Forensic Linguistics as a Pass to Contemporary Legal Language Development

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Résumé

This article studies the contribution of forensic linguistics to
contemporary legal processes. To achieve this, it analyzes the
methodological tools on which the discipline relies including
phonetic analysis, sociolinguistics, corpus linguistics, and
pragmatic theory. The main objective is to evaluate how these
approaches help address key linguistic challenges faced by modern
judicial systems, specifically problems arising from
multilingualism, dialectal variation, and the growth of digital
communication. Based on a multidisciplinary theoretical
framework combining linguistic theory and legal studies, the
research looks at prominent forensic casework and evaluates the
interpretative principles that guide expert analysis.
As far as the methodology is concerned, the study draws on
documented cases and established forensic procedures to illustrate
how linguistic evidence is collected, analyzed, and presented in
court. The results pinpoint the important role of linguistic expertise
in clarifying ambiguous messages, identifying potential authorship
in cybercrime and online threats, and revealing linguistic nuances
that can significantly impact trial results. Similarly, the research
paper underlines ethical concerns and limitations, such as the
subjectivity of interpretation and the risk of misuse or
overvaluation of linguistic evidence.
The findings ultimately signal the growing necessity of
forensic linguistics within judicial systems worldwide. The article
encourages stronger institutional integration of linguistic expertise,
increased awareness among legal professionals, and more
collaboration between linguists, law enforcement agencies, and the
judiciary to guarantee both the reliability and the responsible use
of linguistic evidence.

Mots-clés

Forensic linguistics, Legal discourse, Linguistic evidence, Authorship attribution, Language and law.