English Writing,Diction,Diction is the choice and use of words. The English language has a big vocabulary: as many as 400,000 words are collected in the Oxford English Dictionary. Of course no one knows or uses so many words. Only a small amount of them are used by ordinary people for ordinary purposes. A student learning to write should learn to use the words that are most useful and most often used to express him.,Contents,1. Levels of words 2. The meaning of words 3. General and Specific Words 4. Idioms 5. Figures of speech 英文写作中怎样避免用词的重复 中英语言中用来喻人的植物的差异,1. Levels of words,词汇选择得是否准确、贴切，对文章是否能收到预期的效果致关重要。在锤炼和选择词语时，除了文章的主题、思想内容、写作目的和读者对象等以外，还必须考虑与之相适应的语言层次( levels of language )。所谓语言层次，一般可归结为规范英语( standard English)和非规范英语( sub-standard English)。规范英语又可分为口语( spoken language )和书面语( written language), 非正式语( informal language)和正式语( formal language)。例如：,Officialese 公文 The consumption of any nutriments whatsoever is categorically prohibited in this establishment商业机构. Official 官方 The consumption of nutriments is prohibited.Formal You are required not to consume food in this establishment. Neutral Eating is not allowed here. Informal Please dont eat here.Colloquial You cant feed your face here. Slang Lay off the nosh 小吃. Taboo Lay off the fucking nosh.,2. The meaning of words,The meaning of a word has two aspects: denotative and connotative 外延和内涵. A words denotation is what it literally means, as defined by the dictionary; its connotation is the feeling or idea suggested by it.,For instance country, nation, state and land have more or less the same denotation and may all be translated into “国家” in Chinese, but their connotation are quite different.,denotative and connotative,Country means an area of land and its population and its government, nation emphasizes the people of a country, state refers to the government or political organization of a country, and land is less precise but more literary and emotive than country.,English is particularly rich in synonyms as a result of incorporating words from other language over the centuries. But we should remember that it is difficult to find two words that are exactly the same in meaning and use. They may be different in stylistic level, in the degree of emphasis, in emotional coloring, in tone语气, and in collocation.,different in stylistic level,Generally speaking, words of Anglo-Saxon origin are more informal than those of Latin or French origin. Look at these words: ask time rise question age mount interrogate epoch ascendIn each group, the first word is from Anglo-Saxon and the second and third from French or Latin. The first one is clearly more informal or colloquial than the other two.,different in emphasis,“Big” and “large” are both commonly used words, but “large” is slightly more formal and may be used to describe things that are usually big, so it is more emphatic than “big”. “Huge”, which is more literary than those two words, means extremely large, and is more emphatic than “large”.,different in tone,“Modest” and “humble” both indicate a lack of pride, but “modesty” is a virtue and “humbleness” is not. “Humble” often connotes undue self-depreciation自我贬低. So they are different in tone: one is laudatory and the other is derogatory.,3. General and Specific Words,Comparatively speaking, some words are more general or more specific in meaning rather than others. “Professionals”, for instance, is more general in meaning than “scientists, doctors, teachers, lawyers, journalists”, etc., all of which are more specific. But “scientists” may be called a general word when compared with “physicists or chemists”, which, in turn, is more general than “biochemists”.,Although both general and specific words are useful, a student learning to write should make an effort to master and use specific words wherever possible. Specific words help to make writing clear, exact, vivid, and striking, for they are more informative and expressive than general words. Compare:,a good man: kind, honest, just, generous, sympathetic, warm-hearted, selfless, brave, honorablegood food: tasty, delicious, nourishing, rich, wholesome, fresh, appetizing, abundanthouse: mansion, villa, chateau, cottage, bungalow带走廊的平房, cabin, hut, shack小室, shanty棚屋, shed货棚, barnlaugh: smile, grin, beam微笑示意, giggle咯咯地笑, titter嗤笑, snigger窃笑, chuckle吃吃地笑, guffaw狂笑, chortle得意的高笑,It is easy to see that the specific words on the right are much more concrete and colorful than the general ones on the left; they seem to make the reader see, hear, or feel what the writer wishes to describe.,Use specific words should go along with providing details, and then there will be effective and impressive writing. Study the following examples:,General It is often windy and dusty here in spring. Specific In spring there is often a very strong northwest wind. It carries so much fine dust with it that sometimes the sun becomes obscure. There is no escape from the fine dust; it gets into your eyes, your ears, your nostrils, and your hair. It goes through the cracks of closed windows and covers your desks and chairs.,