DICTION charged in such a context. More positive would be "a stout [or plump] man with rosy cheeks." Levels of Usage Levels of usage refers to the kind of situation in which a word is normally used. Most words suit all occasions. Some, how- ever, are restricted to formal, literary contexts, and others to informal, colloquial ones. Consider three verbs which roughly mean the same thing: exacerbate, annoy, bug. Talking among your friends, you would not be likely to say, "That person really exacerbated me." On the other hand, describing a historical episode you wouldn't (or shouldn't) write, "The Spartan demands bugged the Athenians." But you could use annoy on both occasions, without arousing derision in either friends or readers of your work. The three words differ considerably in their levels of usage. Exacerbate is a literary word, appropriate to formal occasions. Bug (in this sense) is a colloquial, even slang, term appropriate to speech and very informal writing. Annoy is an all-purpose word, suitable for any occasion. When in the next chapter we discuss the practical problem of appropriateness, we shall use the labels formal, and general to distinguish these broad levels of usage. From the more theoretical viewpoint we are taking here, we may think of level of usage as a peripheral part of a word's connotation. As with connotation in general, it is not easy to look up the level of usage of any particular word. Dictionaries label an occasional term "colloquial" or "slang," but not in every case; and they do not label formal words like exacerbate at all. You have to depend on your own knowledge as a guide. In recent years the line between formal and informal usage has blurred considerably (though not enough for Spartans to bug Athenians). The distinction still exists, however, and careful writers pay attention to it. For more material and information, please visit www.tailieuduhoc.org MEANING of Meaning Finally, we shall discuss the point with which we purpose a word is chosen to serve. This aspect we shall call the "telic mode" of meaning, from the Greek word meaning "end," and the Latin modus, meaning "manner." Though the phrase sounds forbidding, it is a useful brief label for an obvious but important fact: that part of a word's mean- ing is the purpose it is expected to fulfill, and that words may serve different purposes. To get a bit further into this matter it will help to look at a well-known diagram called the "communication triangle": The diagram simply clarifies the fact that any act of com- munication involves three things: someone who communi- cates (for our purposes, a writer); something the communi- cation is about (the topic); and someone to whom the communication is made (the reader). The broken lines join- ing these elements indicate an indirect relationship between them. It is indirect because it must be mediated by words. Di- rectly, each corner of the triangle connects only to words. The writer selects them, the reader interprets them, and the topic is expressed by them. Words thus occupy a central, essential, mediating position in the triangle: For more material and information, please visit www.tailieuduhoc.org DICTION In selecting his or her words, a writer may be concerned primarily with any of the three areas of the triangle: writer- topic, writer-reader, or These areas correspond to the three modes" of meaning. We shall call them respectively: "referential," "interpersonal," and "directive." The Referential Mode Referential meaning connects writer and topic. In this mode the writer chooses words the exactness and economy with which they signify, or refer to, what he or she observes, knows, thinks, short, what is in his or her mind. Most writing involves chiefly this mode of meaning. Here are three examples: For more material and information, please visit www.tailieuduhoc.org MEANING Mary [Queen of Scots] had returned to Scotland in a young widow of nineteen, after an absence of thirteen years in France. . D. Harris Willson The principle of verification is supposed to furnish a criterion by which it can be determined whether or not a sentence is literally Alfred Jules Ayer Calculus is a lousy subject. student In all these cases the writers select words for their refer- ential value, to make clear what is in their minds. The histo- rian, aiming to be factually accurate, and the philosopher, aiming to be conceptually exact, chose diction on the basis of denotation: "in 1561," "a young widow of nineteen," "veri- "criterion." The student, expressing how he feels, selects "lousy" for its connotation; and while it would be more difficult to unravel all the implications of "lousy" than to explain the meanings of "widow" or "criterion," the word is exactly right. In each case, of course, the diction will affect readers' at- titudes toward both subject and writer, and to that degree the words will operate in the interpretive and interpersonal modes. Ayer's abstract diction may well bore people unin- terested in philosophy, for instance. A mathematician, de- pending on his sense of humor, might be amused or annoyed by the student's characterization of calculus. But although such spillover effects are very real, the fact remains that in all these examples the diction aims at referential accuracy and operates primarily in that mode of meaning. The Interpersonal Mode We choose words chiefly for their referential meanings. Those words, however, will also affect the link between readers and you. It follows that you should select even referential diction with an eye on the reader. You must consider what readers know and do not know, how they resemble you and how For more material and information, please visit www.tailieuduhoc.org DICTION they differ, what degree of formality or informality you wish to establish with them. Such considerations may lead you, for example, to look for an easier word even though it is a bit less exact than a technical term. But beyond showing a general concern for readers in choosing the words with which you discuss your topic, you may also wish occasionally to include words that will directly affect the attitude toward you. Now you are in the interpersonal mode of meaning. First, certain expressions create a favorable image of your- self. Inevitably you exist in your you wish to or an unseen presence, a hidden voice of which readers are aware, sometimes dimly, sometimes with acute consciousness, and which we call the persona (see page 58). Since a persona is inevitable, you had better strive for an at- tractive one. Modesty, for instance, is generally a virtue in a writer. An occasional expression like I think, it seems to me, to my mind suggests to readers that here is a modest writer, undogmatic, aware of his or her fallibility. The following pas- sages illustrate such interpersonal diction (the italics are added): What, then, can one learn from [Samuel] Johnson in general? First, think, the inestimable value of individuality. F. L. Lucas Whether this of traffic will cause a great or a small loss of national income is, / am told, a point on which expert econ- omists are not agreed. Max That this is so can hardly be proved, but it is, / should claim, a fact. J. L. Austin Such personal disclaimers are not always a virtue. At times modesty may strike a note that is weak or false. At times a subject may demand an impersonal point of view, making the use of /, my, me impossible. Even when modesty is called for and a personal point of view is possible, a few I thinks and in my opinions go a long way. Used in every second or third For more material and information, please visit www.tailieuduhoc.org MEANING sentence they may well draw too much attention and annoy the reader. Still, occasionally acknowledging your limitations is one way of creating a favorable impression upon readers. Beyond suggesting a nonassertive persona, you can also use words in the interpersonal mode which gra- ciously acknowledge your readers' presence. Without being insincere or obsequious you can draw readers into your ex- position so that they seem to share more directly in your ideas and feelings. The judicious use of we, our, us, for instance, implies a common ground of knowledge and values, subtly flattering to readers (again, in the examples that follow italics are added): Let us define a plot. E. M. Forster No doubt, if one has more than one self (like most of us), it had better be one's better self that one tries to become. F. L. Lucas When we look more closely at this craft of philosophic expression, we find to our relief that it is less exacting than the art of the true man of letters. Brand Blanshard Any words, then, that refer to the writer in the role of writer or to the reader in the role of reader operate in the interpersonal mode of meaning. To the degree that such words create an attractive image of the former and graciously acknowledge the latter, they will add to the effectiveness of any piece of writing. In exposition, however, such diction, while important, necessarily remains infrequent. The Directive Mode of Meaning The last of the three modes of meaning relates to the reader- topic side of the communication triangle. Here you select words primarily for their value in assisting readers to under- stand or feel about the topic. Understanding and feeling are quite different responses: the a function of intelligence, the other of emotion. Words concerned with facilitating For more material and information, please visit www.tailieuduhoc.org 258 DICTION understanding we shall call constructive word in- tended to evoke emotion, emotive diction. Constructive diction includes the various connectives and signposts which clarify the organization of a composition and the flow of its ideas: however, even so, on the other hand, for example, in the next chapter, and so on. While such words and phrases indicate real connections within the topic, their essential function is to help readers follow the construction of thought. How much constructive diction you include in a compo- sition depends both upon the amount of help you think read- ers need and upon your own preferences for spelling out log- ical relationships or leaving them implicit. You can overuse such diction, boring or even annoying readers with too many howevers and there/ores. Most people, however, are more likely to err on the other side, giving readers too little help. The other kind of interpretive diction aims at feeling. In emotive diction, connotations play a major role, especially those carrying strong negative or positive charges. Examples in advertising copy. The word Brut on a man's co- logne tells us nothing referential, nothing about the product. Brut aims at our emotions. Cleverly combining strong macho connotations with others of sophistication and elegance, the name is intended to overcome masculine resistance to toilet- ries as "sissy" (or perhaps to appeal to women, who buy most of these products for their men).3 Emotionally loaded diction is also the stock-in-trade of the political propagandist. The Marxist who writes of "the bour- geois lust for personal liberty" uses bourgeois (a leftist sneer word for all things pertaining to capitalism) and lust for their capacity to arouse disapproval in a socialist audience. Simi- larly the conservative who complains of "pinko liberals in Washington" employs rightist sneer words. Diction may also 3. The sophistication and elegance from the French word ing "dry, appears on fine champagne labels. The macho connotation follows from the fact that brut is pronounced "brute." For more material and information, please visit www.tailieuduhoc.org MEANING be loaded positively, calling forth feelings of affection and approval: "grass-roots Americanism," "old-fashioned flavor," "an ancient and glorious tradition." There is nothing wrong in trying to arouse the emotions of readers. It is the purpose for which the emotion is evoked that may be reprehensible, or admirable. The devil's advocate uses loaded diction, and so do the angels. Many words operate in both the referential and directive modes simultaneously. In fact, it is not always easy to know which mode is paramount in particular cases. Both Marxist and conservative, for example, may believe that bourgeois and pinko really denote facts. Still, most of us feel that such words are largely empty of reference and have their meaning chiefly in their emotive force. On the other hand, some words work effectively in both modes, like those italicized in the following passage (the author is describing some fellow passengers on a bus tour of Sicily): Immediately next to me was an aggrieved French couple with a small child who looked around with a rat-like malevolence. He had the same face as his father. They looked like very cheap microscopes. Lawrence Rat-like and cheap microscopes have genuine reference; they would help an illustrator drawing a picture of this father and son. At the same time the words arouse the emotional re- sponse that Durrell wants in the reader. Conclusion The relative importance of the three modes of meaning varies considerably from one kind of writing to another. Scholarly and scientific papers, for example, make the writer-topic axis paramount; advertising and political propaganda use that of reader-topic; applications for jobs and letters of appeal, for example, lie along the writer-reader axis. We can suggest such differences in emphasis in our triangular diagram by moving For more material and information, please visit www.tailieuduhoc.org DICTION the circles representing words from the center of the triangle toward one or another of its sides. Some of the examples we have used might be visualized like this: Some expressions (in 1561, for instance) are chosen solely for reference, that is to explain the topic; a few solely to in- fluence feelings about the topic (Brut). Other words function in two areas of meaning: either primarily within one but extending partially into another (pinko, bourgeois, I think, young widow), or more evenly balanced (rat-like). But whether designed to serve a single end or several, dic- tion succeeds only to the degree that it does in fact serve an readers to comprehend your observations, ideas, feelings, and affecting their responses both to the topic and to you in ways that you wish. To the degree that it fails to achieve your purpose, your diction fails entirely.4 4. A purpose itself may be silly or stupid, of course, but then the fault lies in the writer's he or she wants to in the how it is said. Writers may use words well by a happy chance, that is, without really understanding their and thus achieve a purpose they are blind to. But lucky prose is rare. The general truth holds: good diction is diction chosen to achieve a conscious purpose. For more material and information, please visit www.tailieuduhoc.org MEANING You must, finally, realize that words inherently have mean- ing in some or in all of the modes we have enumerated. If you do not choose words wisely, words will, in effect, choose you, saying things about the topic you do not intend and affecting readers in ways you do not want. For more material and information, please visit www.tailieuduhoc.org [...]... green shutters; by boat houses, a few seeming about to slide into the lake, but most still used and well-maintained; and by piers jutting into the water, in good repair with sturdy railings, from which hang clean white life-rings Inexperienced writers often complain, "I haven't anything to write about." There's plenty to write about; all you have to do is look and listen Specificity Aside from being... may also be general or specific Here, too, it is a matter of degree A general word designates a class: emotion, for example, is a general (or generic) term for all kinds of feelings Fear is more specific, and terror, a particular kind of fear, more specific still It is a common error to pick words that mean too much, to name an entire class when what you wish to signify is something less: Thrift is... and concision In this and the next two chapters we'll consider how to use words well First, we look chiefly at clarity and simplicity; next at concision; and finally at original, unusual diction which gives extraordinary power and perceptiveness to writing Here, then, are some things to keep in mind as you struggle—and struggle it is to use words clearly and simply Concreteness and Abstraction Abstract... Ronald P Dore 1 An image is a word that refers to something we can sense—that is, see, hear, touch, and so on See pages 231 ff for a fuller discussion For more material and information, please visit www.tailieuduhoc.org CLARITY AND SIMPLICITY 265 If unrelieved abstraction can be a fault even when writing about abstract subjects, it is a far worse fault when writing about a subject that is not abstract... how we put it into language is not that clear-cut Words both limit and reveal reality We do not so much "choose" words to fit our perceptions and ideas, as we see and think in terms of the words we know To be more exact, the two processes—thinking, knowing, seeing, feeling, on the one hand; and using words, on the other—vitalize one another Acquiring new words increases our capacity to understand ourselves... concise, and almost all of its important words are abstract, yet they are essential to its clarity: All too often the debate about the place, purpose, and usefulness of films as a means of instruction is clouded by confusion, defensiveness, and ignorance Sol Worth Even when dealing with ideas, however, wise writers do not stay too long on high levels of abstraction, especially if aiming at readers who... attributes (For virtues) The novel has far too many people (For characters) For more material and information, please visit www.tailieuduhoc.org 266 DICTION Hardy's poem allows the reader to experience the crashing of the iceberg and the ship (For forces or makes) On the other hand, there is nothing inherently wrong with general words Sometimes you do want to refer to any or all feelings and then emotion... clear At the same time it is desirable that they be simple, concise, and original To a considerable degree these virtues overlap: words that are simple and concise will be clear Yet there are occasions when these qualities of diction work at cross purposes Sometimes, for example, the need to be exact will override the need to be simple or concise But in general you should aim first at clarity, then strive... about a subject that is not abstract at all When you describe what you see and hear, touch and taste, use the most specific, concrete words you know: TOO ABSTRACT MORE CONCRETE EVEN BETTER The large coves are surrounded by various buildings The large coves are surrounded by summer cottages, boat houses, and piers jutting into the water The large coves are surrounded by summer cottages, trimly painted, with... CHAPTER 25 Clarity and Simplicity To be effective words must be precise Precision means that words serve your purpose—that is, that they express exactly what you think or feel or see or hear Precision also establishes an appropriate relationship between you and your readers and guides their responses But in exposition precision is largely a matter of expressing your topic clearly That is more complicated . elegance, the name is intended to overcome masculine resistance to toilet- ries as "sissy" (or perhaps to appeal to women, who buy most of these. terror, a particular kind of fear, more specific still. It is a common error to pick words that mean too much, to name an entire class when what you wish to signify