Decolonizing the English Language: Stylistic Innovations in Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things

Abstract

The research analyzes stylistic innovations in Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things in terms of postcolonial stylistics proposed by Esterino Adami (2025) in terms of the contribution of the novel to decolonisation of the English language. The language practices of Roy by use of syntactic deviation, phonetic spelling, code-switching and semantic foregrounding undermine the conventions of Standard English and represent the mixed Indian, postcolonial identity of Indian English literature. Through stylistic colorings of the language to make room of local expressions, cultural rhythms, and non-linear tale structures, Roy exercises the voice of rebellion of a subversive authorial identity that defies colonial linguistic domination. Referring to the major ideas introduced by Adami including hybridity, voice, resistance, and stylistic appropriation, the discussion draws attention to the uniqueness of the prose written by Roy as the field of political and cultural negotiations. The present research maintains that stylistic games initiated by Roy not only subvert colonial linguistic imperialism but also appropriates the narrative space to marginalized female voices as a very clear (post)colonial poem of resistance.