This document discusses the application of sociolinguistics in legal settings. It covers how sociolinguistic analysis can be used in areas like dialectology, discourse analysis, and evaluating recorded conversations. Dialect analysis has helped determine whether a defendant's speech patterns match a recorded criminal. Discourse analysis examines language use and how people discuss topics. When acting as expert witnesses, sociolinguists must be careful to remain objective and distinguish between roles as experts and consultants for attorneys.

1. Sociolinguistic and Law
Presented by
Md Syed Ahamad
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EDWARD FINEGAN

2. Reference
• Handbook of Sociolinguistics, 1998
• Edited by Florian Coulmas
• Wikipedia
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3. Outline
• Sociolinguistic Applications in Forensic Settings
• Dialectology
• Discourse
• Conclusion – Sociolinguistic and Law
• Language experts and ethics
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4. Dialectology
• A dialect – shared speech characteristics of a social
group.
• Ash, a sociolinguist familiar with the phidalphia
speech community demonstrated that the change
in vowel quality in their dialect is difficult in trying
to disguise their voices.
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5. Dialectology
• Labov’s Acoustic analysis of the vowels in the
words bomb, there, off, and on ( “There's gonna be
a bomb going off on the flight to LA”).
• The intervention of a skilled language analyst can
lead to a recognition that a defendant is not a likely
perpetrator.
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6. Discourse
• Definition – the study of language use.
• Structure – A particular unit of language.
• Function – A particular focus on language use.
• A unit which looks like a sentence but doesn’t
mean anything
• e.g. Colourless green ideas sleep furiously
• The units in which people speak do not always
look like sentences.
• e.g. I mean, huh! It’s not like that……
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7. Shuy Issues
• First issue – challenge of making accurate
transcriptions.
• Prince Analysis
• (a) lines represent FBI transcriptions, the
(b) lines transcriptions made by Prince herself.
• T-tape carrier, D-the target and eventual defender.
• Capital letter – heavy stress
• Bracket – time length of silence.
Continue….
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8. First Issue
• 1 (a) T: … I don't know whether he said he
followed him or they followed him when he left
there. I don't know.
• (b) T: … I don't know whether he said HE followed
THEM or THEY followed HIM when he left there.
[4 sec] D: They can't HAVE anything. T: I don't
know.
• 2 (a) D: Jesus Christ – that's a shame. I don't know
what the hell to do.
• (b) D: Jesus Christ. [5 sec] That's a shame. [3 sec] I
don't know what the hell to tell you.
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9. Second Issue
• Second issue – interpretations of conversational exchanges
• Linguists analyse how people talk and not just what
they speak.
• e.g. That’s not what I mean!
• Labov’s observer Paradox - “our goal is to observe
how people use language when they are not being
observed.”
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10. Second Issue
• Group Discussion
• Topic analysis – who raised which topics and how
often.
• Response Analysis to a given topic(changing it,
postponing it).
• Labov’s observer Paradox
• Shuy notes “The way a person selects from among
these options gives clues to that person's concerns,
interests, and intentions.”
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11. Conclusion
Language experts and ethics
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12. Problem
• Sociolinguists who serve as consultants and expert
witnesses inevitably face ethical challenges.
• Language experts face exceptional challenges when
participating in a vigorously adversarial system.
• Awkward situation and many others.
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13. Solution
• Fenagan’s guidelines –
• Don't allow yourself to assume that an attorney
retaining your expertise has told you all that he or she
could reveal about the case;
• Distinguish between your roles as expert and
consultant;
• Be aware that another expert may be providing
opposing counsel with critiques of your analysis.
• No emotions but the truth!!
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14. Thank You
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