Editing Denotation (section)

== Denotation, meaning, and reference ==
Linguistic discussion of the differences between denotation, [[Meaning (philosophy)|meaning]], and [[reference]] is rooted in the work of [[Ferdinand de Saussure]], specifically in his theory of [[semiotics]] written in the book [[Course in General Linguistics]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Herbst|first=Thomas|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/710790467|title=English linguistics : a coursebook for students of English|date=2010|publisher=De Gruyter Mouton|others=Walter de Gruyter & Co|isbn=978-3-11-021548-9|location=Berlin|oclc=710790467}}</ref> Philosophers [[Gottlob Frege]] and [[Bertrand Russell]] have also made influential contributions to this subject.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Makin|first=Gideon|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/52111256|title=The metaphysicians of meaning : Russell and Frege on sense and denotation|date=2000|publisher=Routledge|isbn=0-203-24267-X|location=London|oclc=52111256}}</ref>

=== Denotation and reference ===
Although they have similar meanings, denotation should not be confused with [[reference]].<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|last=Trask|first=R. L.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/75087994|title=Language and Linguistics: The Key Concepts |publisher=Routledge |date=2007|others=Peter Stockwell|isbn=978-0-415-41358-9|edition=Second|location=Abingdon [England]|pages=51, 66–67|oclc=75087994}}</ref> A reference is a specific person, place, or thing that a speaker identifies when using a word.<ref name=":1" /> Vocabulary from [[John Searle]]'s [[Speech act|speech act theory]] can be used to define this relationship.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Searle|first=John R.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/818781122|title=Speech acts : an essay in the philosophy of language|date=1969|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-17343-8|location=Cambridge|oclc=818781122}}</ref> According to this theory, the speaker's action of identifying a person, place, or thing is called referring. The specific person, place, or thing identified by the speaker is called the referent. Reference itself captures the relationship between the referent and the word or phrase used by the speaker. For [[referring expression]]s, the denotation of the phrase is most likely the phrase's referent. For [[content word]]s, the denotation of the word can refer to any object, real or imagined, to which the word could be applied.<ref name=":0" />

=== Denotation and meaning ===
In [[Sense and reference|"On Sense and Reference"]], philosopher [[Gottlob Frege]] began the conversation about distinctions between meaning and denotation when he evaluated words like the German words "Morgenstern" and "Abendstern".<ref name=":1" /> Author Thomas Herbst uses the words "kid" and "child" to illustrate the same concept.<ref name=":1" /> According to Herbst, these two words have the same denotation, as they have the same member set; however, "kid" may be used in an informal speech situation whereas "child" may be used in a more formal speech situation.