Denotation Theory - argues that meanings are found in the world. Says that a meaningful word is one that stands for something but a meaningless word doesn't stand for anything. E.g. Germany means something because it stands for a country in Europe. 'Scruttafible' does not stand for anything and is therefore meaningless.
It would therefore follow that if language refers to something in the world, language must be closely connected with sense perception and observation
Criticisms of this theory
Abstract words, such as 'love' do not correspond to any particular thing, and although you could give examples of love, you could not point to love itself.
Words often have more than just the primary meaning; they often have connotations too. E.g. 'red' is a colour but can also have negative or positive connotations. In India and China, it is the bridal colour, yet in other cultures, it is associated with danger.