1. Home
  2. Entertainment
  3. Contemporary Literature

Diction

By , About.com Guide

Definition: Diction is the author's choice of words, taking into account correctness, clearness, and effectiveness. There are typically recognized to be four levels of diction: formal, informal, colloquial, and slang.
Common Misspellings: dictoin
Examples:
Irvine Welsh's "Trainspotting" employs the characters' street Scotch-English diction as a matter of style.

More Literary Terms Defined
 
 

Explore Contemporary Literature

About.com Special Features

Holiday Central

What to eat, where to go, fun things to do and how to save money on the perfect gifts. More >

The Best Top 40 Pop Songs

Is your favorite song on our list? More >

  1. Home
  2. Entertainment
  3. Contemporary Literature
  4. Literary Glossary
  5. Diction>

©2009 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.

All rights reserved.