Editing Diction

{{short description|Distinctive vocabulary choices}}
'''Diction''' ({{langx|la|dictionem}} (nom. {{lang|la|dictio}}), "a saying, expression, word"),<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=Diction&searchmode=none "Diction"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110915232638/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=Diction&searchmode=none |date=2011-09-15 }}, ''[[Online Etymology Dictionary]]''</ref> in its original meaning, is a writer's or speaker's distinctive [[vocabulary]] choices and style of expression in a piece of writing such as a poem or story.<ref>{{Cite dictionary |title=diction |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diction |encyclopedia=Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary |location=Springfield, Mass. |publisher=Merriam-Webster |access-date=24 March 2020}}</ref><ref name="Crannell97p406">Crannell (1997) ''Glossary'', p. 406</ref> In its common meaning, it is the distinctiveness of [[speech]]:<ref name="Crannell97p406" /><ref>''Littré - Diction''.</ref><ref>Georges Le Roy, ''Traité pratique de la diction française'', 1911.</ref> the art of speaking so that each word is clearly heard and understood to its fullest complexity and extremity, and concerns [[pronunciation]] and tone, rather than word choice and style. This is more precisely and commonly expressed with the term [[enunciation]] or with its synonym, [[Manner of articulation|articulation]].<ref name="Crannell97p84">Crannell (1997) Part II, Speech, p. 84</ref>

Diction has multiple concerns, of which [[register (sociolinguistics)|register]], the adaptation of style and formality to the social context, is foremost. Literary diction analysis reveals how a passage establishes [[setting tone|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.

[[Aristotle]], in ''[[Poetics (Aristotle)|The Poetics]]'' (20), defines the parts of diction ({{wikt-lang|grc|λέξις}})<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Cambridge Greek Lexicon |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2021 |isbn=978110-8836982 |pages=865}}</ref> as the [[Letter (alphabet)|letter]], the [[syllable]], the [[Grammatical conjunction|conjunction]], the [[Article (grammar)|article]], the [[noun]], the [[verb]], the [[Case (grammar)|case]], and the speech ({{wikt-lang|grc|λόγος}}),<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Complete Works of Aristotle: The Revised Oxford Translation |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1984 |editor-last=Barnes |editor-first=Jonathan |volume=2 |pages=2331}}</ref> though one commentator remarks that "the text is so confused and some of the words have such a variety of meanings that one cannot always be certain what the Greek says, much less what Aristotle means."<ref>{{Cite book
 |title       = The Poetics of Aristotle: A translation and Commentary
 |author      = Preston H. Epps.
 |url         = http://www.w3.org/TR/xlink/
 |publisher   = Univ. of North Carolina Press
 |date        = 1967
 |isbn        = 978-0807840177
 |url-status     = live
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20040607130553/http://www.w3.org/TR/xlink/
 |archive-date = 2004-06-07
}}</ref>
==In literature==
Diction is usually judged in reference to the prevailing standards of proper writing and speech and is seen as the mark of quality of the writing. It is also understood as the selection of certain words or phrases that become peculiar to a writer or character.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/wlf/what-diction-literature-definition-examples |title=What is Diction in Literature? |website=Oregon State Guide to Literary Terms|date=5 November 2024 }}</ref>

;Example<nowiki>:</nowiki>

<blockquote>Certain writers in the modern day and age use archaic terms such as "thy", "thee", and "wherefore" to imbue a Shakespearean mood to their work.</blockquote>

Forms of diction include: archaic diction (diction that is antique, that is rarely used), high diction (lofty sounding language), and low diction (everyday language). Each of these forms is meant to enhance the meaning or artistry of an author's work.

==See also==
{{Div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Action (philosophy)]]
* [[Description]]
* [[Elocution]]
* [[Greeting]]
* [[Orthoepy]]
* [[Poetic diction]]
* [[Register (sociolinguistics)]]
* [[Speech production]]
* [[Vocal pedagogy]]
{{div col end}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}

=== General sources ===
* {{cite book |last=Crannell |first=Kenneth C. |year=1999 |orig-year=1997 |title=Voice and Articulation |edition=3rd |location=Belmont |publisher=Wadsworth Publishing Company |isbn=9780534508999 |oclc=34640688}} {{Google books|al4fAQAAIAAJ|Voice and Articulation}} (preview of 1997 edition)
* {{Cite web |title=diction |url=http://literary-devices.com/content/diction |publisher=Literary-Devices.com |access-date=24 March 2020}}

==External links==
{{wiktionary}}
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20161104024205/http://www.poetandknowit.com/english-definitions/diction-examples.aspx Examples of diction in poetry]}}
* [https://www.gnu.org/software/diction/ Style and Diction]—free software by the [[GNU Project]]
* [https://www.diction.se/ Diction Översättningsbyrå]

{{Fiction writing}}

[[Category:Descriptive technique]]
[[Category:Phonetics]]
[[Category:Poetics]]
[[Category:Style (fiction)]]