A student of mine has asked me if there is any difference, both in meaning and usage, between point of view and viewpoint. Now, according to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, there is indeed no difference in their meaning.
Point of view
- a particular way of thinking about or judging a situation
- someone's own personal opinion or attitude about something
Viewpoint
- a particular way of thinking about a problem or subject [= point of view]
- a place from which you can see something
However I could not ascertain whether there was any difference in usage from the examples provided. Personally, I find "point of view" much more familiar and "viewpoint" often awkward when I try to compare their use, for example:
- It was seen from a child's point of view.
- It was seen from a child's viewpoint.
But that's a highly impressionist take based on my exposure to the terms and one mustn't forget I'm not a native speaker, which means my impression could be eschewed.
So, is there any usage particulars concerning the two terms?
Best Answer
In your example, a child's point of view can only be understood in one way, while a child's viewpoint could be construed as meaning "from a vantage point closer to the floor than that of an adult", so I would prefer the former.