Literary studies often make a distinction between literal and figurative language.

Literal language uses words that correspond directly and only to their basic dictionary meaning.  When I say “door,” I mean a physical door used as an opening in a wall. When I say house, I mean a dwelling where people live.

Figurative language is actually a catch-all category that refers to words used in a non-literal way. Here, a word’s meaning has shifted in some way, and we must understand it just literally. For instance, the Bible talks about “the house of David,” and, for the most part, this ‘house’ refers not to his palace but to his dynasty, the family who lived in the palace. If I take the language literally and think that ‘house’ means his palace, then I will miss the point. Likewise, Psalm 22 begins: “The LORD is my shepherd.” We easily recognize that God is not literally a shepherd but only like a shepherd in some respects. Again, a literal interpretation would be misleading and silly.

These shifts are part of our ordinary language. We make them easily as we speak and listen to others, often without reflecting on what is happening. In this section, we want to understand exactly what has shifted, but first, we must be clear about literal language.

6.1. Literal Language

Literal language uses words with their primary dictionary meaning. We use literal language to describe the world around us, especially when we want to be precise. The instructions for using a software program should be univocal—that is, they should have one unambiguous meaning. This depends on good sentence construction, but it also depends on knowing the exact word for all the pieces.

Ps 74:4-7 uses literal language to capture the reality and impact of Jerusalem’s destruction.

⁴ Your foes have roared within your holy place;
they set up their emblems there.
⁵ At the upper entrance they hacked
the wooden trellis with axes.
⁶ And then, with hatchets and hammers,
they smashed all its carved work.

Except for the word “roared,” which suggests the enemy was like a lion, the words literally describe what the enemy has done to the temple, and it makes the violence graphic.

The word ‘literal’ seems to suggest a simple identification, but the reality can be much more complicated. The Hebrew word for ‘house,’ ‘beth,’ refers to a family dwelling, but that structure was rather different from houses today. Some history or archaeology may be important for understanding the literal meaning in its original context. In the passage above, we could explore exactly what “axes…hatchets and hammers” were like at that time. Also, what did “wooden trellis” refer to?

Likewise, a word may have several meanings depending on the context. The Hebrew word shamaˁ means both “hear” and “obey.” Unless you know the language, these relationships get lost, but commentaries can help illuminate them.

6.2. Cognitive Domain

In his work with Mark Johnson and Mark Turner, George Lakoff emphasizes that a word is part of a way of thinking. Already we have considered a house not just a building with many parts but also a building where life takes place. Human beings eat, sleep, carry on conversations, and more in a house. Houses have windows, walls, and roofs; they are often found in neighborhoods that make up cities. All of this is connected to a house. Therefore, the word “house” points us not just toward the building but also the network of ideas involving a “house.”

This network or “cognitive domain” shows that a house is part of an organized system. When we use a word literally, we conjure up not just the building but also its place and function in this larger physical and intellectual system—its cognitive domain.

6.3. Denotation and Connotation

Literary studies have often made a distinction between denotation and connotation. Denotation is another name for the literal meaning. Connotation is kin to the idea of cognitive domain; it refers to the emotive and associational aspects of a word, which can be natural, cultural, and/or personal. Words bring to mind more than what they point us to.

For instance, “house” and “home” have different connotations in English. Though we sometimes use the words interchangeably, not every house is a home. The word “home” conveys not just the place but a complex of emotions, relationships, and images. Careful readers are alive to the individual personalities of words and can use them with some precision. For good communication to happen, people must share some common understanding. We all have our own personal image of the house where we grew up. Sometimes our personal experiences overlap with the common understanding; sometimes, they do not. If we want others to understand very personal experiences, we must make them explicit to others.

Often people think that they are speaking literally, but this is not always the case.

6.4. Exercises for Chapter 6

Vocabulary

• cognitive domain: the intellectual network(s) to which a word belongs. §1.3a, §6.2
• connotation: the natural, cultural, and personal connections that words have for us; it is similar to the word’s cognitive domain. §6.3
• denotation: another name for the literal meaning of a word. §6.3
• literal language: the use of words corresponding to their basic dictionary meaning. §6.1

Questions

1. Write three sentences that use language literally.

2. Describe the cognitive domain of the word “hand.” That is: what are the literal connections for “hand”? The sculptor Louise Bourgeois created an artwork, called “Helping Hands,” to celebrate the work of Jane Addams in Chicago. When asked what her sculpture meant, she said you just had to ask yourself what significance hands have for you.

3. What does “school” denote, and what are some of its connotations for you? What is another word that has many connotations for you?