1. Tone and Purpose:
* Formal Diction: Formal language often indicates a serious, academic, or objective tone. It's common in scholarly works, historical accounts, and journalistic pieces aiming for neutrality.
* Informal Diction: Informal language can indicate a more personal, conversational, or engaging tone. It's often used in memoirs, essays, or travel writing where the author wants to establish a connection with the reader.
* Slang or Colloquialisms: Use of slang can indicate a particular time period, geographic location, or social group. It can also contribute to a sense of authenticity or relatability.
2. Author's Perspective and Bias:
* Loaded Language: Words with strong connotations (positive or negative) can reveal the author's opinions or biases. For example, using "hero" instead of "soldier" might suggest admiration for a particular figure.
* Figurative Language: Metaphors, similes, and other figurative language can reveal the author's subjective interpretation of events or ideas.
3. Themes and Ideas:
* Repetition of Key Words: Repeated words or phrases often emphasize important themes or concepts in the text.
* Word Choice in Titles and Headings: The language used in titles and headings can hint at the main idea or argument of the piece.
4. Target Audience:
* Complexity of Vocabulary: The complexity of vocabulary can suggest the intended audience. A piece using highly technical terms might target a specialized audience, while simpler language could be aimed at a general readership.
* Sentence Structure: Complex sentence structure often indicates a more sophisticated audience, while simpler sentences might be used for a wider audience.
5. Historical Context:
* Archaic Language: Use of outdated words or phrases can provide clues about the time period in which the piece was written.
* Contemporary Language: The use of language that is current at the time of writing can help place the piece within a specific historical context.
Examples:
* In a historical account of the American Civil War, the use of formal language and objective tone might suggest a scholarly approach.
* In a memoir about growing up in the 1950s, the use of slang and informal language might contribute to a sense of nostalgia and authenticity.
* In a travel essay about a remote village in Nepal, the author's choice of vivid imagery and sensory details might evoke the reader's imagination and create a sense of place.
By carefully analyzing the diction in a piece of literary nonfiction, readers can gain a deeper understanding of its tone, purpose, author's perspective, themes, audience, and historical context.