Words mean things
A simple proposition with much complexity: Words mean things. Well, of course they do, otherwise we’d use some other method of communicating. Interpretive dance, perhaps.
When you write or speak, keep in mind that a word’s meaning can be a complex thing because it can have at least two layers of meaning: denotation and connotation.
Denotation is " the most specific or literal meaning of a word." It’s what you find when you look it up in the dictionary. Connotation, on the other hand, is "an additional sense or senses associated with or suggested by a word or phrase." (Source: Encarta Dictionary.) A word’s meaning in both the denotative and connotative sense can shift over time, but the connotations of a word can change far more rapidly, as illustrated by the saga of that simple four-letter word, suck.
Bottom line: know your audience. A term might be fine for one but inflammatory for another. Computer programmers have no problem talking about aborting a process, but you could easilly annoy some people if you use the word abort carelessly in other contexts. When in doubt, leave it out.
Roy Jacobsen
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