We use these terms all the time, and after a while we believe them to be one and the same, but are they? Webster-Merriam's online dictionary defines the term, diary as a record of events, transactions, or observations kept daily or at frequent interval; a daily record of personal activities, reflections, or feelings. The wordnetweb, was a bit more specific citing a diary as a daily written record of (usually personal) experiences and observations; a record written with discreet entries arranged by date, reporting on what happened over the course of a period of time. Okay...we get the what, when and some of the how. Often younger children become aware of and use diaries primarily to express their thoughts and feelings about certain things in life, generally written not with the intention of being made public or publicly known. As children gained freedom in the use of a private diary, it was given regular even daily attention but no required number of entries were mandatory. Daily entries became socially acceptable and were adopted as the basic norm. Remember, the infamous Diary of Anne Frank. Anne's diary recounted her days as a young girl living sealed off from civilization in Amsterdam, once German Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler came to rule. Her diary was found much later and recovered in Amsterdam by the lone survivor of the Frank family and her father, Otto Frank, meaning after Anne's death and unbeknowing to her father that they existed.
Webster-Merriam online goes on to define the term, journal as a record of current transactions; an account of day-to-day events; a record of experiences, ideas, or reflections kept regularly for private use; a record of transactions kept by a deliberative or legislative body. The Princeton library word search defined it as a periodical dedicated to a particular subject or a chronological record of data used to detect patterns and processes; a type of diary. The Princeton Library lists thousands of journals in the forms of articles, passages and documents written by experts in a particular field of study, based on research that the author or authors completed.
So, let's cover what we have learned so far! Diaries are primarily intended for personal use, entries are made into them daily, weekly or on a random basis, used to record feelings, thoughts and personal occurrences, are highly undefined and unregulated. They are also, used by children as an acceptable way to communicate and express their feelings without the confines of adults or society. Journals are deliberate, chronological records of data used to capture operations, processes, events that are written formally to capture specific patterns of thought and behavior, possibly using subject specific vocabulary or terms. Under the educational premise, they are referred to as scholarly or peer reviewed journals. Students use journals more in the current educational systems to assist their ability to learn and identify various behaviors, patterns and structured processes. Diaries in turn, tend to report back more objectively than the advice of our friends and journals, more of a subjective nature with the focus being on a particular subject, topic or process. The "where", for both diaries and journals can be anywhere! All you need is a pen and paper....
This writer prefers to define the diary as a personal "snapshot" of a time or period in life which has been captured by words. The journal is a record of experiences and occurrences highly intended for some type of public knowledge and use. As we examine them closely, other bloggers still believe them to be one and the same but taking a closer view shows there are differences. For instance, Anne Frank obviously wrote her personal diary to cope with and capture her life experiences during the Nazi Era as she and her family lived a secluded, substandard existence. It was only after her death and her father's unlikely recovery of the diary that it was published (1947). Today it is still widely read and exists now in 67 languages.
YES, both are written accounts... but their intended uses vary!
