“Lay down branch roads, provide town sites, build barracks”: A Practical Stylistic Investigation of Hyde Clarke’s Colonization, Defence, and Railways in Our Indian Empire (1857)

In his treatise Colonization, Defence, and Railways in Our Indian Empire (1857), Hyde Clarke wholeheartedly approves of colonial railways advocates the need for British to bring about technological progress subcontinent. The main research purpose this article is provide stylistic evidence how relays constructs Anglocentric imperial viewpoint on railways. firstly introduces figure railway pamphlet, discusses keywords colonialism colonization as defined two authoritative nineteenthcentury dictionaries English language postcolonial studies. Secondly, moving from field stylistics, methodology by Ron Carter “practical stylistics” applied thirteen sequences including keyword colonization. Finally, definitions are compared with Clarke’s notion emerging text. This linguistic analysis hence identifies explores strategies utilised author – mainly choices at word- phrase-level, syntactic structures pragmatic functions these devices reveals ways which he conveys mental attitude reality.