This episode offers a comprehensive introduction to Forensic Linguistics, the interdisciplinary field that examines how language operates within legal and judicial contexts. Focusing on language as evidence, the discussion reveals how words, voices, texts, and interactions can influence investigations, trials, and legal outcomes—often in ways that are invisible to non-specialists.
Beginning with a clear definition of the discipline, the episode explains how linguistic analysis is applied to areas such as authorship attribution, speaker identification, police interviews, confessions, witness statements, and the interpretation of legal documents. It explores how tools from phonetics, pragmatics, discourse analysis, and corpus linguistics help uncover patterns, resolve ambiguity, and assess the reliability of linguistic evidence, while also acknowledging the methodological limits of such analyses.
Special attention is given to the role of power, inequality, and miscommunication in legal settings, highlighting how language can disadvantage vulnerable speakers and contribute to misunderstanding or coercion. The episode also addresses contemporary challenges posed by digital communication, in which emails, messages, and social media posts increasingly serve as legal evidence.
Designed for UG and PG students, teachers, and interdisciplinary learners, this episode serves as a definitive study guide to understanding forensic linguistics as a discipline of precision, ethical responsibility, and social relevance—demonstrating why careful attention to language is essential to the pursuit of justice.