Diction & Etymology, Denotation & Connotation, Ambiguity

Transcription

1 Diction & Etymology, Denotation & Connotation, Ambiguity Literature, especially poetry, depends, of course, on language the vehicle for idea generation, thought transmission, and emotion promotion. But in order to be powerful and memorable, the language has to effective clear, meaningful, appropriate. Diction is the term we use to describe word choice. Problem: lots of words from which to choose. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) Basically, the mother of all dictionaries, the dictionary from whence cometh all others. It offers word histories and origins or etymologies.

2 The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language. It s an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of 600,000 words past and present from across the English- speaking world. As a historical dictionary, the OED is very different from those of current English, in which the focus is on present- day meanings. You ll still find these in the OED, but you'll also find the history of individual words, and of the language traced through 3 million quotations, from classic literature and specialist periodicals to films scripts and cookbooks. The OED originated more than 150 years ago. Today, the dictionary is in the process of its first major revision. Updates revise and extend the OED at regular intervals, each time subtly adjusting our image of the English language. Obviously, many words have differing definitions some glaring, others more subtle. Even synonyms aren t exactly, well... exact they can have itty bitty nuances of distinction. There are very few perfectly interchangeable synonyms in the English language. And our language is continually expanding as we adopt or create new words. Plus, words evolve: some meanings fade away, other meanings come into being. The study of word origin/history is called etymology. To complicate matters, many words have denotative and connotative differences in meaning. Literature takes advantage of both, although most critics agree that connotation is the more powerful and persuasive of the two. Denotation refers to the direct relationship between a term and the object, idea, or action it designates. Denotation = rational, objective, literal, intellectual, or cognitive meaning; a word s explicit meaning. Connotation refers to the emotive, affective, or associational aspect of a term, the commonly understood subjective, cultural baggage that it carries. A connotation is frequently described as either positive or negative, with regard to its pleasing or displeasing emotional connection. For example, a stubborn person may be described as being either strong- willed or pig- headed; although these have the same literal meaning (stubborn), strong- willed connotes admiration for the level of someone s will (a positive connotation), while pig- headed connotes frustration in dealing with someone (a negative connotation). Dictionaries and thesauruses generally exclude references to connotative meaning. Assume Scotland s national poet, Robert Burns, gives Jean Armour (his wife) a Hallmark card, which reads:

3 The denotation of this example would be a red rose with a green stem. Jean would not interpret the poem s primary metaphor as my love is like any of the wild or cultivated, usually prickly- stemmed, pinnate- leaved, showy- flowered shrubs of the genus rosa. She d get the connotation, that the rose is a symbol of passion and love this is what the rose represents. Euphemisms are agreed upon connotations, ways of softening certain words or phrases that otherwise sound or fell harsh. Consider the following: bereft of life dearly departed deceased no longer with us passed away resting in peace in a better world God took him gone home biting the biscuit game over in the bone zone in the crisper flatlined bought the pine condo reformatted kicked the oxygen habit tends toward a state of chemical equilibrium

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5 All of this adds up to endless options when it comes to diction. number of words + multiple definitions + continuous expansion + constant evolution + varied connotation =

6 Still... The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug. Mark Twain Stupid lasts forever. Jack Kennedy. Jaws the Indianapolis speech. Maggie Smith Poem Recitation (Union Bank Switzerland) qa Wesley & Buttercup The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all. Ambiguity use of words that allow alternative interpretations; equivocation, vagueness, uncertainty. In literary prose or poetry, it often functions to increase the richness and subtlety of language and to imbue it with a complexity that expands the literal meaning of the original statement.