英语写作课PPT_第二课_lecture_two_dictio.ppt

Lecture Two Diction: choice and use of words The difference between the right word and the almost-right word is as great as that between lightning and the lighting bug． 用词准确与用词几乎准确，这两者之间的差异就如闪电与萤火虫之间的差异。” Using the right word at the right time is rather like wearing appropriate clothing for the occasion: it is a courtesy to others, and a favor to yourself-a matter of presenting yourself well in the eyes of the world. ---- The Reader’s Digest A. Formal Diction Formal English is the language of professional journals, formal speeches, and most serious college writing. “gentlemen” vs. “men” or “guys”. Poor--- impoverished; rich--- wealthy; clever (smart)--- intelligent; car--- automobile; TV--- television; hard-working--- diligent; next-to-last--- penultimate; “on the penultimate day of the week-long meeting” (在历时一周的会议结束的前一天 Formal There is nothing new in the recognition, within a given language, of a distinction between common usage and uses of the language for more restricted purposes and often enough, perhaps characteristically, more elevated purposes. The monolithic(单一的；统一的)nature of English is not questioned when literary essayists like Emerson contrast poetry and common speech. The latter is recognized in America to be the proper subject for the investigation of linguists who, however, now show some incipient(起初的)inclination to investigate poetry, too, and other noncasual(无关联的) utterances (话语)in a given language. Informal Diction Informal English ---the English we speak each day --- is found in parts of novels, short stories, letters, books, newspapers, articles for general readership and advertisements. 1.?Colloquialisms Colloquial English occurs in casual speech and it is perfectly acceptable when you are speaking on any but the most formal occasions. Contractions