Diction
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Diction, in its original and primary meaning, is the term for a writer or speaker's distinctive choices in vocabulary and style of expression. A secondary, commonly used meaning of diction would be better and more precisely expressed by the word enunciation, the art of speaking with clarity, or in such a way that each word is clearly heard. This secondary sense is concerned with pronunciation and tone, rather than the choice of words or style.
Diction's concerns with word choice are multiple. Register, or whether words belong to a formal or informal social context, is a large part of it. Analysis of diction in literature reveals much about how a passage establishes tone and characterization. For example, a preponderance of verbs related to physical movement in a story suggests a character who is active while a preponderance of verbs related to states of mind helps to portray a character's introspection.
[edit] Etymology
1542, from Late Latin dictionem, from Latin "a saying, expression, word," from dic-, stem of dicere "speak, tell, say," related to dicare "proclaim, dedicate," from Proto-Indo-European base deik- "to point out." The word dictionary is derived from this definition of the word.
[edit] See also
 |
This phonetics article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
