce.’
“A word’s connotation, on the other hand, consists of its emotive value. For example, connotations of the word home might be refuge, resting place, even boring or predictable habitation. The word city might connote place of excitement, energy, danger, or even sin. . . .
“Think of denotation as the dictionary definition of a word, using the d as a mnemonic device. A connotation is the subjective, personal, even poetic interpretation of a word.”
(Chrysti M. Smith, Verbivore’s Feast: A Banquet of Word & Phrase Origins. Far country Press, 2004)
DENOTATION & CONNOTATION in a Poem
by William Wordsworth
A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal by William Wordsworth (1880)
A slumber did my spirit seal;
I had no human fears–
She seemed a thing that could not feel
The touch of earthly years.
No motion has she now, no force;
She neither hears nor sees;
Roll’d round in earth’s diurnal course
With rocks, and stones, and trees.
DENOTATION & CONNOTATION in a Poem
by Henry David Thoreau
In the following poem we have italicized a number of key words whose connotative meaning directs our response to the images. Although the poem is mostly images–the overt commentary is confined to the first two lines–the poet’s attitude is anything but neutral.
“Pray to What Earth Does This Sweet Cold Belong”
by Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
Pray to what earth does this sweet cold belong,
Which asks no duties and no conscience?
The moon goes up by leaps, her cheerful path
In some far summer stratum of the sky,
While stars with their cold shine be dot her way.
The fields gleam mildly back upon the sky,
And far and near upon the leafless shrubs
The snow dust still emits a silver light.
Under the hedge, where drift banks are their screen,
The titmice now pursue their downy dreams,
As often in the sweltering summer nights
The bee doth drop asleep in the flower cup,
When evening overtakes him with his load.
By the brook sides, in the still, genial night,
The more adventurous wanderer may hear
The crystals shoot and form, and winter slow
Increase his rule by gentlest summer means.
(David Bergman and Daniel Mark Epstein, The Heath Guide to Literature. D.C. Heath, 1984)
REFERENCES & BIBLIOGRAPHY
- (Jerome E. Bickenbach and Jacqueline M. Davies,Good Reasons for Better Arguments: An Introduction to the Skills and Values of Critical Thinking. Broadview Press, 1998)
- (Sándor Hervey and Ian Higgins, Thinking French Translation: A Course in Translation Method, 2nd ed. Routledge, 2002)
- (Rita Mae Brown, Starting From Scratch. Bantam, 1988)
- (bookPatterns and Meanings (1998), Alan Partington)
- (Vocabulary by Doing, 2001)
- Richard Nordquist
- (M.H. Abrams and Geoffrey Galt Harpham,A Glossary of Literary Terms, 9th ed. Wadsworth, 2009)
- (Chrysti M. Smith,Verbivore’s Feast: A Banquet of Word & Phrase Origins. Far country Press, 2004)
- A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal by William Wordsworth (1880)
- Edwin Arlington Robinson
- (Richard Cory (1897)
- (David Bergman and Daniel Mark Epstein, The Heath Guide to Literature. D.C. Heath, 1984)