E N D
Definitions: “Forensic linguistics is the name given to a number of sub-disciplines within applied linguistics, and which relate to the interface between language, the law and crime. The range of topics is diverse: from the analysis of confessions to the language rights of ethnic minorities, from the assessment of threat in a ransom demand, to determining the genuineness of a suicide note.” (Wikipedia.com) The study of the language of the law, including the language of legal documents and the language of the courts, the police, and prisons; ·The alleviation of language-based inequality and disadvantage in the legal system; ·The interchange of ideas and information between the legal and linguistic communities; ·Research into the practice, improvement, and ethics of expert testimony and the presentation of linguistic evidence, as well as legal interpreting and translation; ·Better public understanding of the interaction between language and the law. (From the constitution of the IAFL)
Core Areas • Authorship analysis • Phonetic Voice Identification • Investigative Interviewing Techniques • Language in the Courtroom • Protection of the Rights of Vulnerable Witnesses
Interested Parties: • Law Enforcement Agencies: • FBI • SCAS • Interpol • Civil Rights Activists: • Unicef • Red Cross • NAACP
Practitioners: • Academics: • Janet Cotterill (Courtroom Discourse, e.g. OJ Simpson trial) • Roger Shuy (Concealment of Evidence, political language) • ME! (Police Discourse, Investigative Questioning) • Police Officers/Adjunct Investigators: • D.S. Kerry Marlowe (Investigative Interviewing) • Private Consultancy Agencies: • Forensic Linguistics Institute (John Olsson) • Institute for Linguistic Evidence (Carole Chaski)
Uses: • Expert Witnesses • Discourse Analysis: • Written: Court Transcripts (miscarriage of justice, training of lawyers, etc.) • Spoken: Maximising effectiveness of: • Police Interviewing Techniques • Cross Examination • Witness Protection