It means what? Nuances and Connotations of Words

One of the biggest issues I have noticed in editing for English-as-a-Second-Language writers (ESLs) is that they like to demonstrate the size of their English vocabulary. The range can be quite impressive. However, all too often the synonym they use has nuances or connotations that are not appropriate for a scientific manuscript. Let me tell you what I mean by nuance and connotation; they are not the same.

By nuance I generally mean the degree of meaning. For example, important and significant are synonyms. However, in a scientific manuscript, important has a generic nuance, sort of like telling the reader that whatever is being discussed should be remembered if possible, but forgetting it will not be a big deal. Its tone (yes, words have tone, but that is for another blog) is a bit ho-hum, so I tend to change it to something else when I edit, like critical or key. Significant, on the other hand, has both a nuance and a connotation. That is because in science it is tied to statistical measures. Its nuance is one of a particularly high degree of pay-attention-to-this. However, its connotation limits its use. Again, critical or key are better alternatives.

That brings us to connotation. Words have connotations when they have been linked to particular contexts. Thus, because significant has been linked to statistics, its connotation is one where the reader expects some sort of measurement to justify its use. This is particularly true for scientific manuscripts. It is not that significant cannot be used outside a statistical context, but rather the textual context must be such that statistics would not be expected by the reader.

Connotation can also come from cultural usage. These are much harder for ESLs to sort out, and the connotation landscape is constantly changing. While science is immune to much of the cultural baggage associated with some words, I have noticed that at least one is regularly used without understanding its cultural connotation. The word is plausible. It is a synonym for possible. Unfortunately, it has become part of the phrase ‘plausible deniability’. The phrase has a distinct negative connotation, primarily that someone is knowingly hiding the truth for political or personal gain. Deliberately hiding the truth is equivalent to falsifying data and is not something tolerated by science. I tend to substitute possible or probable, though probable has the same connotation issue as significant. Likely is another synonym, but it has an informal nuance that makes me favor possible when I edit.