Word Choice and Connotation · 措辞与内涵
| English | 中文 | Pinyin · 拼音 |
|---|---|---|
| connotative and denotative meanings/kɒnəˈtætɪv ænd dɪˈnəʊtətɪv ˈmiːnɪŋz/ | 内涵义与外延义 | nèi hán yì yǔ wài yán yì |
Ambitious or expensive?
- Call a policy ambitious and the reader leans one way; call it expensive and they lean the other.
- No fact changed between the two sentences.
- That gap between what a word refers to and what it carries is where diction analysis lives.
Calling a fee “modest” does not shrink the bill; it changes the expression on the reader’s face.
"雄心勃勃"还是"昂贵"?
- 把一项政策称为雄心勃勃,读者便偏向一边;称它昂贵,读者便偏向另一边。
- 两句话之间没有任何事实发生变化。
- 一个词所指与它所携带之间的这道落差,正是用词分析的所在。
把一笔费用称为“适中”，账单不会变小，读者的表情却可能会变。
Denotation and connotation
- Words have both connotative and denotative meanings 内涵义与外延义.
- Denotation is what a word refers to; connotation is what it carries with it.
- Two words with the same denotation can produce opposite dispositions in a reader.
外延义与内涵义
- 词语同时具有内涵义与外延义(connotative and denotative meanings)。
- 外延义是词所指称的东西;内涵义是它随身携带的东西。
- 外延义相同的两个词,可能在读者身上产生相反的倾向。
Same denotation, different connotation · 字面义相同，内涵不同
Sort each pair member by the disposition it carries. · 根据每对成员所携带的态度/倾向进行排序。
Connotation is... · 内涵是...
Denotation refers; connotation carries. Two words can share the first and differ in the second. · **Denotation（字面义）**指代；**connotation（内涵）**承载。两个词可以共享前者而后者不同。
Descriptive words carry a perspective
- Descriptive words — adjectives and adverbs — not only qualify or modify what they describe.
- They also convey a perspective toward it.
- So a modifier is never neutral: choosing one is taking a position, however quietly.
描述性词语携带一种视角
- 描述性词语——形容词与副词——不只限定或修饰它们所描述的对象。
- 它们还传达一种视角。
- 因此修饰语从来不是中立的:选定一个,就是在表明立场,无论多么不动声色。
Adjectives and adverbs modify what they describe without conveying a perspective. · 形容词和副词修饰其所描述的对象而不传达立场。
The CED says descriptive words also convey a perspective — a modifier is never neutral. · CED指出描述性词汇也传达立场——修饰语从不中立。
"The writer uses strong diction" earns nothing. Diction analysis requires naming the connotation — what the chosen word carries that a neutral synonym would not — and saying what that does to the reader's disposition.
"写作者使用了有力的用词"得不到分。用词分析要求点出内涵义——所选词语所携带、而中性同义词不会携带的东西——并说出它对读者倾向所起的作用。
Select all · 所有 that precise word choice does. · 选择所有精准措辞所能起到的作用。
An inflated word used slightly wrongly reads as a loss of control. · 一个用得不太准确的华丽词汇读起来像是失控。
Precision
- Precise word choice reduces confusion and helps an audience perceive the writer's perspective.
- Precision is not the same as sophistication — the exactly right common word beats an impressive wrong one.
- An inflated word used slightly wrongly reads as a loss of control, which examiners notice.
精确
- 精确的用词减少混淆,并帮助受众感知写作者的视角。
- 精确与华丽不是一回事——恰好准确的普通词胜过气派而不准的词。
- 用得略微不准的浮夸词读起来就是控制力的丧失,而阅卷人会注意到。
To analyse a loaded word, ask what its ____ synonym would have been. · 分析一个带有倾向性的词时，问它的____同义词会是什么。
The difference between the two is exactly what the writer added. · 两者的差异正是作者添加的内容。
Match each pair to what the choice adds. · 将每对词与其选择所增加的意义匹配。
Where denotation is shared, everything that differs is a rhetorical choice. · 当字面义相同时，一切差异都是修辞选择。
Analysing diction
- Find a loaded word and ask what a neutral synonym would have been.
- The difference between the two is exactly what the writer added.
- Say what that addition does to the reader's disposition — that is the analysis.
分析用词
- 找出一个带有色彩的词,再问它的中性同义词本会是什么。
- 两者之间的差别,恰恰就是写作者所添加的东西。
- 说出这一添加对读者倾向所起的作用——那才是分析。
A writer calls the supporters determined in one paragraph and unyielding in the next. Both denote persistence; the first approves and the second obstructs. The facts described did not change — the reader's sympathy did.
一位写作者在一段中称支持者为坚定的,在下一段中称他们不肯让步的。两者的外延义都是坚持;前者带着赞许,后者带着阻挠。所描述的事实没有改变——改变的是读者的同情。
Denotation is what a word refers to; connotation is what it carries. Descriptive words convey a perspective as well as modify, and precise word choice helps a reader perceive it. To analyse diction, name the neutral synonym and say what the writer's choice added.
外延义是词所指称的东西;内涵义是它所携带的东西。描述性词语在修饰之外还传达视角,而精确的用词帮助读者感知这一视角。要分析用词,就点出中性同义词,并说出写作者的选择添加了什么。