Denotation and Connotation in ASL

Two concepts that are sometimes confused are denotation and connotation. What do these two words mean exactly in the study of vocabulary? Denotation refers to the literal, explicit, direct meaning of a word. For example, the word "house" refers to a physical structure where people live. If someone used the sentence "They live in a house" the meaning is pretty straightforward and neutral. No value judgment or culturally driven notions can be implied. But if someone said, "They live in a shack." Shack is still a physical structure but the word itself carries a lot of "baggage". This baggage is the connotative meaning. At some level "house" and "shack" are both physical structures and you might see the phrase "a physical structure in which people live" in a dictionary. This is the denotative meaning of both but the word "shack" also implies "of poor quality housing" or "rundown" or "not cared for" among other things. Poverty may be implied. So the word "shack" carries with it a lot of connotative meaning whereas the word "house" carries almost no connotative meaning. Here are some other examples of words that at some level "denote" the same thing but at another level are very different from a connotative perspective: interested questioning nosy employ use exploit thrifty saving stingy steadfast tenacious stubborn Each of the words in the three columns at some basic level denotes a similar meaning. At the core of each word may be the same behavior but each will have additional meaning that is culturally derived. Some of the words will be more neutral while others will have more positive or negative connotations. ***Students - please give this channel a thumbs up as it helps bring exposure to this channel*** (Thank you so much for all of your love and support 💕💕💕💕 )