Word of the day : Connotation

The blogger Informant posted a piece about how Damon Wayans had tried to buy the copyright for the word ‘Nigga’.

The comments that followed brought up the subject of how word could be used in another context and by that alter its meaning. If Wayans claimed the word and it appeared on clothing etc we would all change perception of it.

This could be true to an extent but I would say that it wouldn’t change too much. I dare to say that it is not the word it self that carries meaning but the context which it is presented. The word has several connotations and each of them are invoked in different situations. The word ‘Nigga’ at a clan meeting is a derogatory term but in a black community it could show affection or a common bond.

The word it self is interesting from a movie point of view. In Quentin Tarantino’s piece Jackie Brown the word appears so many times that the newspapers felt the need to comment on it. In fact the word appear in almost every movie he made and depending on the scene it connotates different things. For example in Reservoir dog Mr Pink telling Mr. Blonde and Mr. White that they are 'acting like a bunch of niggers.' That is clearly negative term but most of the times the word is used between characters who respect each other.

Of course not everyone liked Quentin for this excessive use of the N-word. Spike Lee for example spoke out against this. My point is that the word it self is charged with meaning but in different situations it will mean different things. So by associate it with a clothing line or a celebrity we simply add one more meaning but not remove another.

The strategy of trying to associate a thing with a feeling is something that the advertisement industry knows everything about. This is common strategy when trying to sell products, just as Wayans want to buy the powerful word ‘Nigga’ to associate to his own brand.

So the word Connotation means that something represents another thing. A picture of a hospital connotates injury or perhaps sickness so it is the meanings we read into what we see that is the connotation. The opposite is Denotation which is what we see. The hospital is exactly what it is, a big house without associations.