The Place of Grammar in a Stylistic Study: An Analysis of Niyi Osundare’s Open letter to President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan

Abstract

This study examined the role of Grammar in the Linguistic Stylistic analysis of Niyi Osundare’s Open Letter to President Jonathan. The study identified, analyzed, and related the prominent grammatical components in the letter to its socio-political context. The study employed both primary and secondary sources of data. Additionally, the data were analysed using the purview of the linguistic approach of stylistics. It was discovered that the grammar of the language of the text was deployed in a manner of appealing to President Jonathan to willingly and graciously accept the outcome of the 2015 General Elections in Nigeria. The study equally demonstrated that grammatical devices employed in the letter illuminated the style of language use of Osundare in political discourse. The study concluded that grammar has an important role to play in studying political discourses as it enhances the discovering of their intentions.