Diction & Etymology, Denotation & Connotation
Persuasion and argumentation depend, of course, on language—the vehicle for idea generation,
thought transmission, and belief promotion.
But in order to persuade, the language has to effective—clear, meaningful, appropriate.
Diction is the term we use to describe word choice. Problem: lots of words from which to choose.
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED)
Basically, the mother of all dictionaries, the dictionary from whence cometh all others. It offers word
histories and origins—or etymologies.
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English
language. It’s an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of 600,000 words— past
and present—from across the English-speaking world.
As a historical dictionary, the OED is very different from those of current English, in which the focus is on
present-day meanings. You’ll still find these in the OED, but you'll also find the history of individual
words, and of the language—traced through 3 million quotations, from classic literature and specialist
periodicals to films scripts and cookbooks.
The OED originated more than 150 years ago. Today, the dictionary is in the process of its first major
revision. Updates revise and extend the OED at regular intervals, each time subtly adjusting our image of
the English language.
http://www.oed.com.byui.idm.oclc.org/view/Entry/122273
To Diction and Beyond . . .
Obviously, many words have differing definitions—some glaring, others more subtle. Even synonyms
aren’t exactly, well . . . exact—they can have itty bitty nuances of distinction. There are very few
perfectly interchangeable synonyms in the English language.
And our language is continually expanding as we adopt or create new words. In contrast, the French
language, and its guardians, generally resist this tendency.
music player = baladeur
Plus, words evolve: some meanings fade away, other meanings come into being. The study of word
origin/history is called etymology.
To complicate matters, many words have denotative and connotative differences in meaning. Rhetoric
takes advantage of both, although most rhetoricians agree that connotation is the more powerful and
persuasive of the two.
Denotation—refers to the direct relationship between a term and the object, idea, or action it
designates. Denotation = rational, objective, literal, intellectual, or cognitive meaning; a word’s explicit
meaning.
Connotation—refers to the emotive, affective, or associational aspect of a term, the commonly
understood subjective, cultural “baggage” that it carries.
A connotation is frequently described as either positive or negative, with regard to its pleasing or
displeasing emotional connection. For example, a stubborn person may be described as being either
strong-willed or pig-headed; although these have the same literal meaning (stubborn), strong-willed
connotes admiration for the level of someone’s will (a positive connotation), while pig-headed connotes
frustration in dealing with someone (a negative connotation).
Dictionaries and thesauruses generally exclude references to connotative meaning; such is “not their
job.”
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Assume Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns, gives Jean Armour (his wife) a Hallmark card, which
reads:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGoNb9JUhVo
The denotation of this example would be a red rose with a green stem. Jean would not interpret the
poem’s primary metaphor as “my love is like ‘any of the wild or cultivated, usually prickly-stemmed,
pinnate-leaved, showy-flowered shrubs of the genus rosa.’”
She’d get the connotation, that the rose is a symbol of passion and love – this is what the rose
represents.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Euphemisms are agreed upon connotations, ways of softening certain words or phrases that otherwise
sound or fell harsh.
Consider the following:
“bereft of life”
“dearly departed”
“deceased”
“no longer with us”
“passed away”
“resting in peace”
“in a better world”
“God took him”
“gone home”
“biting the biscuit”
“game over”
“in the bone zone”
“in the crisper”
“flatlined”
“bought the pine condo”
“reformatted”
“kicked the oxygen habit”
“tends toward a state of chemical equilibrium”
All of this adds up to endless options when it comes to diction.
number of words
+
multiple definitions
+ continuous expansion
+
constant evolution
+
varied connotation
_____________________
=
Still . . .
“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning
and a lightning bug.” —Mark Twain
Stupid lasts forever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_neu5UcGU3I
Jack Kennedy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQ5CIkSlUFI
Jaws—the Indianapolis speech.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9S41Kplsbs
Maggie Smith Poem Recitation (Union Bank Switzerland)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhg2OtLO-qA
Wesley & Buttercup
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGZalfcrwSU
“The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all.”