The concept and essence of forensic linguistic expertise

Abstract

In this article, we proceed from the fact that the concept of "linguistic expertise" can be considered in two aspects, linguistic and legal. The distinction of these aspects is important both in a scientific and practical sense, since at each of these levels linguistic expertise differs in tasks, methods and techniques, objects of research and the status of the subject of research. Linguistic expertise as a process of studying linguistic phenomena, inextricably linked with new knowledge about the language, has a heuristic, proactive, exploratory nature, therefore it is not able to solve specific expert tasks. The differentiation of linguistic and legal levels in forensic linguistic expertise will ensure that the result of the study meets the requirements of relevance, admissibility and reliability imposed by law on evidence. The essence of forensic linguistic expertise is revealed through the concept of special linguistic knowledge. Special knowledge is traditionally understood as knowledge obtained as a result of professional education (training) and practical experience that goes beyond general education and everyday experience, knowledge that is not well-known and generally available, does not have universal, mass distribution, which is available to a limited circle of knowledgeable people who have received special training. As a result of the influence of scientific knowledge on people's daily lives and the development of society, the ratio of well-known and specialized knowledge is constantly changing. The totality of special knowledge defines the boundaries of an expert specialty within the framework of professional training of experts. Currently, it has become commonplace to use unqualified and unscrupulous linguistic expertise in investigative and judicial practice, the authors of which, without special knowledge and without knowledge of the methodology and procedures of expert analysis, make judgments on issues on which human destinies depend.