Diction is the choice of words and language personality based on context and purpose. There are no correct rules, but guidelines suggest concrete and sensory words, specificity, and avoiding adjectives and adverbs. In poetry, word order and choice shape tone and complexity.
Diction is the words chosen and the personality of the language to be used in relation to the context of the situation. It is generally accepted that there is no correct diction, as it depends on the situation, context and purpose of the language. The adequacy of a word and its efficiency are usually based on what the word actually looks like, how it sounds, and what it means. Each word imparts its own character, which can shape the sentence.
When speaking, a person may find that while they want to convey the same meaning to different people, a different type of phrasing is more appropriate for each audience. For more professional environments, factual and objective words may be preferable, while more emotional and subjective words are more suitable when talking to friends and family. When giving a speech, deliberately exaggerating or under-exaggerating a point with word choice can have a profound effect. Children may prefer people to use more illustrative and sensory words. Often, in prose and novels, different types of diction may be used to convey different types of personalities for each character.
While the general belief is that there is no wrong diction, many people believe that there are guidelines that should be followed to choose the best word. Abstract and long vocabulary words are usually unnecessary and concrete and sensory words are more attractive. Words that are specific to the topic are almost always available. For example, instead of “John walked into the school,” the sentence “John limped into Washington High School” is more preferable. The use of adjectives and adverbs is usually inefficient. For example, saying “Sally strode down the street confidently and proudly” doesn’t work the same way as saying “Sally strutted down the street.”
In poetry, diction regards not only word choice but also word order as important in setting the tone and layers within the poem. The exact words used in a poem can also shape the mood and complexity of the poem. Some elements are added or left out on purpose and placed in certain orders to convey the exact meaning and tone. With poetry, the use of specific or concrete words and phrases is not so important. In fact, many poets spend a great deal of their time researching and choosing the right words and word order before actually starting to write.
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