Published Paper Details:

Abstract: Applied linguistics deals with the practical issues of language use. Stylistics is a branch of applied linguistics. Linguistic aspects of meaning making is the concern of all the subfields of stylistics. Stylistics, an interdisciplinary field, systematically explores the linguistic frameworks and set of features embedded in spoken and written texts. Stylistic analysis is of paramount importance for understanding how the communication is effected by the stylistic devices. Language is a game changer in the field of law. It establishes social control. Language as a tool helps legal professionals to control the thoughts and make their interpretations strong. Language is a means for achieving objects for them by convincing. Legal language is unique and frames a battleground for achieving justice and persuasive effect through normative and performative functions. Supreme Court judgments, which are the final products of court proceedings, are one of the legal texts. As in any stylistic analysis the description precedes an interpretation i.e. meaning precedes an effect, in this paper the lexical and syntactic choices made by the judges in the selected Supreme Court judgment are described, investigated and analyzed by using the frameworks provided by Randolph Quirk and Greenbaum, De Beaugrande and Dressler and Eugene O Winter with respect to their semanticity and communicative style. It explores how the stylistic devices have attributes of argumentative devices and persuasive tone. It also unfolds the compact and complex nature of legal writing.