Choosing le mot juste: Summary of Styles

A very common view of style is that it is a matter of the careful choice of exactly the right word or phrase le mot juste. We can analyze the style on the basis of synonyms and tenor.

1. Synonyms

We always use the synonymous words for the same meaning but in actual speaking or writing, synonyms are not straight forward entities. Though two words may be very similar in the meaning there are always differences of nuance (pronunciation), impact on a listener or reader. For example, saying spectacles isn’t quite the same as saying glasses. We can’t say that there is the same meaning of different words but what we can assume is that words like spectacle and glasses ‘overlap’ in their meaning. And that style is the style of study of meaning with a more general commonness.

Point of view:

A point of view depends on the synonymous words we prefer to use. The words may be of a different type that there may be more than one reason for choosing a particular synonymous, For example:

1. Words referring, to the same things but from a different point of view. For example: Some person can be a terrorist for an enemy and freedom fighter for a friend.
2. Synonyms related to the kind of text in which they occur.
3. The difference on the basis of politeness.
4. The difference from the point of view of formality.
5.  The difference from the point of space i.e. UK for United kingdom.

Matter of Focus:

Choosing the word is also a matter of how we focus on what we are talking or writing about. For example: The same vehicle can be indicated as a car or a Toyota.

2. Tenor

According to the Oxford Dictionary, the tenor means general meaning, sense or content of something for several educations. The personal evaluation depends on a gesture of informality to the reader or listener that can be connected with the personal and power relation which is another means of expressing the right words phrases. Let’s create an imaginary situation: You want to sell your car and decide to write a small advertisement that naturally requires a number of decisions about the wording ( selection of words ). For sale, 50% off, buy one get One free,  Clearance, etc.

These overlap in meaning in different ways and depend on an advertisement that how you want to represent the things. But the purpose is the same to persuade a person to come on and look the things though they come in different ways.