2. Denotation and Connotation
The relationship between words and meanings is
extremely complicated, and belongs to the field of
semantics. For now, though, what you need to know is
that words do not have single, simple meanings.
Traditionally, grammarians have referred to the
meanings of words in two parts:
Denotation
•a literal meaning of the word
Connotation
•an association (emotional or otherwise) which the word
evokes.
3. For example, both "woman" and "chick" have
the denotation "adult female" in North
American society, but "chick" has somewhat
negative connotations, while "woman" is
neutral.
For another example of connotations, consider
the following:
•Negative There are over 2,000 vagrants in the
city.
•Neutral There are over 2,000 people with no
fixed address in the city.
•Positive There are over 2,000 homeless in the
city.
4. Pragmatics is…
The study of the aspects of meaning and
language use that are dependent on the
speaker, the addressee and other features of
the context.
The effect that the following have on how
something is expressed and how it is
interpreted:
• Context
• Generally observed principles of
communication
• The goals of the speaker
5. black
adjective
1. lacking hue and brightness; absorbing light without reflecting any of the rays
composing it.
2. characterized by absence of light; enveloped in darkness: a black night.
3. (sometimes initial capital letter)
a. pertaining or belonging to any of the various populations characterized by dark
skin pigmentation, specifically the dark-skinned peoples of Africa, Oceania, and
Australia.
b. African-American.
4. soiled or stained with dirt: That shirt was black within an hour.
5. gloomy; pessimistic; dismal: a black outlook.
6. deliberately; harmful; inexcusable: a black lie.
7. boding ill; sullen or hostile; threatening: black words; black looks.
8. (of coffee or tea) without milk or cream.
9. without any moral quality or goodness; evil; wicked: His black heart has
concocted yet another black deed.
10. indicating censure, disgrace, or liability to punishment: a black mark on one's
record.
6. 11. marked by disaster or misfortune: black areas of drought; Black
Friday.
12. wearing black or dark clothing or armour: the black prince.
13. based on the grotesque, morbid, or unpleasant aspects of life:
black comedy; black humour.
14. (of a check mark, flag, etc.) done or written in black to indicate, as
on a list, that which is undesirable, sub-standard, potentially
dangerous, etc.: Pilots put a black flag next to the ten most dangerous
airports.
15. illegal or underground: The black economy pays no taxes.
16. showing a profit; not showing any losses: the first black quarter in
two years.
17. deliberately false or intentionally misleading: black propaganda.
18. British . boycotted, as certain goods or products by a trade union.
19. (of steel) in the form in which it comes from the rolling mill or
forge; unfinished.
7. noun
20. the colour at one extreme end of the scale of grays, opposite
to white, absorbing all light incident upon it. Compare white
( def. 19 ) .
21. ( sometimes initial capital letter ) a. a member of any of
various dark-skinned peoples, especially those of Africa,
Oceania, and Australia.
b. African-American.
22. black clothing, especially as a sign of mourning: He wore
black at the funeral.
23. Chess, Checkers . the dark-colored men or pieces or squares.
24. black pigment: lamp black.
25. Slang . black beauty.
26. a horse or other animal that is entirely black.
9. Presupposition: background
knowledge or belief of knowledge
The utterance John regrets that he stopped doing
linguistics before he left Cambridge has the
following presuppositions:
• There is someone uniquely identifiable to
speaker and addressee as John.
• John stopped doing linguistics before he left
Cambridge.
• John was doing linguistics before he left
Cambridge.
• John left Cambridge.
• John had been at Cambridge.
