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Everything about Denotation

Literal meaning of an expression

In philosophy and linguistics, the denotation of a word or expression is its strictly literal meaning. For instance, the English word "warm" denotes the property of having high temperature. Denotation is contrasted with other aspects of meaning, in particular connotation. For instance, the word "warm" may evoke calmness, coziness, or kindness but these associations are not part of the word's denotation. Similarly, an expression's denotation is separate from pragmatic inferences it may trigger. For instance, describing something as "warm" often implicates that it is not hot, but this is once again not part of the word's denotation. Wikipedia →

🧭 Start here: a 6-step reading path

  1. Read the overview: DenotationA 5-minute orientation
  2. Skim a recent paper: An Analysis of Roland Barthes' Semiotic Theory: Focusing on Denotation, Connotation, and MythInfluential work since 2022
  3. Pick up a classic book: An Abridgement of Mr. Byrom's Universal English Short-hand, Or The Way of ...The most-reprinted book on the subject
  4. Read the landmark paper: Sensitivity to lexical denotation and connotation in brain-damaged patients: A double dissociation?Cited 145 times
  5. Go sideways: Sense and referenceA closely related topic
  6. Go sideways: Direct reference theoryA closely related topic

📖 Definitions

Noun The act of denoting, or something (such as a symbol) that denotes

Noun The primary, surface, literal, or explicit meaning of a signifier such as a word, phrase, or symbol; that which a word denotes, as contrasted with its connotation; the aggregate or set of objects of which a word may be predicated.

Noun The intension and extension of a word

Noun Something signified or referred to; a particular meaning of a symbol

🗂️ The subject at a glance

  1. In linguistic semantics
  2. Denotation, meaning, and reference
  3. In other fields

🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)

🆕 Influential since 2022

📚 Books worth reading

Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.

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