6.3.2 Types of associative
meaning
Associative meaning is actually an umbrella term. It is based on the associationist theory of psychology. It refers to mental corrections that arise when referential meaning comes to mind. This can be easily understood if you think of Cao Cao (a main character in The Romance of the Three Kindoms) telling a story of plum to help his soldiers get rid of the terrible thirst. As the referential meaning may arouse different mental connections, associative meaning can be further classified. Connotative meaning is “the communicative value an expression has by virtue of what it refers to” (Leech 1981: 12). It embraces the properties of the referent and is, therefore, peripheral. In English, the word dog may have the connotation loyalty, apart from its referential meaning. In another culture, the word that denotes the same animal may have different connotations. The word winter refers to the season between autumn and spring, but its connotation to people in Hawaii is definitely different from the people in Moscow. So, as a kind of associative meaning, connotative meaning is subject to culture and experience. Social meaning (sometimes termed stylistic meaning) is what is conveyed about the social circumstances of the use of a linguistic expression, including regional or/and social overtones and formality. Pavement is used in British English and sidewalk in American English. Residence is formal and home is casual. Affective meaning is what is communicated of the feeling or attitude of the speaker/writer toward what is referred to. Statesman is commending in sense while politician is derogatory. Reflected meaning is what is communicated through association with another sense of the same expression. In order to avoid reflected meaning some expressions are deliberately replaced by others. For example, chicken thighs are labeled as drumsticks in Western supermarkets, and chicken breast is called white meat. Words that have a taboo meaning tend to be replaced. Cock is now substituted by rooster. Collocative meaning is the associated meaning a word acquires in line with the meaning of words which tend to co-occur with it. Both pretty and handsome mean good-looking but they differ in collocative meaning. Pretty often co-occurs with girl, woman, flower, skirt, etc. Handsome often collocates with boy, man, car, overcoat, etc. Awareness of the existence of these types of associative meaning is
important in the correct use of words. In writing and translation, knowledge
of associative meaning directly affects communication. Whether the writer/speaker
means to be polite or rude, formal or informal, directly determines the
choice of words. And the appropriate use of a word is based on the mastery
of all types of meaning. |