Aspects of syntactic selections as style in Zaynab Alkali's the descendants

Abstract

This paper explores style at the syntactic level in Zaynab Alkali‟s The Descendants.  he systemic grammar is applied as the theoretical framework to analyse aspects of syntactic selections in the text. The basic tenet of systemic grammar is the exploration of the functions of language in the realization of the thematic concerns of a text within a particular context of use. Extracts bearing syntactic elements were analysed in the light of their context of situation of use to explicate meaning in the text. The paper reveals that Zaynab Alkali made use of the nominal group, sentence types, rhetorical questions and parallelism as some of the syntactic devices to  reflect her style of writing in The Descendants. The implications of using these devices is that they enhance description, and clarity of the writer‟s intended message as well as reflect the simple style that dominates the novel.

Key words: Style, Syntax, The Descendant, Zaynab Alkali; Stylistics.