Forensic Linguistics

Abstract

Forensic linguistics refers to the use of linguistic expert evidence in legal proceedings, and more broadly, to linguistic research in legal contexts. Most forensic linguistic work published in English pertains to the common law adversarial legal system of the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Australia. Any area of linguistics can have a forensic application. In order to do forensic linguistics, a person must qualify as a linguist, specializing in a particular area, such as phonetics or sociolinguistics. There are a few graduate programs in forensic linguistics, but most practitioners are linguists with a doctorate in their specialization who apply this expertise to legal questions and contexts.