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This study focuses on the use of the Tamil language and stylistic devices adopted by Re. Karthigesu, one of the best known Tamil creative writers in Malaysia. The four novels selected for the study are written on social themes which center around the Tamil communities living in Malaysia. These novels depict the social networks and the sociolinguistic environment prevalent in Malaysia. This study also emphasises the use of sentences and rhetoric which are unique to the author. The researcher has constructed a suitable theoretical framework by incorporating and modifying the existing theoretical models in stylistics to analyse the data. This study examines the language use of the author from three perspectives : (i) linguistic description of style (ii) sociolinguistic aspects (iii) the use of rhetoric. There are active and passive discourses in Re.Karthigesu´s novels: these form some of the significant stylistic devices used by the author to create the setting of narration to be more realistic and natural. The two varieties of Tamil (spoken and written) are well utilized by the author in all the four novels.

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Dr.Krishnan Ramasamy is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, University of Malaya. . He has been teaching the Tamil language and Linguistics for the past twenty three years and has contributed many articles to National and International journals in the areas of critical discourse analysis and translation.

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