Masterclass International School - Business English Writing: Grammar, exercises and vocabulary for business communication. Increase the skills to write and speak at work. Guide for managers and leaders.

When studying a language, especially at an advanced level, it is necessary to consider words from a new perspective, a broader viewpoint with regard to the following aspects: basic meaning, polysemy, synonymy, collocation, connotation and register as well as the geographical variety of the language, e.g. British English, American English, etc.

Every word has a basic meaning, so if we were to analyse a sentence such as Along with our customers, the main asset of the company is that we are a highly motivated, committed and capable force and we didnt understand the meaning of a word, of course we could look it up in a dictionary where we could find the explanation. Let us suppose that the unknown word is asset; the dictionary would give the following definition: anything valuable or useful (English), or another word with a similar meaning: possession (English).

This is the basic meaning of the word, but more often than not words can have other meanings, and this is what we call polysemy. A polysemous word has multiple meanings, just like the word asset which also means stock (2), advantage (3), resource (4). The meaning (1) is often found in the plural form assets, that is any property owned by a person or firm (English). This is just an example of how many different meanings words can have and this is true for other lexical items in the sentence we have taken into consideration. Of course, the context is often helpful in understanding the word when spoken or in a piece of writing.

Another characteristic of words is synonymy. Synonyms are words with a very similar but slightly differing meaning. For example, the word customer has some synonyms in client, patron, consumer, shopper, buyer, user. Sometimes these words are interchangeable, so you can decide to use one or another, but this is not always true. While customer and client are now very similar someone who buys products or services - the word patron is mostly used for habitual customers of bars and restaurants. But in spite of the fact that the word customer can always replace the word patron, the opposite is not true.

Another typical aspect of words is that they are often accompanied by a fixed set of words, so they are used with each other more frequently. Collocations are common word combinations. For example the adjective motivated is often accompanied by extremely, highly, strongly, very, well. This is the reason why new vocabulary should not be learned as an isolated part of the language, but together with the word with which it is associated.

Connotation has to do with the associations that are linked to a certain word, the emotional aspect that word evokes, which opposes the literal meaning of the word, called denotation or the dictionary definition. For example, the word rose refers to a specific type of flower, but symbolically it can recall love and passion. Another example may be given by adjectives. If you wish to describe someone as refusing to comply or agree, which of the following adjectives would you use? stubborn, unyielding, headstrong, obstinate, dogged, resolute, adamant, pertinacious, pig-headed, persistent, unwavering, resolute, firm. And which of the above adjectives would you use to define someone who has determination or strength? Be careful! Words may have a similar denotation but a different connotation.