Improving Your Style Through Diction, Part 19: Connotation

Do not be surprised when you hear a manager or peer advise you to avoid using a particular word because of what it connotes, meaning the feeling that the word may suggest beyond its dictionary definition, or what the word denotes. 

Three situations come to mind. I one did a consulting job for a major financial advisory firm. When I requested a red marker to highlight a key point on a flipchart, the client told me that red was a banned ink color because it implies "being in the red," a frightening prospect for portfolio managers. Really? Another time I accepted as a compliment an elder telling me I was special to her, yet even an apparently innocent word like special could turn pejorative, as in "He is a special case," which might mean an exception to the preferred standard, or a simply a problem. And sometimes the connotation depends on who is in the communication. The now-dated expression "You go, girl" is always better said by one woman to another than by a man to a woman, as the man may seem sexist or demeaning.

If you're thinking that this is the be-all and end-all of political correctness, remember that we all have language threshold and that language has always been political. For sure, certain choice words directed toward anyone at the wrong time could cause a major meltdown. 

Nevertheless, connotation can add humor, spice, or drama to a written or spoken message, as long as we steer clear of people's age, sex, race, religion, national origin, abilities or disabilities, sexual orientation or identification, economic status, or political persuasion. (Did I cover them all?) 

There's still plenty of room for connotation if you consider how words can take on both positive and negative shades. The word meticulous (denotation: careful, precise), can mean to show due attention to detail, or to judge in a picayune manner. We need to think about the reason and the object of our connation for appropriateness, and then think twice for potential unintended interpretations. 

Improving Your Style Through Diction, Part 18: Periphrasis

I am a big fan of using one word to replace two or more. I would rather write, "Call me to get a parking permit" (7 words) than "Call me in order to get a parking permit" (9 words), or "You have passed the manager's test" (6 words) than "We are informing you that you have passed the manager's test" (11 words), or "I request your help" (4 words) than "I am writing to request your help" (7 words).

At times, however, an extra word can add emphasis to writing. Take the case of periphrasis, the use of multiple words to convey the meaning of a single word, usually in place of a prefix (a meeting before the conference instead of a pre-conference meeting) or a suffix (he is more wise than I thought instead of he is wiser than I thought). 

Here are some examples of when periphrasis might have greater impact than its more concise version:

• Ana did attend all workshop sessions, so she should get a completion certificate. (The words did attend give more emphasis than attended.)
• Beatriz won't admit it, but she did go to Mardi Gras during the pandemic. (In using did go rather than went, the writer applies greater contrast between the claim and the denial.)
• Corazón is the most kind person I met during that difficult time. (Most kind seems even more superlative than kindest because of the otherwise difficult time the writer was having.) 

Needless to say, avoid periphrasis when the extra words are meaningless: Let's meet is better than Let's have a meeting; We need to agree is better than We need to arrive at an agreement; and You must decide is better than You must make a decision.

Improving Your Style Through Diction, Part 17: Idiom

Using idioms is a popular way to put color into your writing. An idiom is an expression that breaks logic semantically (meaning) or syntactically (grammar). Here are examples of each:

Semantic Idioms

If we choose the wrong path, we could get into hot water. (get into trouble)

He always submits his work at the eleventh hour. (at the last minute) 

When it comes to paying the bill, she always says she's broke. (lacking money) 

You need to learn to go with the flow. (be agreeable)

Syntactic Idioms

Not on your life would I run for president. (for no reason)

No way will I donate to such a radical cause! (definitely not) 

What's up, Charlie? (what's new?) 

I have been living from hand to mouth during the pandemic. (survive with hardly the basics) 

Occasionally, nonnative English speakers tell me that they want to master idioms because they will appear more conversant with the language. They are spot on, to use an idiom.

Improving Your Style Through Diction Part 16: Asyndeton

When dropping a conjunction from a phrase or sentence, we are using asyndeton. This literary device comes close to the way we often express ourselves in common speech.

Notice how the semicolon replaces and in the sentence I'll write the report; you'll present it to the team. 

Writing in comma splices, a technical error to grammatical purists, seems to be the fashion. Here are examples of how comma splices are the result of using asyndeton: 

• Dana worked hard on the project, she needs a vacation.
• He writes reports for the regulator, slide presentations for the department, proposals for the Board. 
• Please reach me email, Leslie by text.

Asyndeton can create elements of surprise or power when used sparingly. Abraham Lincoln used asyndeton in his Gettysburg Address ("government of the people by the people, for the people") so we should look for opportunities to use it, to captivate our readers (I just used asyndeton).