How connotative words shape meaning in communication

Given below is an excerpt from a news story:

“A textile shop owner in Kerala recently gifted Rs500 to each of his employees after Sanju Samson played a key role in helping India qualify for the semi-finals. He had also promised additional rewards — Rs1,000 if Samson excelled in the semi-final and Rs2,000 if he delivered in the final. That promise became a reality as the Indian opener produced outstanding performances,guiding India to the title at the T20 World Cup final in Ahmedabad. Samson’s stellar showing also earned him the Player of the Tournament award.”

What do the words in bold in the news story above mean? Do they have a positive or negative overtone? This background information may be helpful to understand the context better.

This news report is about the famous cricketer Sanju Samson, who is greatly loved by the people of Kerala, where he comes from. Recently, in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, he thrilled cricket fans by scoring 97 (not out), 89, and again 89 runs against West Indies in the quarter-final, England in the semi-final, and New Zealand in the final. His outstanding batting helped India retain the World Cup title, and his remarkable achievements earned him the Player of the Tournament award. What a wonderful success story!

The textile owner celebrating Samson’s success is a positive story; therefore, it should contain appropriately positive words. Words and phrases such as gifted, played a key role, promised, excelled, delivered, outstanding performance, guiding India to the title, stellar showing and earned carry positive meanings and make readers feel happy and excited while reading the report.

PHOTO: The Hindu

Denotations and connotations

Although all words have literal meanings, known as denotations, certain words also carry positive, neutral, or negative emotional undertones. These emotional associations are called connotations.

Now read the story again and try to replace the words/phrases in bold with their denotative alternatives. Compare yours with this:

A textile shop owner in Kerala recently gave Rs500 to each of his employees after Sanju Samson played an important part in helping India qualify for the semi-finals. He had also said that he would give additional rewards — Rs1,000 if Samson performed well in the semi-final and Rs2,000 if he played well in the final. That statement became a reality as the Indian opener produced very good performances, helping India win the title at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final in Ahmedabad. Samson’s very good performance also resulted in him receiving the Player of the Tournament award.

Which story do you think reads better? I’m sure you will agree that the first one, which contains several words with positive connotations, sounds better than the modified one. The first version is more engaging than the revised one.

Addicted to / fond of

Now compare these two sentences:

• My brother is addicted to reading.
• My brother is fond of reading.

Which one sounds better?

Though both sentences talk about a person’s brother who likes to read, the implication of the feeling is different. In the first sentence, “My brother is addicted to reading,” the connotation is negative because the word addiction suggests a lack of control, and the sentence implies that reading dominates his time. In the second sentence, “My brother is fond of reading,” the connotation is positive and gentle because the phrase fond of suggests a pleasant interest in something, and the sentence implies that reading is an enjoyable hobby.

Both “addiction” and its derivation “addicted” usually have negative connotations, though they may sometimes be used informally in a positive way. In everyday speech, “addicted to” is sometimes used to mean very fond of something as in the example below:

I’m addicted to reading mystery novels.

In this case, the meaning is positive or neutral, but the word in general has a negative connotation.

Positive / neutral / negative connotations

Certain groups of words have similar denotative meanings, but they carry different emotional overtones. These words may have positive, neutral, or negative connotations. For example, the words thin, lean, and slim have similar denotative meanings because they all describe a person who has little body fat. However, their connotations are different.

Thin, which suggests that a person is too skinny, has a negative connotation.

Lean, which describes someone who is fit and healthy, has a neutral connotation.

Slim, which describes someone who is well-proportioned, has a positive connotation.

Slender, which describes someone who is attractively thin, also has a positive connotation.

PHOTO: FREEPIK

Why we use connotative words

Connotative words are words that carry feelings or emotions in addition to their basic meaning. Speakers and writers use them to show not only what they want to say, but also how they want people to feel about it.

By choosing words with certain connotations, writers can set the tone of their message. Connotative language can make readers feel happy, excited, or even sad. It also helps create lively pictures in the reader’s mind, making the message more interesting.

In this way, connotative language helps speakers and writers do more than just give information. It helps them influence the reader’s feelings and reactions.

In sports news, writers often borrow words from other areas such as war (battle, clash), light (shine, bright), and explosions (explode, break records). These words are not used in their exact meaning. Instead, they make the news more exciting and interesting for readers, as shown in the example sentences below.

Sanju Samson shines in a battle against New Zealand, and India breaks records in the ICC T20 World Cup. Earlier, Samson helped India storm into the final with his explosive batting in the semifinal clash against England.

Communication is considered effective when we successfully use words that convey the intended meaning.

(Dr Albert P’Rayan is an ELT resource person and education columnist. Send your feedback to englishmatters2024@gmail.com)