A stylistic analysis of Diescho's dictums published from January 2014 to December 2015

Abstract

Using the Formalist Theory and the pedagogical stylistics perspective, this article analyses stylistic features of foregrounding and figurative language used by Joseph Diescho in his “Dictums”, published in the New Era newspaper between January 2014 and December 2015. The study seeks to demonstrate how public discourse can provide useful insights to teachers and lecturers as well as students who are inter-ested in understanding how language and literature can be analysed in the classroom. The study found that Diescho is a writer with multiple authorial styles. Furthermore, he creatively combines (writing) styles such as deviation, parallelism, reference, rhetorical questions and the extensive use of quotes to communicate what he intends the readers to understand. The varied styles are also intended to strengthen and enhance his arguments, as well as to voice his views, beliefs and opinions on multiple issues. The study recommends the need for classroom practitioners to scrutinise public discourse from a stylistic perspective in the primary, secondary and tertiary education sectors in order to enhance their interpretive skills and creative writing skills.