Editing Denotation

{{short description|Literal meaning of an expression}}
In [[linguistics]] and [[philosophy]],<ref>On the history of the concept see Umberto Eco, "Signification and Denotation from Boethius to Ockham", ''Franciscan Studies'', Volume 44, 1984, pp. 1-29.</ref> the '''denotation''' of a word or expression is its strictly literal meaning. For instance, the [[English language|English]] word "warm" denotes the [[Property (philosophy)|property]] of having high temperature. Denotation is contrasted with other aspects of meaning including ''[[connotation]]''. For instance, the word "warm" may evoke calmness, coziness, or kindness (as in the warmth of someone's personality) but these [[association (psychology)|associations]] are not part of the word's denotation. Similarly, an expression's denotation is separate from [[pragmatics|pragmatic]] inferences it may trigger. For instance, describing something as "warm" often [[implicature|implicates]] that it is not hot, but this is once again not part of the word's denotation.

Denotation plays a major role in several fields. Within [[semantics]] and [[philosophy of language]], denotation is studied as an important aspect of [[Meaning (philosophy)|meaning]]. In [[mathematics]] and [[computer science]], assignments of denotations are assigned to expressions are a crucial step in defining interpreted [[formal language]]s. The main task of [[formal semantics (natural language)|formal semantics]] is to reverse engineer the computational system which assigns denotations to expressions of [[natural language]]s.

== In linguistic semantics ==

In [[formal semantics (natural language)|natural language semantics]], denotations are conceived of as the outputs of the semantic component of the grammar. For example, the denotation of the word "blue" is the property of being blue and the denotation of the word "Barack Obama" is the person who goes by that name. Phrases also have denotations which are computed according to the [[principle of compositionality]]. For instance, the [[verb phrase]] "passed the class" denotes the property of having passed the class. Depending on one's particular theory of semantics, denotations may be identified either with terms' [[Extension (semantics)|extensions]], [[intension]]s, or other structures such as [[context change potential]]s.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Kroeger |first=Paul |date=2019 |title= Analyzing Meaning |url=https://langsci-press.org/catalog/book/231 |publisher= Language Science Press |pages=21–22,172–173|isbn=978-3-96110-136-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Coppock |first1=Elizabeth |last2=Champollion |first2=Lucas |date=2019 |title= Invitation to Formal Semantics |url=https://eecoppock.info/bootcamp/semantics-boot-camp.pdf |publisher=Manuscript |page=43}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Heim |first1=Irene | last2=Kratzer | first2=Angelika |author-link1=Irene Heim |author-link2=Angelika Kratzer |date=1998 |title=Semantics in Generative Grammar |publisher=Wiley Blackwell | location = Oxford |pages=14}}</ref><ref name = "dynsemsep" >{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Nowen |first1=Rick |last2=Brasoveanu | first2=Adrian | last3=van Eijck | first3=Jan | last4=Visser |first4=Albert |editor-last=Zalta |editor-first= Edward |encyclopedia= The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |title=Dynamic Semantics |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2016/entries/dynamic-semantics/ |access-date=2020-08-11 |year=2016}}</ref>

When uttered in [[discourse]], expressions may convey other associations which are not computed by the grammar and thus are not part of its denotation. For instance, depending on the context, saying "I ran five miles" may convey that you ran exactly five miles and not more. This content is not part of the sentence's denotation but rather [[pragmatics|pragmatic]] inferences arrived at by applying [[social cognition]] to its denotation.<ref name=":0" />

== 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.

==In other fields==
* In [[computer science]], [[denotational semantics]] is contrasted with [[operational semantics]].
*In [[media studies]] terminology, denotation is an example of the first level of analysis: what the audience can visually see on a page. Denotation often refers to something literal, and avoids being a [[metaphor]]. Here it is usually coupled with [[connotation]] which is the second level of analysis, being what the denotation represents.

==See also==
* [[Connotation]]
* [[Denotationalism]]
* [[Linguistic competence]]
* [[Principle of compositionality]]
* [[Reference]]
* [[Sense and reference]]

==References==
<references />

==External links==
* [http://visual-memory.co.uk/daniel/Documents/S4B/ Semiotics for Beginners] 
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110919125447/http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/poetry/denotate_def.html VirtuaLit Elements of Poetry] (archived)

{{analytic philosophy}}
{{Formal semantics}}

[[Category:Philosophy of language]]
[[Category:Lexicology]]
[[Category:Meaning (philosophy of language)]]
[[Category:Semantics]]
[[Category:Formal semantics (natural language)]]
[[Category:Concepts in the philosophy of language]]