Language and Style in Dramatic Discourse: A Phonostylistic Analysis of Athol Fugard's The Island

Abstract

Proceeding from the theoretical premise of patterns of stress, rhythm and intonation in the English Language, the study identifies how these patterns are manifested in Athol Fugard's The Island, and how they contribute to the semantic and phonological cohesion of the text. Explicit descriptions of the various patterns identified in the text are related to the semantic implications of characters' utterances. The phonological traits are also related to the speech-act propositions of characters' utterances using J. R.. Searle's propositional-act concept.


(The Journal of Cultural Studies: 2001 3(1): 277-283)