‘Le Mot Juste’ is a
French phrase that means ‘exactly the right word or phrase’. The most common
way of talking about it is in terms of synonyms. Synonyms are different words
with almost the same meaning, but they have differences of nuance, and the differences of impact on a listener or
reader. Therefore, the study of style is the study of finer shades of meaning
within a more general commonness. These ‘finer shades’ may be of different
types:
a.
Related to the kind of text in which
they occur,
b.
The point of view of politeness,
c.
The point of view of formality,
d.
In assertiveness of emphasis, and
e.
Point of view of economy of space
Choosing the right word
is also a matter of how we focus on what we are talking or writing about. It
brings in personal evaluation, or makes a gesture of informality to the reader
or listener, and are connected to the ‘tenor’ of what we are saying or writing,
i. e. the personal and power relations involved.
