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1Unit5WordChoiceObjectives:1)toknowthelevelsofdiction;2)toknowhowtochoosetherightwordsinEnglishwriting.Wordchoiceisveryimportantforthedevelopmentofamatureprosestyle.Indeed,tocommunicateeffectively,youneedtounderstandthedifferentlevelsofdiction:formalandinformal,abstractandconcrete,andgeneralandspecific.Youneedtobeabletoappreciatetheconnotativeaswellasthedenotativemeaningsofwords,toprunetheproseofwordinessandredundancy,andtowatchoutforslang,jargon,andcliché.1.LevelsofDiction1.1FormalandInformalIntermsofformality,Englishwordscanbecategorizedasformalandinformal.Formaldictionisusedinthestandarddiscoursesuitableforacademicorbusinesswriting.Ratherformaldictionisusedinthefollowing“thank-you”lettertotheCEOofacompanyafterajobinterview:Thankyouverymuchforgivingmeanopportunitytodiscussmyapplicationandcredentialswithyou.IenjoyedmeetingyouandotherseniorexecutiveofficersandItrustthatmyexperienceinmarketanalysiswillproveusefulinhelpingyourcompanyexpandyourmarketshareamongthecompetitors.Ilookforwardtohearingfromyousoon.Informaldictionismoreconversationalandreflectsamorecasualrelationshipbetweenwriterandaudience,asshowninthefollowing“thank-you”notetosomeonethewriterknows:Thanksmuchforwritingthatbigreferenceletterforme.Itmeanssomuchtome.IbelievemyworkinmarketanalysiswillbequiteusefulforATMSouth.Ihopetheywillconsidermyapplicationseriouslyandofferthepositiontome.Ifthesamejobapplicantwritestoapersonalfriendaboutthesametopic,thedictionusedcouldbeevenmoreinformal,orcolloquial:I’vegotalltherightstuffforthematATMSouth,Bob,andIwouldn’tbesurprisedifIgetanothercallformthemsoon.Theymustbenutsiftheypassmeup.Oh,Ineedthisjobbadly.Wishmeluck!Infact,colloquialexpressionsarequitepopularoncollegecampusesintheUnitedStates.Forexample,youmayoftenoverhearconversationsbetweenaprofessorandastudentsomewhatliketheoneinthefollowing:Student:Hi,prof,doyouhaveasec?Professor:Hey,Jimmy,what’sup?Student:Well,IwaswonderingifI’dflunkbiothissem.Professor:Whatmadeyouworried?Student:I’mhavingaroughtime,youknow,witheverythinggoingon,andallthecoursesI’mtaking,likepsych,lit,stats,phys,ed,andallthatstuff.Inthisconversation,profstandforprofessor,secforsecond,bioforbiology,semforsemester,psychforpsychology,litforliterature,statsforstatistics,andphys.edforphysicaleducation.2Evenmoreinformalthancolloquialismisslang,avocabularyofplayfulbutoftenshort-lived“substandard”wordsandphraseswhichsometimescarrywiththemintensevividnessanddeliberateirreverence(seefullerdiscussiononthetopicinthefollowing).Abbreviationsareusuallyconsideredaslessformalthanfullforms.Thussec.isinformal,whilesectionisformal;vol.informalandvolumeformal.Informalstylemayrelypartlyonabbreviations,othersbeingcontractionsandshortsentences.Theformalityorinformalityofdictionorlanguageisnotabsolute,butrelative.Muchwritingyoudoeverydayisneitherexclusivelyformalnorcompletelyinformal.However,youshouldbeawareofandbesensitivetothedifferentlevelsofformality,choosewordsthatareappropriatetoyourrhetoricalcontext(subject,audience,andpurpose),andtrytomaintainaconsistentlevelofformality.Checkyouracademicwritingforanyexcessivelyinformalwordsorphrases.Similarly,checkforexcessiveformalityinyourinformalwriting.Strivetokeepthelevelofformalityappropriatetothecontextandconsistentineachpieceofwriting.Touseoverlyformalexpressionsonaveryinformaloccasionwouldbenodifferentfromwearingsuitandtieandshinyleathershoesataget-togetherofoldfriends.Conversely,touseextremelyinformalorslangexpressionsonaveryformaloccasionwouldbelikewearingT-shirts,baggyjeans,anddirtysneakersataratherfancyweedingpartyinafive-starhotel.Anessaywrittenwithamixtureofformal,informal,colloquial,andslangexpressionswouldtastelikeadrinkmixedwithexpensiveFrenchwineandcheaplocallybrewedbeer.Thefollowingexamplemaygiveyouafeelofwhatitwouldtastelikeifyoumixdifferentlevelsofdictiontogether:Mr.JohnSmithproclaimsthatheisconcernedwithecologyandthepreservationofnaturalbeauty.Buthedoesn’tgiveaflipaboutlitteringpublicplaces.Johnnypurchasesclothesfromthemostextravagantstoreintownyetheisahappybrownbaggerwhenitcomestolunch.Iamcluelessaboutthisdude;heisfullofcontradictions.Inthisshortparagraph,themixtureofformalandinformalexpressions(Mr.JohnSmith/Johnny/thisdude;isconcernedwith/doesn’tgiveaflip)givesitaneither-fish-nor-fowlflavor.Tryingtomaintainaconsistentlevelofformalitymayproveparticularlychallengingfornon-nativespeakers.Ifyouarenotsureoftheusageofawordorexpression,besuretolookitupinanEnglish-Englishdictionary.Moreexamples:1.1）Mybelovedparenthasjustperishedfromtheearthtohisheavenlyreward.(吾之先考猝然逾越红尘往受上苍之嘉奖。)1a)Mydearfatherhasjustexpired.(先父适才气绝。)1b)Mydearfatherhasjustpassedaway.(我亲爱的父亲刚刚离去。)1c)Mydadhasjustdied.(我爸爸刚死。)1d)Myoldmanhasjustkickedthebucket.(我那老子刚才蹬腿了。)2．2）AsregardsthemanIdeemhimanincredibleone.(论及此人，鄙人以为难以信赖。)2a)Inmyopinionheisnotoftheindividualwhowedesire.(以我之见，他并非我们期望之人。)2b)Ibelievethatheisnotthemanwewant.（我认为他不是我们所要的人。)2c)Idon’tthinkhe’sthemanwe’relookingfor.(我看他不是我们要找的人。)2d)’fraidhe’snotourman.(恐怕他不是我们要的那号人。)以上五句句意相差无几，但它们文体的正式程度不同，自上而下由正式到非正式依次递降。3Task11.Distinguishbetwe