Diction, Denotation, and Connotation

Let's talk a little bit about how language is used. Most writers are very precise in their word usage, and this is called diction. Diction involves the particular words that are chosen by the author and used in a particular way. The implication of the diction of a word can change slightly from its denotation, or exact meaning as defined in a dictionary. The final way a word meaning can be changed is the connotation, or implied or suggested meaning, which often evokes an emotional response.

The way an author chooses and uses words can tell you a great deal about how an author feels about a topic.

Let's look at the word strict.

Definition: Strict – demanding rules of behavior are obeyed or observed, rigidly enforced.

Synonyms: Strict – austere, dead set, disciplinary, dour, draconian, exacting, firm, forbidding, grim, hard, harsh, iron-fisted, no-nonsense, oppressive, picky, prudish, punctilious, puritanical, rigid, rigorous, scrupulous, set, severe, square, stern, stickling, straight, strait-laced, stringent, stuffy, tough, uptight

Let's use our word in a sentence:

The company's strict sick-time policy makes it more difficult to get time off for minor illnesses.

That sentence is clear, its meaning comes across quite well.

Now, let's change the word strict with a couple of synonyms from the list above and see how it may change the emotional impact of the sentence.

The company's picky sick-time policy makes it more difficult to get time off for minor illnesses.

The company's draconian sick-time policy makes it more difficult to get time off for minor illnesses.

The company's firm sick-time policy makes it more difficult to get time off for minor illnesses.

In sentence A, the implication is that the new sick-time policy is picky, designed to irritate the employees. The person writing this sentence has chosen a word that is closely related to strict, but implies something else.

Sentence B takes the emotion up several notches. Even more than picky, draconian indicates that the policy is not only strict, but unfair.

Sentence C seems neutral and is designed to inform without evoking an emotional response.

As you can see, only one word was changed in each of the above sentences, and yet the feeling of what was said changed a lot.

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