Diction 371826 215614650 2008-05-28T23:26:42Z Bongwarrior 1879566 restored lead, removed redlinked "see also" '''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. Connotation is the attitudes and feelings associated with a word. Diction has multiple concerns; register — words being either [[formality|formal]] or [[colloquialism|informal]] in 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. Diction comprises eight elements: [[Phoneme]], [[Syllable]], [[Grammatical conjunction|Conjunction]], [[Connective]], [[Noun]], [[Verb]], [[Inflection]], and [[Utterance]]. ==See also== *[[Orthoepeia]] *[[Elocution]] *[[Register (linguistics)]] *[[Action (philosophy)]] [[Category:Phonetics]] [[Category:Poetry]] [[Category:Style (fiction)]] {{phonetics-stub}} [[de:Diktion]] [[fr:Diction]] [[it:Dizione]] [[ru:Дикция]] [[tr:Diksiyon]]