Iv - University of Salford Institutional Repository

apprehension, repulsiveness, or disgust. As far as meaning is
concerned, connotative overtones fall into three main groups: (1)
those generated by the name; (2) those connected with the sense;
and (3) those which relate to the register. The associations,
pleasant or unpleasant, which are invoked by certain words often
emerge from the phonetic - acoustic as well as atriculatory-
structure of the word. Words like 'ghost', 'ghoul' and 'slimy'
bear unpleasant overtones. In words where form and sense are
indissolubly interlocked and automatically recall one another, such
overtones are less common. Connotative overtones connected with
the sense of a word are too many. Some overtones are confined to a
special context or situation. These are called situational or
contextual overtones such as 'inferno', 'abyss', 'paradise' in
religious contexts. Others are personal or idiosyncratic such as
the overtones associated with register-determinant words. More
general overtones cluster around vogue but short-lived slogans such
as 'escalation', 'confrontation', 'mawkish', 'lobbying', etc. The
fact that in some words the form recalls the sense (onomatopoeia)
augments their expressive force. Evocative overtones arise from
register-specific words. They can also arise from linguistic
differences in space (regional, dialectical, foreign elements) or
in time (archaisms, neologisms), and various other factors. The
connotative overtones of words can also be heightened by recourse
to lexical, grammatical and phonological devices. Stephen Ullman,
in his article on 'Stylistics and Semantics' (see 'Literary Style:
A Symposium', 1971, pp133-150), lists "such hyperbolical
149