Part Two Diction.docx

Part Two Diction.docx

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PartTwoDiction

UnitFourRhetoric

Moststudentsregardgrammar,notrhetoric,astherulingprincipleofgoodwriting.Ofcurse,forbeginnersinalanguagegoodgrammariswhatattractstheirteachers’approval,butitonlytellsyousuchthingsaswherewordscangoandwheretheycannot.Grammarwilldistinguishanacceptablesentencefromanunacceptableoneanddealwithmattersofrightorwrong,whereasrhetoricspeaksintermsofbetterorworse.

Inthevastmajorityofcases,itiseasytojudgewhetherasentenceisgrammaticallycorrectornot.Itisfarhardertosaywhetheroneversionofatextisrhetoricallysuperiortoanother.

Yetthisisexactlywhatyoumustmasterifyouwishtoreadandwritewell.Writinggrammaticallyisofcourseaprerequisite,butitisonlythefirststep.Asanexpertuseryoumustprogressfrommeregrammaticalcompetencetorhetoricalcompetence.

Whatisrhetoric?

Rhetoricistheartofexpressingmodesofthoughtthroughtheemploymentofdiction,sentencepattern,figuresofspeech,images,andotherornamentsofstyle.

PartI.Diction

Rhetoric,actually,isamatterofchoice.JonathanSwiftoncedescribedgoodstyleas“properwordsinproperplaces”.Intheproceedingchapterswehavebeenchieflyconcernedwith“properplaces”,butitisnotsufficientforawritermerelytofollowperfectlytheprinciplesofunity,coherence,andemphasis.Agoodstylerequiresalsoapainstakingefforttoselectandusethebestpossiblewords.ThatpartofrhetoricwhichtreatsoftheselectionandrightuseofwordsiscalledDiction.Dictionisthemostimportantpartofrhetoricconsistsintheselectionandrightuseofwords,bywhichone’sideasmaybebroughtclearlyandvividlytothehearer.

Aknowledgeofwordsisthewriter’sgreatestneed.Vocabularyandsuccessgohandinhand.Throughhisknowledgeofwords,throughhisabilitytomakethemexpresstheexactshadeofhismeaning,hegivestohisideasrealpower.

Wordsmaybeaccurateandingooduseandyetbeinpoortaste.Thesecretofgoodtasteliesinadaptation.Awritermustchoosethekindofwordthatisadaptedbothtohisideasandtohisreaders.Thefollowingsuggestionsaregiventoaidinthechoiceofwordsingoodtaste.

GeneralWordsandSpecificWords

Ageneralword,asthenameimplies,isonewhichnamesalargeclassofobjects.Aspecificwordrelatestoasingleobjectortoacomparativelysmallclassofobjects.Virtue,forexample,isageneralterm;itincludeswithinitselftruthfulness,honestly,obedienceetc.,whicharelimitedintheirapplication.Insomecasegeneralwordsmaybeusedtoadvantage,butmoreoftenspecificwordsshouldbeused,sincetheycalltothemindadefiniteimage.

AdvantagesofGeneralWords.—Generalwordsareneededforthesystematicclassificationofthings.Forexample,ifwewereunabletoarrangebooksundergeneralheads,—as“History,”“Travels,”“Literature,”—alibrarywouldbechaos.

Generalexpressionsaresometimesmoreeffectivethanspecificonesbecausetheygivethewholeideainalump,withoutcompellingattentiontoparticulars.Comparethefollowingsentencesandnotethegreaterlightnessandrapidityofthemorecondensedandgeneralterm:

1.Novelsorsermons,poemsorhistories,nomatterwhat,hedevoursthemall.（Specific）

2.Hedevoursliterature,nomatterofwhatkind,（General）

1.Fromtheprimaryschoolthroughthegrammarschool,theninthehighschool,laterin

hiscollegecourse,hewasalwaysadiligentandpainstakingstudent.（Specific）

2.Throughthewholecourseofhisschoolinghewasadiligentandpainstaking

student.（General）

AdvantagesofSpecificWords.—Almostanykindofwritingbenefitsfromthepowerofspecificwords.Specificwordsareofservicetoawriterwhoaimstofixhisreader’sattentiononaparticularobject.Whenhewrites“Aterrierranoutandbarkedatme,”callsupinthereader’smindtheimageofasmalldog,withquick,restlessmovements,andasharp,quickbark.Probably,also,hewillmakethereaderthinkofaparticularterrierwithwhichheisacquainted.

Aspecificwordisasvaluableinadescriptionasinanarrative.Forexample,ifwewrite“Atreestoodbythehouse,”ourword-pictureisindistinct;becausewehavenottoldwhatspeciesoftreeitisandwhatsortahousewehaveinmind.Noticehowthepicturechangesifwesubstituteparticularterm.

Whilereading,noticethedifferencesbetweenthefollowingtwoparagraphs.Thefirstusesvague,generallanguage;thesecondusesspecificdetails—nounsandadjectives—thatmakeitsmeaningsharperandclearerandthatholdthereaders’interestbetter.

GENERAL

Theislandprisoniscoveredwithflowersnow.Alargesignthatisvisiblefromalongwayoffwarnsvisitorsaway.Butsincetheearly1960s,whentheytookthelastprisonerstootherinstitutions,thesignhasreallyservednopurpose,fortheprisonhasbeenabandoned.Theplaceisnotunpleasant;infact,onemightenjoytheromanceandsolitudeoutthere.

SPECIFIC

AlcatrazIslandiscoveredwithflowersnow:

orangeandyellownasturtiums,geraniums,sweetgrass,blueiris,black-eyedSusans.Candytuftspringsupthroughthecrackedconcreteintheexerciseyard.Iceplantcarpetstherustingcatwalks.“WARNING!

KEEPOFF!

U.S.PROPERTY,”thesignstillreads,bigandyellowandvisibleforperhapsaquarterofamile,butsinceMarch21,1963,thedaytheytookthelastthirtyorsomenofftheisland…thewarninghasbeenonlyproforma[servingnorealpurpose].Itisnotanunpleasantplacetobe,outthereonAlcatrazwithonlytheflowersandthewindandthebellbuoymoaningandthetidesurgingthroughtheGoldenGate.

（JoanDidion,“RockofAges”）

Thedifferencesbetweenthesetwoparagraphscanbesummedupasfollows:

1.Thefirstcallstheplacean“islandprison.”Thesecondgivesitaname,Alcatraz.

2.Thefirstclaimsthattheprisoniscoveredwithflowers.Thesecondshowsusthatthisistruebynamingthem:

“nasturtiums,geraniums,”andsoon.Italsoexplainsexactlywheretheygrow:

“throughthecrackedconcrete”andon“rustingcatwalks.”

3.Thefirsttellsusaboutasignthatcanbeseen“fromalongwayoff.”Thesecondexplainsthatthesignis“visibleforperhapsaquarterofamile”andshowsusexactlywhatitsays.

4.ThefirstmentionsthatthelastprisonerswereremovedfromAlcatrazinthe1960s.Thesecondexplainsthattheynumbered“thirtyorso”andthattheexactdateoftheirdeparturewasMarch21,1963.

5.Thefirsttellsusthatwemightfind“romanceandsolitude”onAlcatrazIsland.Theseconddescribestheromanceandsolitudebycallingourattentionto“theflowersandthewindandthebellbuoymoaningandthetidesurgingthroughtheGoldenGate.”

Let’slookatmoreexamplesofdistinctionbetweengeneralwordsandspecificwords:

GeneralThemanwentalongtheroad.

SpecificThemanrode（walked,trudged,slouched,hobbled,sprinted）alongtheroad.

GeneralAviationdemandsfineyoungmen,

SpecificAviationdemandsbrave（daring,dauntless,plucky;vigorous,energetic,

spirited）youngmen.

GeneralThepoetasksGodtodirecthim.

SpecificThepoetimplores（supplicates,entreats）Godtodirecthim.

VagueTheboy’sargumentswerefunny.

BetterTheboy’sargumentswerelaughable（ridiculous,surprising,absurd）.

Writingthatlacksspecificityoftencontainslanguagethatisgeneral,whichmakesitdifficultforthewritertocommunicateclearlyandcompletely.Oneofthebestwaystomakeyourlanguagemorespecificistousecarefullychosennounsandadjectives.Asyouprobablyknow,nounsrepresentpersons,places,andthings;adjectivesmodifyorhelpdescribenouns,therebymakingthemmoreexactanddistinct.Inthefollowinglist,comparethewordsandphrasesineachcolumn;noticehowmuchmoremeaningfultheitemsbecomeasyoumovefromlefttoright:

GENERALMORESPECIFICMOSTSPECIFIC

AutomobilesportscarCorvette

residencehousethree-bedroomranch

fruitmelonjuicycantaloupe

schoolcollegeUniversityofKentucky

treeevergreenyoungpine

bakedgoodspastrieschocolate-filledcreampuffs

airplanejetlinerbrand-newBoeing777

beveragesoftdrinkcaffeine-freedietcola

televisionshowsituationcomedySeinfeld

publictransportationtrainOrientExpress

Youprobablynoticedthatseveralofthe“MostSpecific”itemscontaincapitalizedwords.Thesearepropernouns,whichnamespecificpersons,places,andthings.Usepropernounsthatyourreaderswillrecognizewheneveryoucan.Doingsowillshowhowmuchyouknowaboutyoursubjectandwillincreasethereaders’confidenceinyou.Moreimportant,itwillhelpmakeyourideasmorefamiliarandeasiertograsp.

Atfirst,youmighthavetotrainyourselftousespecifics.Afterawhile,though,youwillbecomeskilledateliminatingflat,emptygeneralizationsfromyourwritingandatfillingitwithdetailsthatclarifyandfocusyourideas.

ConcreteWordsandAbstractWords

Concretelanguagepointstooridentifiessomethingthatthereadercanexperienceorhasexperiencedinsomeway.Thingsthatareconcreteareusuallymaterial;theycanbeseen,heard,smelled,ortasted.Theoppositeofconcreteisabstract,atermthatreferstoideas,emotions,orotherintangiblesthat,whileveryreal,existinourmindsandhearts.That’swhyreadersfindithardertograsptheabstractthantheconcrete.

AdvantagesofConcreteWords.—Comparethenounsinthefollowinglist.Theonesontheleftrepresentabstractideas.Theonesontherightstandforconcreteembodimentsofthoseideas;thatis,theyarephysicalrepresentations,showinguswhatsuchideasas“affection”and“hatred”reallyare.

ABSTRACTCONCRETE

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