Diction vs Tone: Difference and Comparison

Every person or a creature living in our surroundings has the ability to express how they feel to people. This is done in the form of emotions and feelings.

The tune identifies these feelings and emotions a person talks in or interacts with different expressions on their face in a particular situation. Tone and diction are different for different people based on the situation they are in.

Key Takeaways

  1. Diction refers to the choice of words and phrases used in speech or writing; tone refers to the author’s or speaker’s attitude towards the subject or audience.
  2. Diction is about selecting the right words to convey a specific message or idea; the tone expresses the author’s or speaker’s emotions or feelings towards the message or idea.
  3. Diction can be either formal or informal, while tone can be positive, negative, neutral, or any combination.

Diction vs Tone

The difference between diction and tone is that diction is the words that the author chooses be to be included in a storyline to describe an emotion of a living being, and on the other hand, the pitch is the tone of attitude which the author wants to express.

Diction vs Tone

Diction has a variety of meanings when it has to be put in use for a sentence, but one of the most common meanings is the distinctiveness of its speech.

When there is communication between two people and one person is very clear with his speech to the extent that the other understands the speech, it is known as diction communication.

The term tone refers to the choice of words that an author makes to include in his writing, which helps to denote the attitude or the pitch of feeling of a person or any living being in a sentence.

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There can be a clear delivery of the message of emotions and feelings of a person through the tone used in a sentence.

Comparison Table

Parameters of ComparisonDictionTone
MeaningThis refers to being chosen by the author for denoting feelings in a sentence.This refers to being chosen by the author to denote the pitch or degree of intensity of a feeling in a sentence.
Number of lettersThis is a seven-lettered word.This is a four-lettered word.
Meaning of same wordsThey never bring about a change in the meaning of a word in a sentence in a different language.In this same words may tend to have different meanings in different languages.
CharacterEach author has a unique diction.A tone is always used in general terms.
Main typesFormal and informal diction are two types of diction.Pain and happiness are two types of tones.
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What is Diction?

Diction has a variety of several meanings when it has to be put in use for a sentence, but one of the most common meanings is the distinctiveness of its speech.

When there is communication between two people and one person is very clear with his or her speech to the extent that the other understands the speech, it is known as diction communication.

Diction is not the style or word choice that is included in a sentence. It is the pronunciation of words with the right amount of pauses in a sentence. In a dictionary, there are different meanings of this word.

It helps to generate a specific voice or a reading style in a sentence. Diction is used in any story writing, poem, story, etc.

A diction has many types, and the most common types of diction are formal diction, informal diction, colloquial diction, slang diction, pedantic diction, abstract diction, concrete diction, and poetic diction.

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It is useful for diction to be in a sentence as it also helps to denote whether it is informal or formal.

diction

What is Tone?

The term tone refers to the choice of words that an author makes to include in his writing, which helps to denote the attitude or the pitch of feeling of a person or any living being in a sentence.

There can be a clear delivery of the message of emotions and feelings of a person through the tone used in a sentence.

The tone is used in many languages all across the world to know the pitch of a sentence by a person. Many languages use pitch, and the common language is Mandarin which uses a variety of tones.

The same words have different meanings with different tones in different languages. The Somali language and the Japanese language are the most common tonal languages.

Using tones in a sentence helps to recognize the characteristics of a language and differentiate between each word. Tones are used to show different moods in a sentence of a living being. Happiness, anger, sorrow, suffering, etc., are all tones used by people in our day-to-day life.

tone

Main Differences Between Diction and Tone

  1. The word diction has 7 letters; on the other hand, the word Tone has 4 letters.
  2. Diction is the word that refers to being chosen by the author for denoting feelings in a sentence, and on the other hand, the tone is a word that refers to being chosen by the author to denote the pitch or degree of intensity of a feeling in a sentence.
  3. Diction never changes the meaning of a word in a sentence in a different language; on the other hand, sometimes, the same words can have different meanings in different languages.
  4. Every writer or author has his or her diction, and on the other hand, a tone in general regarding all authors as it is not unique to a person but only a language.
  5. Formal and informal are common types of diction, while pain and happiness are two common types of tone.
Difference Between Diction and Tone
References
  1. https://search.proquest.com/openview/2f726cc2f726fc1c15dbffa557ddcf73/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1821226
  2. https://www.jstor.org/stable/460378

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About Author

Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.