English
Lesson Notes
Diction
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LESSON
Teacher Guide
Changing register
In this lesson we explore how language can be analysed in terms of its diction and register. Texts are used to
show how register can be changed by altering word choices.
Lesson Outcomes
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
• change the register of a sentence by changing the
diction
• use diction to create clear meaning
Curriculum Links
LO 3: Writing and Presenting
•demonstrate planning skills for writing for a specific
purpose, audience and context
•consider whether content, style, register and effects
are appropriate to purpose, audience and context,
and adjust where necessary
Lesson notes
Changing the register of a text can alter its formality.
Example
Discussion
Her stupidity caused her to be sent to jail.
This sentence is less formal – “sent to jail” is still
Standard English, but this expression it is not as formal
as “imprisoned”.
It is as a consequence of her actions that she has been
imprisoned.
She landed up in jail ’cause of what she did.
This sentence uses formal diction as is shown by the
formal words “consequence”, “actions” and “imprisoned”.
“landed up” and “’cause” instead of “because” are very
informal words and expressions.
A good choice of diction and register ensures accurate meaning.
For example:
Bust, broken and shattered could all be used to describe an imperfect glass, but each word has a slightly
different meaning. For example, a broken glass could be chipped, cracked or it could have a piece missing from
it, whereas a glass that is shattered would be unusable and impossible to repair.
Accurate meaning is more easily achieved when you use formal, standard diction.
For example:
The slang words gross, fab and diss are difficult to define and different people will interpret them slightly
differently. These words would also be less likely to be understood than Standard English if the text was read
a long time after it was created. It would be easier to make your meaning clear by saying that something was
“horrible”, “amazing” or that it had been “insulted”.
Specific groups of people tend to understand slang at specific times in history.
For example:
Dude, what a blast! We didn’t get wasted but we rocked all night.
In this passage the speaker uses American slang to tell someone that a party was lots of fun – that the people
did not get drunk or drugged, but that they did party all night. People unfamiliar with this slang may not be able
to determine what the sentence means.
?
TASK
Here is an example of British colloquial language.
Them blokes is so rowdy they’s like bovver boots on tin floors.
1. Work out the general meaning of the sentence and rewrite it in Standard English.
2. List two advantages and disadvantages of using a sentence such as this one in creative writing.
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