DICTION

What’s the difference between these 2 descriptions and what do they have in common? ■For Rent: This tiny, old place has bland-painted walls and a cement pad for the backyard. Cheap place that needs lots of work. ■For Rent: This cozy, vintage home has neutral-toned walls and an-easy-to-care-for yard. Bargain-priced fixer-upper!

Writing about diction ■We often rely on an oversimplification of diction when we write about it. –Ex: The diction is positive, negative, or neutral. ■We need to look at the connotation and denotation. –What is the dictionary definition? –What are the emotions or ideas associated with the word? ■We need to look at if it is formal or informal. –This allows us to see the purpose or audience. ■We need to look at if it is abstract or concrete. –The concrete allows us to picture what is written. –Abstract allows us to know what cannot see. ■Most importantly we need to explain how all of these things affect the meaning of the piece.

How to unpack meaning ■Step 1 identify denotation- what is the basic meaning? –Ex. Home= location in which one lives ■Step 2 determine connotations- what ideas does the word evoke? What associations do you think of? What connections do you make? What does the word remind you of? –Ex. Home= family and loved ones. Where one feels the most comfortable and accepted “Where the heart is.”

The following sentences all describe the same thing, but have different connotations. Explain. ■The roses adorned the trellis. –The word adorned emphasizes the decorative function of the roses, their beauty and arrangement on the trellis. ■The roses strangled the trellis. –The word strangled suggests a negative quality in the roses’ growth, an overtaking of the trellis.

■She was a compulsive reader. –The word compulsive suggests an addiction to reading that is negative. Perhaps she reads to avoid responsibilities or problems. ■She was a perceptive reader. –Clearly, perceptive is a compliment; it suggests the reader exhibits deep understanding of what she reads.

■The children were sleepy. –The word sleepy suggests normal, end-of-the-day drowsiness. ■The children were weary. –The word weary suggests extraordinary tiredness, usually produced by a taxing activity or circumstances that have occurred for an extended time.

So what? ■When reading, look at diction to fully unpack the writer’s meaning. Why this word or that one? What connotations are loaded in the language? ■When writing, use precise language to evoke the concepts, feelings and exact meaning you want.