secondary overtones that may be read into any sign, regardless of connotation
there is no denotation without connotation
Connotation requires knowledge of social context
they require interpretation and thus challenge the notion of communication as decoding
Barthes states that connotation creates the illusion of denotation, denotation os just another connotation
Dennotation can rather be see as a naturalization process
Althusser states that together with dennotation we also learn dominant connotations, which position us within ideology
connotations tend to support cultural stereotypes
connotational frameworks are organized around key positions and equations within cultural codes, each pole aligned with a cluster of symbolic attributes
connotation and dennotation are not easily or neatly separated
there is no depiction or description without an evaluative element
there is no literal meaning, denotation simply has a broader consensus
connotation is looser, less conventional
some connotations are widely recognized unconsciously
Barthes created a stratified model of connotation
dennotation is the first order of signification
connotation is the second: the denotative sign becomes the signifier of a connotative sign
idea that dennotation is a primary meaning has been challenged by other theorists
Language is not neutral and transparent
outr paradigmatic choices generate connotations
Connotation is not purely paradigmatic, sytagmatic relations are also relevant. The way connotations are perceived depends on the context
connotations depend more on social intersubjectivity than on individual subjectivity
they are dynamic and subject to change
connotational codes: pervasive patterns of connotations
connotation is very important in the advertising discourse
Myth
Cultural myths help us make sense of our experiences within a culture
they express and organize shared ways of conceptualizing phenomena within a culture
they draw upon a ‘cultural vocabulary’
they account for contradictions within cultures
brand myth: a brand offers a solution to a contradiction
Like connotation, myths belong to a higher order of signification, according to Barthes
the dennotative sign also becomes the signifier of the connotative sign
in the case of myth, modes of representation which myth uses to build its own system become the signifier of mythical metalanguage- myths are the pervasive ideologies of our time