This blog is educational and for sharing ideas (not for debates). It’s an introductory course in Comparative Forensic Linguistics Analysis for bilingual (Spanish-English) professionals or readers interested in this topic. I will be publishing my posts mainly in Spanish, but many of my examples, articles or recommended videos, will be in English. I might review cases and examples in other languages only if I find a specialist who can do the comparative analysis either in Spanish or English. My posts will follow a specific academic and practical order and will be published in the language they were written. Any reply or comment to this blog can be made in any of these two languages.
Comments and participation from linguists and readers interested in Forensic Linguistics or justice will be welcome as well as the participation of specialists in such diverse areas as:
– Semiotics – Sociolinguistics – Discourse Analysis
– Psychology – Sociology – Social Work
– Law – Journalism – Police Investigations
Forensic Linguistics
Forensic linguistics is, in a few words, the application of linguistic methods in the legal context; the use of language as evidence in police investigations or court.
Some refer to forensic linguists as language detectives, since their analysis of linguistic evidence may assist in investigations, and they can serve in the court as expert witnesses. Let’s watch the following (4:24 minutes) video from Discovery Investigations, where Dr. Robert A. Leonard (Director of the Graduate Program of Forensic Linguistics at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York) introduces us to this fascinating world, through two cases solved by forensic linguistic analysis:
http://youtu.be/acHg0L5ky30
Below is a list of the main topics that will be covered in this blog:
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Forensic Linguistics
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Comparative Forensic Linguistics
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Psycholinguistics
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Statement Analysis
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Discourse Analysis
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Sociolinguistics
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Forensic Linguistics top representatives and bibliography
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Other related disciplines
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Specialties of Forensic Linguistics:
– Statements Analysis: detecting lying and deception
– Author language profile: threatening letters & emails
– Ransom notes analysis
– Suicide letters analysis
– Plagiarism and authorship attribution
Some of the above topics will be explained to you by Dr. Jürgen Handke (professor at the University of Marburg, Germany) in a12 minutes introductory video to Forensic Linguistics:
http://youtu.be/n4wZ-O_f5ds
Once we understand what Forensic Linguistics is lets talk now about Comparative Forensic Linguistics, which is the main topic of this blog:
Comparative Forensic Linguistics is concerned with detecting and preventing the wrong application of Forensic Linguistics and Statement Analysis to the linguistic evidence (oral or written) produced in a second language by witnesses, victims or suspects.
The Statement Analysis techniques may vary according to the language in which they are written or expressed. That is why it is important to be sure that the analysis is appropriate to prevent an innocent suspect going to prison, and letting a criminal walk away free.
Comparative Forensic Linguistics is understood in this blog, as the method used to analyze the linguistic evidence in texts, interviews, police questioning, conversations or any type of language material that has been produced in two or more languages. This also includes variants of the same language as we have in the Spanish language: Castilian Spanish, Mexican Spanish, and the Spanish of Central and South America. It’s important to include also Spanglish and the sociolects spoken by gang groups, religious organizations, or the jargon from different professions and occupations, etc.
The theoretical principles of forensic linguistics are the same in all languages, however, the forensic linguistic analysis may vary in many cases, when applied in Spanish or in English due to the differences in syntactic, lexical, morphological, semantic phonetic, and/or cultural rules between both languages. Comparative forensic linguistics analysis detects how these variations may affect the statements (oral or written) produced by speakers of a second language in a legal context.
The comparative forensic linguistics analysis is not limited to detecting misunderstandings or mistranslations made by the subject or interpreters and translators. It is also used to detect the incorrect interpretation of concepts and ideas belonging to another language and/or another culture which is often not understood by analysts, interpreters, investigators, lawyers, judges, juries, etc.
It’s very important to consider the subject’s level of fluency in the second language in which he/she has been questioned, interviewed or has written his/her statement, confession or any other type of document.
- Cases & Analysis:
Comparative Forensic Linguistics 
Reblogged this on freeblakemastro.
This is such important work. To the extent that forensic linguistics is goinf to be useful and relevant,, it must diversify. As a bilingual elementary school teacher i am constantly struck by how poorly understood our Spanish-dominant or even bilingual-bicultural students would be if they were assessed only in English. I often have students whi are articulate and intelligent in ine language but not in the other. Failing to capitalize on their knowledge wastes not only the children’s time, but huge educational resources.
In forensic linguistics the stakes are that much higher.
This is a very interesting subject. I can foresee it’s application in many areas over and beyond just the areas covered in this work!
This is very interesting and important work that I don’t think is being given enough attention by academics and professionals. The room for misinterpretation is great for statements and testimony by witnesses whose native language is different than that of the judicial forum in which the evidence is being evaluated. Linguistic forensics is a field of study that will help reduce error and provide important guidance in the evaluation and interpretation of such evidence.