Socrates said that the unexamined life isn’t worth living. We’re not sure an analogous principle holds true for diction, but reflecting on how we pick our words is certainly a good thing.
Even in a conversation between people who speak the same language, variations in dialect and vocabulary can make connection a challenge.
Using the word “pop” instead of “soda” to refer to a sweetened, carbonated beverage may not confuse any American fast food employee, but it can peg the speaker geographically to the Midwest.
The dynamics of slang are even more complicated. When new word uses balloon in popularity, then deflate almost as fast, they can be used to socially as well as geographically profile.
Describing a party as “turnt” or “lit” (or whatever the cool kids say now) says a lot about someone’s subculture — or maybe about the last time they partied.
Words that have a precise, interesting meaning to a person from one linguistic sub-group may be confusing or annoying to someone from another. Slang’s novelty can also make it easy to abuse. We’ve all known — or been — that extra boring someone who’s chewed the flavor out of a new word or phrase.
We’re not denigrating slang here. A response to any given diction is subjective, but we should try to predict and take that response into account when we’re picking our vocabulary. We need to know our audience to be able to bring them joy with our word choice.
Of course, just the process of thinking a conversational partner’s preferences alone can do a lot of good for a relationship.
We should also be mindful of times when the intricacies of diction can facilitate injustice.
