1. Diction PowerPoint Project Sam Andres, Trevor Blake, Michael Gethers, Grant Johnson, Bradley Ray, Alex Yragui Mr. Mooney – Period 3

2. Diction  Diction is the word choice and general character of the author’s language.  Words are chosen based on their  Appearance  Sound  Meaning

3. Mono vs. Polysyllabic  one syllable vs. multi syllable  The higher the ration of polysyllabic words, the more sophisticated and complex the content Polysyllabic Diction: “Wetlands-Challenged-Mutant” Monosyllabic Diction: “I ran to class”

4. Euphonious vs. Cacophonous  pleasant sounding vs. harsh sounding Euphonious Diction: The harmonious duet played a melodious verse. Cacophonous Diction: The honking, bellowing sound of the saxophone player made me cringe in disgust.

5. Literal vs. Figurative  accurate without embellishment vs. comparison creating pictorial effect Figurative Diction: “The emphasis was helped by the speaker’s hair, which bristled on the skirts of his bald head, a plantation of firs to keep the wind from its shining surface, all covered with knobs, like the crust of a plum pie.” From Hard Times, by Charles Dickens Literal Diction: The man’s bald head had only a few hairs on top of it.

6. Denotative vs. Connotative  exact meaning vs. suggested, emotional meaning Denotative My relative died many years ago. Connotative My relative passed away many years ago.

7. Objective vs. Subjective  impersonal, unemotional vs. personal, emotional Objective vs. Subjective: The football fans liked to win. Subjective The football fans would kill to win every single game of the season.

8. Active vs. Passive  states action vs. states being  Passive used when author wants to remain vague or to conceal information. Active Someone stole our friend’s boat last week Passive Our friend’s boat was stolen by someone last week.

9. Concrete vs. Abstract  specific, tangible vs. conceptual, philosophical Concrete He bought the most expensive car. Abstract Freedom

10. Hyperbole vs. Understated  deliberate exaggeration of facts vs. deliberate misrepresentation of less Hyperbole I am so hungry I could eat a horse. Understated I was just being nice. (after being complimented for helping)

11. Pedestrian vs. Pedantic  layman’s terms vs. boorish, inflated language attempting to display importance Pedestrian The rich man bought a nice car Pedantic - The prosperous entrepreneur purchased an upscale sports automobile. - “And all the time he was ruthlessly busy, liquidating kulaks, organizing collectives, building an armament industry, shifting reluctant millions from farm to factory” (Huxley 177).

12. Non-Standard  Lower-level language Non-standard “Called ‘em off on a snipe hunt…didn’t you e’er think a’that, Mr. Finch?” (Lee).

13. Vulgarity  Language deficient in taste and refinement; course, base Vulgarity “Great * * * * * * * time to be out for a stroll” (Lincoln and Preston).

14. Slang  Vernacular speech sometimes humorous, exaggerated, or shortened for effect Slang “If the White House gets zilched…” (Meltzer).

15. Colloquial  Regional, provincial; differs from formal language in connotation, pronunciation, usage  Accepted in informal Bobby (Police Officer in Britain)

16. Jargon  specific to a field or profession Jargon After math class each day, fractions, functions, graphs, radicals, and variables swirled and curved in her head like the graph of the sine of x.

17. Cliché  Language used so often it has lost its freshness and clarity  Figurative language without the freshness Cliché It is hard to believe that there are plenty more fish in the sea when you’re still single at age eighty-five.

18. Informal/Standard  Correct, but conversational  Often uses contractions Informal - “Hey Sam, how’s it going, I haven’t talked to you in a long time?” - “Well, it’s going pretty good, but I’ve got to go! See you later!”

19. Formal (literate)  Appropriate for more formal occasions, often more abstract. Formal Whilst one is writing a formal composition, personal pronouns such as “I” ought to not be utilized.

20. Assonance  Repetition of similar vowel sound in closely associated words Assonance The street looked neat.

21. Consonance  Repetition of similar consonant sound in closely associated words  Half-rhyme Consonance While she slept, he crept up to the door.

22. Alliteration  Repetition of initial consonant sound in closely associated words Alliteration “…Thomas Gradgrind now presented Thomas Gradgrind to the little pitchers before him, who were to be filled so full of facts” (Dickens 2).

23. Onomatopoeia  Words whose pronunciation suggests meaning Onomatopoeia She slapped the computer desk in frustration and it got a huge crack in it.

24. Works Cited Child, Lincoln and Preston, Douglas. Brimstone. New York: Warner Books, 2005. Dickens, Charles. Hard Times. New York: Dell Publishing Group Inc, 1981. Huxley, Aldous. Island. New York: Harper and Row Inc, 1962. Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Warner Books, 1960. Meltzer, Brad. The Zero Game. New York: Warner Books, 2004