Quand un écrivain se fait synonymiste : une histoire de bicyclette et de vélo
When a Writer becomes Synonymist…

Summary/Abstract: Lexical studies traditionally emphasize secondary semantic differences between so-called “synonymous” terms. Those differences tend to remain unnoticed by speakers in ordinary communication situations. On the contrary, awareness of those differences turns out to be crucial for writers in producing stylistic effects. A short text by Philippe Delerm has been chosen here as an illustration of that question. The various “dissimilative” writing strategies used by the author in order to enlighten the connotative differences between the two French (synonymous) words bicyclette and vélo are being closely analysed.

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