Words can be used in many different ways; knowing meanings and definitions is vital to clear, accurate communication. There are denotative and connotative meanings. Also, there are stipulative definitions, lexical definitions, précising definitions, and persuasive definitions.
First, a denotative meaning is a ‘true’ definition, coming from a dictionary, or its lexical definition. A connotative meaning is not so objective; it is subjective in manner. According to the text on pg. 69, “the connotative meaning of a word or phrase includes feelings and personal thoughts that are elicited on the basis of past experiences and associations.”
Stipulative definitions are given to new terms, such as “decaf” Stipulative definitions may also be a combination of new terms with old terms, such as “laptop,” or a new term for an existing word, such as “homosexual” instead of gay. “Stipulative definitions often start off as jargon or slang and are initially limited to a particular group of people” but have the ability to become the norm.
Lexical definitions, on the other hand, come from the dictionary. These definitions are not connotative, just denotative, and they are either right or wrong.
Précising definitions are used to provide clarification. These definitions go beyond a lexical definition, setting the exact parameters of the term at hand. Précising definitions can be broken down into two sub-categories, theoretical definitions and operational definitions. Theoretical definitions explain the specific nature of a term, while operational definitions “use a standardized measure for use in data collection and interpretation.”
The last definition type is persuasive definitions. Persuasive definitions try to influence others to see our point or sway to a certain side. Persuasive definitions typically use emotive language to effectively sway people. Emotive language is “language that is purposely chosen to elicit a certain emotional impact.” An example of emotive language is in a definition of taxation, which is a form of ‘theft.’
You listed alot of good and helpful definitions. I really liked the last definition type because i tend to use it alot in order to try to sway people to join my side especially when I'm in an argument about something. I tend to lay down the facts in order to persuade people. I really enjoy using statistics in trying to prove my point. Sometimes it's hard to get people to change their mind because my argument may not be that strong or because they're a pretty stubborn person and would not want to listen to the truth. I don't really use persuasive speech in many serious arguments or topics but mainly to try to influence people about topics such as sports or cars.
ReplyDelete