The Power of Language
Chapter 6
Introduction to Critical Reasoning
Professor Doug Olena
Denotation &
Connotation
The first principle to understand is that words,
as symbols are extremely powerful.
Denotation is the specific object or act that
a word points to or refers to.
Connotation refers to all the images—
positive, negative or neutral—that are
associated with any given denotation. 221
Denotation &
Connotation
221-222 Question: Was the senator rude, or
were the women overly sensitive?
Answer: The senator was rude, but not in the
purposeful sense of delivering an insult. The
manners he used were once considered
gracious in any setting, although they are now
widely recognized to suggest, when employed
in a clearly nonsocial situation, that the chief
contribution of ladies is to be decorative.
Exercise…
222-223 If you or your wife were to have a
child in the next few days, what would you
name him or her? What are the connotations
of those names?
What is the connotation of the name your
parents gave you?
The Power of
Connotation
223 Semantic Differential: Semanticists, who
study the meaning of words, use a tool called a
semantic differential that allows them to
assess the cultural connotations of a word
Semantic Differential
Fast
Slow
Strong
Weak
Beautiful
Ugly
Active
Passive
Brave
Cowardly
Good
Bad
Powerful
Powerless
page 223
Semantic Differential
224 Meaning is based on three dimensions:
Is the word Good or Bad?
Is the word Active or Passive?
Is the word Powerful or Weak?
All the polar dimensions given in the semantic
differential fit into one of these three
categories.
Semantic Differential
225 In several classroom studies of the word
lady versus woman, it was discovered that
most students see the word lady as good,
passive and weak, while the word woman is
seen as neither good or bad, but as active and
strong.
Labels
224 Age labels
Labels for stance on abortion
Misrepresenting food products
The word “girl”
225 Milk labels: fat content
Racial epithets
Height perceptions
Reification: when words take
on more power than reality
225-226 Reification occurs when words
themselves become more powerful and
influential than objective reality.
read examples 226-227
Meanings are in People
The word is not the thing. Words are a map
showing reality as a particular territory.
It is a visual representation of the territory
and can never give the details of the territory.
The meaning of words lie in people and not,
magically, in the words themselves.
Misunderstands can take place when people
speak different languages as well as when they
speak the same language.
Meanings are in People
231 Our tendency to project our own meanings
onto the words of others explains why we are
so often disappointed with blind date, political
candidates or products.
232 Often, then, the cause of projecting our
own meaning in situations may lie in our
emotional need to believe that something is
true; other times we are just untrained or too
busy or lazy to pursue the reality of what is
being said to us.
The Problem of
Vagueness
232 A word or phrase is vague when its
meaning is unclear.
Vagueness is a common problem in public
discourse.
Some politicians will only use vague, abstract
terms what have generally positive
connotations and not define what they mean….
Good reporters will notice vague language and
press politicians to explain themselves.
The Problem of
Vagueness
233 Read political candidate and doctor
examples.
Ambiguity in Language
234 Ambiguity in language can also cause
problems in communication.
A word or expression is ambiguous when it has
two or more different meanings.
Jay Leno’s ambiguous headlines.
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Alzheimer's Center Prepares for An Affair to Remember
Include Your Children When Baking Cookies
Gas Cloud Clears Out Taco Bell
Miners Refuse to Work After Death
Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
Stolen Painting Found by Tree
After Detour to California Shuttle Returns to Earth
Man Found Dead in Cemetery
Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half
Red Tape Holds up New Bridge
Deer Kill 17,328
Arson Suspect is held in Massachusetts Fire
New Vaccine may Contain Rabies
Man Minus Ear Waives Hearing
Old School Pillars are Replaced by Alumni
Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors
Doublespeak,
Weasel Words
Vagueness and ambiguity in language can be
used either unintentionally or deliberately to
make issues cloudy.
Words can be used to deceive by using
doublespeak and weasel words.
Doublespeak,
Weasel Words
237 Doublespeak is “language used to lie or
mislead while pretending to tell the truth….
It is used… in order to make the bad seem
good, the negative appear positive, the
disastrous seem tolerable.
If language is a map, and reality is the
territory, then doublespeak is the creation of a
map that distorts the territory.
Doublespeak,
Weasel Words
237 Doublespeak is “a very conscious use of
language as a weapon or tool by those in power
to achieve their ends at our expense.” Lutz
Orwell “War is Peace”
Euphemism, using a less direct but more
acceptable word to describe an event, person,
or object. They are used to soften harsh
realities. (examples)
Doublespeak,
Weasel Words
237 Euphemisms can also become inflated
language. Inflated language is used to make
the commonplace seem extraordinary or to
make simple things more complex. (read
examples 237, 238)
Do exercise 238, 239
Doublespeak,
Weasel Words
240 A weasel word is a word used to evade or
retreat from a direct or forthright statement
or position.
Help, like, virtual or virtually, acts or works,
can be, up to, as much as, refreshes, comforts,
tackles, fights etc.