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Text messaging forensics : Txt 4n6: idiolect free authorship analysis?

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Current debate within forensic authorship analysis has tended to polarise those who argue that analysis methods should reflect a strong cognitive theory of idiolect and others who see less of a need to look behind the stylistic variation of the texts they are examining. This chapter examines theories of idiolect and asks how useful or necessary they are to the practice of forensic authorship analysis. Taking a specific text messaging case the chapter demonstrates that methodologically rigorous, theoretically informed authorship analysis need not appeal to cognitive theories of idiolect in order to be valid. By considering text messaging forensics, lessons will be drawn which can contribute to wider debates on the role of theories of idiolect in forensic casework.

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Dr Tim Grant

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Publication date3 Mar 2010
Publication titleThe Routledge handbook of forensic linguistics
EditorsMalcom Coulthard, Alison Johnson
PublisherRoutledge
Pages508-522
Number of pages24
ISBN (Electronic)978-0-203-85560-7
ISBN (Print)978-0-415-46309-6, 978-0-415-83723-1
Original languageEnglish

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NameRoutledge Handbooks in Applied Linguistics
PublisherRoutledge

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