Writing – Introduction2 - Word Choice skills – Denotation/Connotation
Word Choice Skills
Connotation can depend on the person who hears the word and brings his or her own associations to it.
Example: (denotative)
Raju has the addiction of biting his fingernails.
The sentence could be corrected by:
Raju has the habit of biting his fingernails
Snake - (denotive) - a limbless reptile with a long, scaly body
Example (connotative)
"snake in the grass," the biblical serpent,
"a real snake" - or a malevolent (evil, bad) person
A plumber might immediately think of a plumbing tool called a snake.
.
Word Choice Skills
Language is used to symbolically represent ideas, object and feeling. A word or a sentence can be interpreted in more ways than one.
- Words that convey an exact meaning are denotative and
- Words that carry emotional, humorous, or negative associations are connotative.
Connotation can depend on the person who hears the word and brings his or her own associations to it.
Example: (denotative)
Raju has the addiction of biting his fingernails.
The sentence could be corrected by:
Raju has the habit of biting his fingernails
Snake - (denotive) - a limbless reptile with a long, scaly body
Example (connotative)
"snake in the grass," the biblical serpent,
"a real snake" - or a malevolent (evil, bad) person
A plumber might immediately think of a plumbing tool called a snake.
.
