Connotation

Words
GROUP 3
1. Ibrahim Raharja_216121170
2. Hasna Sabrina_216121176
3. Burhanudin Habib Effendi_216121178
  
THE DEFINITION OF CONNOTATION

Connotation is the use of a word to suggest a different association than

its literal meaning, which is known as denotation.In many texts,
especially those aimed for persuasion, authors often deliberately use
the connotation associated with certain words to make their writing
persuasive or convincing. In their trials to appeal to emotions in
order to make their ideas acceptable and believable, or to influence
their readers’ thinking, writers always use highly connotative
language.
 3 TYPES OF CONNOTATION IN WRITING
Positive connotation Negative connotation
Words that conjure a When a negative
favorable emotional connotation is made, it
response. For example, presents the person or thing
describing someone in an unfavorable light.
ambitious as a “go- Using the examples above,
getter” or someone who the same ambitious person
is lively and curious as might be described as an
“youthful.” “overachiever,” while the
curious person might be
referred to as “childish.”
Neutral connotation
This is when a word says what
it means with a neutral point of
view, and no attached positive
or negative connotation. The
statement, “He is ambitious”
suggests a person works hard
and strives to achieve, without
judgment on whether the
ambition is a good or a bad
thing.
 
 WHY IS CONNOTATION IN WRITING
Connotation is an essential partIMPORTANT?
of a writer’s word choice. Words carry weight and can,
individually and together, create a certain tone for a sentence, passage, scene, or entire
story. People who write havepurpose or intention, they have a reason for using the printed
page. Frequently, their reason is to persuade the readers that they should adopt a particular
opinion or share certain ideas. There are subtle techniques that can be used to persuade an
audience.

The relationship between words and meanings is extremely complicated, and belongs to
the field of semantics. Words do not have single, simple meanings. Traditionally,
grammarians have referred to the meanings of words in two parts:(1)denotation: a literal
meaning of the word and (2)connotation: an association (emotional or otherwise) which
the word evokes.

Some words simply refer to facts or ideas. They suggest no value judgments, and they do
not arouse emotions on the part of the reader, either positively or negatively. Other words,
however, do more: they suggest certain attitudes or trigger specific associations and feelings,
thus affecting in some way the reader’s reactions.
 CONNOTATIONS WORDS
CAN BE USED TO:
•Write a multidimensional text
Connotation is useful in creating imagery. For example, the
description “He was dressed like a pig” gives the reader a better
visual sense of someone’s dress and sense of style than simply
saying, “He was unkempt.”

•Develop characters
Readers visualize a story based on the descriptions a writer
provides. If a character is described with positive connotations,
readers will like them more. In thrillers, using connotation this way
can throw readers off the scent. In Agatha Christie’s The Murder
of Roger Ackroyd, for example, the first-person narrator, Dr.
James Sheppard, describes himself as a “professional man.” The
connotation is that he a consummate truth-teller, and a man who
can be trusted. Which makes the fact that he’s the killer all the
more shocking for readers.
 CONNOTATIONS
WORDS
CAN BE USED TO:
• Draw emotion out of language

Connotation draws emotion out of language, for both

the writer and reader. In L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of
Oz, for example, Dorothy is obsessed with the idea of
“home”: not just as the literal place where she lives, but
all the positive connotations that are associated with it,
like family, love, nurture, and comfort. When she finally
clicks her heels and repeats, “There’s no place like
home,” the reader understands and shares in her
excitement and eagerness to return home.
EXAMPLE :
•Negative “There are over 2,000 vagrants in the city”.
•Neutral “There are over 2,000 people with no fixed
address in the city”.
•Positive “There are over 2,000 homeless in the city”.

All three of these expressions refer to exactly the same people,

but they will invoke different associations in the reader's mind:
a "vagrant" is a public nuisance while a "homeless" person is a
worthy object of pity and charity. Presumably, someone writing
an editorial in support of a new shelter would use the positive
form, while someone writing an editorial in support of anti-
loitering laws would use the negative form.
Exercise 1
Decide which word has positive connotation

A. He is an enthusiastic/fanatical believer.
B. You’re a slow/thorough reader.
C. What a weird/unique idea.
D. The vase is very brittle/fragile.
E. She is very pushy/ambitious.
Exercise 2
In each number, there are three sentences that say almost the same thing.
Choose the sentence that attempts to eliminate almost all connotations.

1. a. He is so blunt

b. No one has ever caught him in a lie.

c. He has always been very honest.

2. a. She is a liar.

b. She has a great imagination

c. She failed the lie detector test.

3. a. She is happy.

b. She laughs a lot.

c. She is silly.

4. a. The car is an antique.

b. The car was bought in 1948

c. The car is old.

THANK YOU