Diction is simply your choice of words. There is no single, correct diction in the English language; rather, different words or phrases are used in different contexts, as in the following example:
| When communicating with … | You might use the word … |
|---|---|
| an employer | oversight |
| the police | accident |
| a child | mistake |
| a friend | screw-up |
All of these words mean the same thing—that is, they have the same denotation—but you would not use them interchangeably: a police officer or employer could interpret screw-up as an insult, while your friends at the bar after a hockey game might think oversight is pretentious.
This module explains when to avoid catchphrases and describes the difference between connotation and denotation.
The details
Copyright notice for HyperGrammar 2
© Department of English, Faculty of Arts, University of Ottawa
A tool made available online by the Translation Bureau, Public Services and Procurement Canada
Search by related themes
Want to learn more about a theme discussed on this page? Click on a link below to see all the pages on the Language Portal of Canada that relate to the theme you selected. The search results will be displayed in Language Navigator.
Related links
- HyperGrammar 2 (home page)
- Writing tools
- Language Navigator (for fast access to language tips)
- TERMIUM Plus®
- Contact the Language Portal of Canada