English Literature / Unit 1 ENL 0005 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Diction: Latinate and Anglo-Saxon Words
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The idea
Diction is a writer's distinctive choice of words. English draws on two stocks: short, concrete words from Old English, and longer, abstract words from Latin and French. Milton's "Of man's first disobedience" sets one Latin word among plain English ones.
In practice
Short and concrete, or long and abstract.
Where people slip
Word choice is evidence for tone and period.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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