Language and Power

Earlier researches on language as an index to knowledge and therefore power have been broad-based, giving greater importance to the context rather than the language or discourse itself. Assumptions and inferences, in most of the investigations have depended on cultural and psychoanalytical theories. The present study of the works of Amitav Ghosh takes literary discourse as a case study and examines the structure of language very closely through the lens of contemporary linguistic theories (Sociolinguistics and Feminist Stylistics), to understand the importance of speech and therefore communication as a clue to social identity, status, relationships as well as stratification. The book is meant for scholars in the field of Feminist Stylistics and Sociolinguistics and also students who have an interest in English literature and Language.