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Forensic Stylistics

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Eman Khurram
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68 views21 pages

Forensic Stylistics

Uploaded by

Eman Khurram
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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 Forensic Stylistics

Types of STYLISTICS
Forensic linguistics or Forensic stylistics
Forensic linguistics, or forensic
stylistics as it is sometimes called,
applies linguistic techniques to legal
and criminal issues.
Stylistics is the scientific study of
patterns of variation in written
language. The object of study is the
language of a single individual
(idiolect), resulting in a description of
his or her identifying linguistic
Forensic linguistics/ Forensic Stylistics
A technique concerned with in-depth
evaluation of linguistic characteristics
of text, including grammar, syntax,
spelling, vocabulary and phraseology,
which is accomplished through a
comparison of textual material of
known and unknown authorship, in an
attempt to disclose idiosyncrasies
peculiar to authorship to determine
whether the authors could be identical.
Forensic linguistics/ Forensic Stylistics

 The discipline consists of an evaluation of


linguistic characteristics of communications —
either written text or the spoken word, including
the grammar, syntax, spelling, vocabulary, and
phraseology.
The evaluation involves a comparison of one or
more texts, or one or more samples of speech, that
are of known origin for the purpose of disclosing
idiosyncrasies peculiar to individuals in order to
determine whether the authors or speakers could
be identical. (Moenssens et al., 1986:578)
Forensic linguistics or Forensic stylistics
This discipline subjects written or
spoken materials (or both), to scientific
analysis for determination and
measurement of content, meaning,
speaker identification , or
determination of authorship.
Forensic linguistics

Forensic linguistics is the scientific


study of language as applied to
forensic purposes and contexts.
It is a very new area of linguistics vis-
à-vis its 2400-year history and is a
recent and rapidly growing area of
modern applied linguistics.
Forensic Stylistics
Forensic stylistics is the application of
the science of linguistic stylistics to
forensic contexts.
The focus of forensic stylistics is
written language and, sometimes,
spoken language represented in
writing, e.g., transcripts of tape
recorded conversations, depositions,
Forensic Stylistics
The primary application of forensic
stylistics is in the area of questioned
authorship.
 Other frequent applications relate to
the analysis of meaning in documents
such as wills, insurance policies,
contracts, agreements, laws, and the
analysis of meaning in spoken
discourse.
Forensic Semantics

Primary areas of research in forensic


semantics are the interpretation of
words, phrases, sentences, and texts,
ambiguity in texts and laws, and
interpretation of meaning in spoken
discourse, such as reading of rights and
police warnings, police interviews, and
jury instructions:
Forensic linguistic analysis

Forensic linguistic analysis is utilized


in cases involving assessment of threat,
statement and confession analysis, and
false allegations.
Questioned Authorship Forensic
Questioned Authorship Forensic
authorship identification is
accomplished through the analysis of
style in written language, i.e., linguistic
stylistics.
The writing style is exhibited in
underlying linguistic patterns internal
to the habitual language used by the
author.
Questioned Authorship Forensic

Stylisticsexploits the two principles of


inherent variability in language no two
writers of a language write in exactly
the same way, and no individual writer
writes the same way all the time.
Questioned Authorship Forensic
This approach to author identification
is based on two well-documented facts:
author-specific linguistic patterns are
present in unique combination in the
style of every writer.
These underlying patterns are usually
established enough to be empirically
described and measured by careful
linguistic observation and analysis,
making author identification possible.
Questioned Authorship Forensic
Individual differences in writing style
are, therefore, due to the writer’s
choice of available alternatives within
a large common stock of linguistic
forms.
At any given moment, a writer picks
those elements of language that will
best communicate what he or she
Questioned Authorship Forensic
The writer’s “choice” of available
alternate forms is often determined by
external conditions and then becomes
the conscious, semiconscious,
subconscious, or (usually) unconscious
result of habitually using one form
instead of another.
Forensic stylistic

Forensic stylistic analysis makes use of


stylistic analysis (stylistics) to reach a
conclusion and opinion related to the
authorship of a questioned writing
within the context of litigation.
Questioned Authorship Forensic
In adjudication of authorship, forensic
linguists compare specific
characteristics of current
communications (tone, sentence
structure, idiomatic usage [unique to a
particular style], vocabulary,
punctuation, spelling, and grammar)
with a known corpus (body or group)
of writings from the suspect, to match
for authorship.
Forensic stylistic Analysis

In the analysis of a crime, it is


important to study the written or
spoken language of the perpetrator, as
it can offer insight into the offender's
age, race, gender, level of education,
religious or spiritual beliefs,
geographic and socioeconomic
background, culture, and ethnicity.
Forensic stylistic Analysis
Specific word usage in spoken or
written threats can give investigators a
great deal of information concerning
likelihood of action, suspect's
motivation, personality characteristics,
demographics, and degree of
psychological stability (relates to the
likelihood of impulsive action and the
ability to safely manage stressful
situations).
Forensic stylistic Analysis

Confession and statement analysis are


used to determine the truthfulness of
the speaker's words, the information
communicated via word choices, and
references to the information omitted.
Forensic linguists can study these
patterns to determine the best method
of approach with individual suspects .
Reflect on

What is the difference


between pedagogical and
forensic stylistics?

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