Any word that has a double meaning: denotative and connotative. The first refers to what the word properly means, that is, its proper meaning and, therefore, its definition can be found in a dictionary. Thus, if we take the word sea as a reference, it will be described in a dictionary as a body of salt water that covers the Earth for the most part. However, the denotation of the term is accompanied by a series of subjective values or ideas, the connotation. Denotation
For example, for a sailor, the sea is much more than the definition that appears in the dictionary. In this way, when we use a given term, it can be interpreted from a double reading by the message receiver. In other words, what is objective for someone who has a subjective component for someone else and vice versa. Denotation
Describing reality as it really is
The difference between the denotative and the connotative meanings of a word is extrapolable to any type of description. When we make a denotative description, we are saying how something is objectively. So, when we say that a girl is blonde, tall and thin, we make a picture based on her reality as a person. This type of description is performed when we want to convey information accurately and without any evaluative component. In the scientific, technical, legal or strictly informative field, communication is denotative-objective, since the subjective aspects of the issuer are irrelevant. Denotation
In the zoological description of an animal, what matters is the explanation of all its data: size, weight, physiological characteristics and everything that refers to its classification as a living being.
In literary language the writer combines denotation and connotation depending on the message he intends to convey. When describing a person, reference is made to their visible physical traits and characteristics, in addition to the personal emotions they convey and their human qualities .
The objective denotative description is fundamentally neutral
Scientific texts are the paradigm of denotation. In them, the reader seeks neutral information, that is, without any subjective point of view. It should be taken into account that to describe means to represent reality through words and the tendency to objectivity is the basic criterion for any scientific or technical text. This type of text propagates specialized terminology, logical ordering of the message and narrowly descriptive data. Denotation
