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The Type of Associative Meaning Employed

in The Twelve Days of Christmas


by Leilani M. Ibay

Associative

Meaning

refers

to

the

particular

qualities

or

characteristics

beyond denotative meaning that people commonly think of (correctly or incorrectly) in relation
to a word or phrase (Nordquist, 2016). Associative meaning is based on the associationist theory
of psychology. It refers to mental corrections that arise when referential meaning comes to mind.
As the referential meaning may arouse different mental connections, associative meaning can be
further classified (Types of associative meaning, n.d.).
In his book entitled Semantics: The Study of Meaning , British linguist Geoffrey Leech
(1981) introduced the term associative meaning to refer to the various types of meaning that are
distinct from denotation (or conceptual meaning): connotative, thematic, social, affective,
reflective, and collocative.
Connotative meaning is the communicative value an expression has by virtue of what it
refers to (Leech, 1981, p 12). It embraces the properties of the referent and is, therefore,
peripheral (Types of, n.d.).
Thematic meaning concerns itself with how the order of words spoken affects the
meaning that is entailed (Mwihaki, 2004).
Social meaning (sometimes termed stylistic meaning) is what is conveyed about the
social circumstances of the use of a linguistic expression, including regional or/and social
overtones and formality (Types of, n.d.).

Affective meaning is what is communicated of the feeling or attitude of the


speaker/writer toward what is referred to. Statesman is commending in sense while politician is
derogatory (Ibid.).
Reflective meaning is what is communicated through association with another sense of
the same expression. In order to avoid reflected meaning some expressions are deliberately
replaced by others (Ibid.).
Collocative meaning is the associated meaning a word acquires in line with the meaning
of words which tend to co-occur with it (Ibid.).
Given these notions, several elements of the song Twelve Days of Christmas have been
subjected to analysis to determine the hidden meaning and the type of association used in the
meaning-making process. The summary is shown in Table 1 below.
Table 1 Type of Association used in the Hidden Meaning of the Lexical Items
Lexical Item
Hidden Meaning
Type of Association
true love
God (as the savior of mankind)
Connotative Meaning
partridge in a pear tree
Jesus Christ who died on a tree
Connotative Meaning
two turtle doves
the Old and New Testaments
Connotative Meaning
three French hens
the three gifts of the Spirit that abide Connotative Meaning
faith, hope, and love
four calling birds
the four Gospels which sing the song of
Connotative Meaning
salvation through Jesus Christ
five golden rings
the first five books of the Bible also
Connotative Meaning
called the Books of Moses
six geese a-laying
the six days of creation
Connotative Meaning
seven swans a swimming
the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit
Connotative Meaning
eight maids a milking
the eight beatitudes
Connotative Meaning
nine ladies dancing
the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit
Connotative Meaning
ten lords a-leaping
the Ten Commandments
Connotative Meaning
eleven pipers piping
the eleven faithful disciples
Connotative Meaning
twelve drummers
the twelve points of the Apostles' Creed
Connotative Meaning
drumming

That the associative meaning employed in all of the foregoing examples subscribe to the
principles of connotation should not come as surprising since the semantic analyses on the matter
all point to a historical reference. It has been suggested The Twelve Days of Christmas lyrics
were intended as a catechism song to help young Catholics learn their faith, at those times when
practicing Catholicism was criminal act (McKellar, 1994; David, 2011; Scott, 2013; Gilhooley,
1987; Gilhooley, 1992). The association of meaning therefore exists within the periphery of
religion and faith.
At any rate, awareness of the existence of these types of associative meaning is important
in the correct use of words. In writing and translation, knowledge of associative meaning directly
affects communication. Whether the communicator means to be polite or rude, formal or
informal, directly determines the choice of words. And the appropriate use of a word is based on
the mastery of all types of meaning.

References:
David, E. (2011). The Twelve Days of Christmas. Retrieved on April 22, 2016 at 10:32pm from About.com
Gilhooley, J. (1987). Letter to the Editor: True Love Revealed. Retrieved April 22, 2016 from nytimes.com.
Gilhooley, J. (1992). Those Wily Jesuits: If you think The Twelve Days of Christmas'is just a song, think again.
Our Sunday Visitor, 81(34), 20-23.
Leech, G.N. (1981). Semantics: The Study of Meaning. London: Penguin Books.
McKellar, H.D. (1994). The Twelve Days of Christmas. The Hymn 45, 4.
Mwihaki, Alice. (2004). Associative Meaning. In Wikipedia. Retrieved on May 17, 2016 from
Nordquist,

R.

(2016).

Associative

meaning.

Retrieved

on

May

16,

2016

from

http://grammar.about.com/od/ab/g/Associative-Meaning.htm
Scott, R. (2013). What Are the Twelve Days of Christmas? Myths and Reality. Retrieved on April 22, 2016 at
11:02pm from About.com..
Types

of
associative
meaning.
(n.d.).
Retrieved
on
May
17,
2016
http://media.openonline.com.cn/media_file/rm/dongshi2004/yyyyxgl/CHAPTER6/chapter6-3-2.htm

from

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