Poets often resort to connotative language.
Language is a human capacity. Coming from the Occitan language , the term refers to the possibility of communication and expression that occurs through the articulation of sound or the use of some other system of signs.
Connotative , meanwhile, is that which connotes. The action of connoting is applied to words that have a specific meaning and another additional one that is appellative or expressive.
Connotative language , in this way, is that which is used symbolically or figuratively and which produces meaning in a given context . In addition to providing information , it transmits sensations, emotions and feelings.
Features of connotative language
It is important to keep in mind that words can have two types of semantic values. On the one hand, the denotative value appears: the literal or “traditional” meaning of the term, that is, its concrete, explicit and objective reference . On the other hand, there is the connotative value , which appeals to the figurative and evokes something more.
Connotative language, then, suggests a meaning that goes beyond the obvious . This language is common in literature , unlike the denotative language that is usually used in journalism and pedagogy, for example .
It must be considered that connotative language is usually conditioned by culture . That is why it can work in a certain region but not be understood in a different one. To understand its associations and symbolism, a certain cultural background must be shared.
This leads us to affirm that connotative language is ambiguous . What is suggested, since it is not explicit, can be decoded in various ways, unlike what happens with denotative language .
Being ambiguous, connotative language can cause confusion.
Its use
Due to its particularities, connotative language is useful or valid in certain areas although it is not convenient in others. In many sectors, communication must be clear and effective, so connotation can cause inconvenience and confusion.
When you are looking for an aesthetic effect , you want to delve into subjectivity or you want to convey emotional or sentimental issues , on the other hand, connotative language stands as a good option.
Suppose a woman who was hospitalized and managed to recover writes a thank you note to the health center staff. As his intention is to reflect what he feels, he uses connotative language: he talks about doctors and nurses as “angels” , mentions his fellow inmates as “warriors” and highlights that, with the intervention of professionals and the accompaniment of For many people, the “sun shone again” for her.
If you want to write a journalistic article , however, it is likely that connotative language will not be appropriate. If a man dies after falling from a great height, the logical thing to do is to report that “A person died when he fell from the eighth floor to the street” (denotive language) and not that “A person became immortal when he fell from heights and kiss the pavement” (connotative language).
Connotative language and proverbs
Proverbs are sayings that make use of connotative language to construct their meaning. Their expressions should not be taken literally because their teaching or message is found in the connotation.
“The habit does not make the monk” is a saying that, through connotative language, reflects that the appearance of an individual does not determine his condition or his essence. What it implies is that a human being is not who he is because of his clothing or what he shows physically, but because of his values and his behavior.