The Stylistic Significance of Graphological Devices in Sam Ukala’s Skeletons: A Collection of Stories

Abstract

This paper is an investigation of Ukala’s use of graphological devices, and their stylistic functions in his text, Skeletons. In a literary text, language and style are studied at various levels, and the scientific study of language is referred to as linguistics. Although graphology is not a branch of linguistics, its affinity with the phonic substance in particular and language in general, is so close that it exerts considerable influence on style. Therefore, the patterned system of the graphic substance is an aspect of the style of written discourse, which should not be overlooked in the study of the language of a literary text. In this paper, we subject significant graphological devices subsuming italicization, punctuations, and capitalization to practical analysis stylistically. The paper will be of immense contribution to knowledge as it will act as a springboard, to future researchers in the study of the language of African literature