Forensic Linguistic Examination of a Documentary Text: Foreign Experience

Abstract

Introduction. Forensic linguistic examination is, currently, an essential type of forensic anal- ysis. Herewith, forensic linguistic examination of a documentary text appears to be one of the most relevant and promising modern types of forensic linguistic examination. Theoretical Basis. Methods. Forensic linguistic examination of a documentary text in for- eign countries is not associated with language documentation, which means documenting languages, but with legal linguistic examination and legal language – the knowledge is re- quired to compile legal documents. The objective of selecting methods to conduct a foren- sic linguistic examination of a documentary text is, primarily, a search of a correlation (and differentiation) between language and law.. Results. Preparation of legal documents in English is provided according to a certain stan- dard that is called “plain language”. The object of a document’s forensic linguistic exam- ination is a text of such documents as contracts, agreements, notifications, interrogation protocols, etc. The need to conduct a forensic linguistic examination of a documentary text arises when it is required to explain and describe various linguistic wordings in the docu- ment that may be incomprehensible to the forensic examination initiator. The author has illustrated, by the example of the trial cases of such advanced Western countries as Great Britain and the United States, that forensic linguistic examination of a documentary text abroad has its own unique features. Discussion and Conclusion. An analysis of forensic best practice in the UK and the USA shows that plain language standards violation leads to a misunderstanding of the entire document meaning, which may entail certain legal consequences for one of the parties in- dicated in the document. Sometimes a replacement of wording in a document is carried out by criminals with the purpose of committing a crime. This is related to the fact that a male- factor deliberately counts on a misinterpretation of a document meaning by an ordinary cit- izen due to the lack of relevant special knowledge and training.