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Dictionary:

diction

  (dĭk'shən) pronunciation
n.
  1. Choice and use of words in speech or writing.
  2. Degree of clarity and distinctness of pronunciation in speech or singing; enunciation.

[Middle English diccion, a saying, word, from Old French, from Latin dictiō, dictiōn-, rhetorical delivery, from dictus, past participle of dīcere, to say, speak.]

dictional dic'tion·al adj.
dictionally dic'tion·al·ly adv.
 
 
Thesaurus: diction

noun

    Choice of words and the way in which they are used: parlance, phrase, phraseology, phrasing, verbalism, wordage, wording. See words.

 

diction, the choice of words used in a literary work. A writer's diction may be characterized, for example, by archaism, or by Latinate or Anglo‐Saxon derivations; and it may be described according to the oppositions formal/colloquial, abstract/concrete, and literal/figurative. For the specific conventions of diction in poetry, see poetic diction.

 

The choice of words. Diction is effective when words are appropriate to an audience. A man might refer to his car as his “wheels” in casual conversation with a friend, but if he were writing an essay for a group of economists, he would write, “People base their decision to buy an automobile on the following considerations,” not “People base their decision to buy wheels on the following considerations.”

 

The choice of words, phrases, sentence structures, and figurative language in a literary work; the manner or mode of verbal expression, particularly with regard to clarity and accuracy.

 
Word Tutor: diction
pronunciation

IN BRIEF: Degree of clarity and distinctness of pronunciation in speech or singing; enunciation.

pronunciation The diction of everyday talk is different from the diction of a formal essay.

 
Wikipedia: diction

Diction, in its original, primary meaning, refers to the writer's or the speaker's distinctive vocabulary choices and style of expression. A secondary, common meaning of "diction" is better, and more precisely, expressed with the word enunciation — the art of speaking clearly so that each word is clearly heard and understood to its fullest complexity and extremity. This secondary sense concerns pronunciation and tone, rather than word choice and style.

Diction is divided into two types: Denotation is the literal meaning of a word. Conotation is the attitudes and feelings associated with a word.

Diction has multiple concerns; register — words being either formal or informal in social context — is foremost. Literary diction analysis reveals how a passage establishes tone and characterization, e.g. a preponderance of verbs relating physical movement suggests an active character, while a preponderance of verbs relating states of mind portrays an introspective character. Diction also has an impact upon word choice and syntax.

Diction is comprised of eight elements: Phoneme, Syllable, Conjunction, Connective, Noun, Verb, Inflection, and Utterance.

See also


 
Translations: Translations for: Diction

Dansk (Danish)
n. - diktion, udtryksmåde, ordvalg

Nederlands (Dutch)
dictie (wijze van zeggen)

Français (French)
n. - style, langage, élocution, diction

Deutsch (German)
n. - Wortwahl, Aussprache

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ορθοφωνία, ορθή άρθρωση, λεκτικό ύφος, φρασεολογία

Italiano (Italian)
dizione, stile

Português (Portuguese)
n. - dicção (f)

Русский (Russian)
стиль, дикция

Español (Spanish)
n. - dicción

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - sätt att uttrycka sig

中文(简体) (Chinese (Simplified))
措词, 用语, 发音法, 发音

中文(繁體) (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 措詞, 用語, 發音法, 發音

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 어법, 발성법

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 用語の選択配列, 言葉使い, 発声法

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) أسلوب كلام أو تصرف, عمليه انتقاء واستخدام الكلام‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮מיבטא, סגנון, דיקציה‬


 
 

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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Literary Dictionary. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Copyright © Chris Baldick 2001, 2004. All rights reserved.  Read more
Grammar Dictionary. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.  Read more
Poetry Glossary. Copyright © 2007, ILOVEPOETRY, Inc, All Rights Reserved.  Read more
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eSpindle provides personalized spelling and vocabulary tutoring online; free trial Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Diction" Read more
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