Speech analysis has a type called the voice stress analysis that detects stress in the form of micro tremors in the speech of a person. It is important to note that the voice stress analysis is equivalent to polygraph. Both polygraph and stress have a common problem of not being able to point out deception. This notwithstanding, the speech analysis is apparently being used by both the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States. The fact that each and every person possesses a unique voiceprint makes the identification of a speaker to be theoretically possible. This can be achieved through acoustic analysis of the intonation counters, pitch and vowel length. When the pairs of the spectrographs that show the suspect speaker and the known speaker uttering similar words are matched, the speaker can be easily identified (Olsson 2004, p. 71).
The fact that voice stress analysis relies on eye comparison is a big problem. Another problem involves the variation that occurs in the same speaker. It is reported that the uttering of the same sentence a hundred times in quick succession does not produce any two identical uttering. Some countries like the United Kingdom, however, prefer auditory analysis as opposed to the acoustic method. In auditory analysis, the speech samples are phonetically transcribed. This analysis is important as it allows the analysts to identify such features that are idiosyncratic like the speech impediments and the unusual realization of phonemes. Besides, the analysts might find the need to profile the social and regional identity of the speaker. Speech analysis nowadays accepts the mixed method as the most accurate and reliable. It can found its application in situat...
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... and textual analysis (Gibbons 2003, p. 26).
Works Cited
Coulthard, M, & Johnson, A 2007, an introduction to forensic linguistics: language in
evidence, Routledge, New York.
Gibbons, J 2003, Forensic linguistics: an introduction to language in the justice system, Blackwell Pub, Malden.
Gibbons, J, & Turell, TM 2008, Dimensions of forensic linguistics, John Benjamins Publishing Company, Amsterdam.
Jordan, SN 2002, Forensic linguistics: the linguistic analyst and expert witness of language evidence in criminal trials, Biola University, La Mirada.
McMenamin, GR, & Choi, D 2002 Forensic linguistics: advances in forensic stylistics, Crc Press, Boca Raton.
Olsson, J 2008, Forensic linguistics, Continuum, London.
Olsson, J 2004, Forensic linguistics: an introduction to language, crime, and the law,
Continuum International Publishing Group, London .
This chapter focused mainly on misconceptions and attempting to clarify those misconceptions about accents. In the opinion of linguists, accent is a difficult word to define. This is due to the fact that language has variation therefore when it comes to a person having an accent or not, there is no true technical distinction because every person has different phonological aspects to their way of speaking. However, when forced to define this word, it is described as “a way of speaking” (Lippi-Green, 2012, p.44). Although Lippi- Green identified the difficulty linguists have in distinguishing between accent, dialect, and another language entirely, they were able to construct a loose way of distinguishing. Lippi- Green states that an accent can be determined by difference in phonological features alone, dialect can be determined by difference in syntax, lexicon, and semantics alone, and when all of these aspects are different from the original language it is considered another language entirely (Lippi-Green, 2012).
Psychological studies suggest that during extreme stress and anxiety, suspects will be conditioned to associate speaking with periods of safety. For interrogator, when the suspect speaks, the objective of gaining information will have been obtained and there will be relief from the unsavoury task of administering these conditions of stress. Therefore, it is difficult or impossible to determine during the interrogation whether the suspect is revealing the truthful information or just talking to escape the torture.
Forensic anthropology is the study of bones in relation to a criminal investigation. Some have probably seen it used on television, but this is not an accurate portrayal of what this truly is. Many times, this area of forensic science is hidden from the public eye; people only get to see all of the glamorous parts. What they do not see is all of the hard work and effort that is put in to get the job correctly done. This career is a rare decision for someone to choose, because of the lack of opportunity for employment positions as well as the low income per year; however, it is an extremely fascinating occupation. Forensic anthropology has been known to help many organizations, including museums, and law enforcement agencies.
The idea of a technique that can help people seek the truth has been around since 1878 thanks to the work of Angelo Mosso. It was not until later on that the polygraph was modified and used in conjunction with law enforcements. The polygraph was first used in 1895 and later on modified to modern technology and computerize around 1992. Polygraph has been around for centuries but is still an inconsistent technique and grounds for errors at court. The polygraph can cause the case in court to be grounds for dismissal and well as a mistrial. The polygraph also crosses the line within the Constitution specifically the Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments by violating the due process and the self-incrimination guarantees which are part on these
In order to understand Forensic Anthropology we must break it down into the components. According to Oxford American Dictionary the term Forensic is significant to the use of scientific methods to investigate a crime. Anthropology is defined by Oxford American Dictionary as the study of societies, cultures, and human origins. The combination of both, Forensic and Anthropology, consists of applying the principles which are introduced by Anthropologists to solving a crime. Forensic Anthropology is currently a small field but is expected to grow in the upcoming years due how it is being portrayed in books, television shows, classes, and many other resources. The usage of this field is becoming crucial because of how gruesome the crimes being committed by criminals are becoming. Although Forensic Anthropology is currently a small field it requires a lot of education, carries plenty of job responsibilities, and continues to aid in the solving of crimes.
Automatic speech recognition is the most successful and accurate of these applications. It is currently making a use of a technique called “shadowing” or sometimes called “voicewriting.” Rather than have the speaker’s speech directly transcribed by the system, a hearing person whose speech is well-trained to an ASR system repeats the words being spoken.
Many students decide to become a forensic anthropologist after watching highly glamorized television shows that depict these scientists as intuitive crime solvers. The field of forensic anthropology is heavily involved in the criminal justice system, but biological anthropology is equally important.
Forensic evidence can provide just outcomes in criminal matters. However, it is not yet an exact science as it can be flawed. It can be misrepresented through the reliability of the evidence, through nonstandard guidelines, and through public perception. Forensic science can be dangerously faulty without focus on the ‘science’ aspect. It can at times be just matching patterns based on an individual’s interpretations. This can lead to a miscarriage of justice and forever alter a person’s life due to a perceived “grey area” (Merritt C, 2010) resulting in a loss of confidence in the reliability of forensic evidence.
Style has been an integral component in the field of linguistics. Linguistic style refers to a person’s speaking pattern, which can include different features such as pace, pitch, intonation, syntactic patterns, etc. Styles of speech is learned, and is often influenced by location, gender, ethnicity, and age. As different cultures and sub-cultures arise, linguistic variations occur and different sociolinguistic styles come into being. Each style can index social meanings such as group membership, personal attributes or beliefs.
According to the American academy of forensic science, the forensic sciences form a vital part if the entire justice and regulatory system. Forensic science is an enticing career having to do with science and criminal justice, a large variety of schooling is needed to start this job Despite the fact that it can be a dangerous environment it can be an exciting profession to pursue. There are many different fields in forensic science that you can study or major in but they all have the same objectives.
Psycholinguistics is information collected from someone’s speech. It is a relatively small part in providing information to a profile because most of the time law enforcement does not have a recording of offender. However, when there is a recording, psycholinguistics can be very helpful and provide a large amount of information. Some of the information that can be collected through psycholinguistics is the geographic origin, age, ethnicity or race, sex, occupation, education level, and religious orientation (Smith, 16).
In order to pursue my dream as a Forensic Psychologists I am aware that I have to put in a lot of effort and determination in to school. There are various aspects to pursuing my career such as getting good grades, volunteering in police departments, networking, and doing an immense amount of research on my field. The career I chose requires a lot of my time not only as a student but as an adult. What I mean by this is that from now on, my time is devoted in to acquiring skills and changing my persona in order to be better qualified for the my job. Throughout this road map I will talk about what is a Forensic Psychologist, what are the requirements, skills necessary, what I could do with this degree, the personality types that are best suited for this job, and what are the prospects of moving up.
The topic I find such fascinating is Forensic Science and how forensic science has significantly changed over the years. “The area of forensic science has grown considerably over the last 150 years and more so since the mid 1980’s.” (Lyman, 2016) Forensic science has gone from taking basic information, and fingerprints to DNA and blood splatter. During a crime scene investigation evidence is collected, analyzed in a crime laboratory and then if needed are presented to the court. However, today the crime laboratory is becoming mobile and can go to the scene to analyze the evidence. Each crime scene and investigation is unique and distinctive, with the help of forensics it can help solve a case.
A polygraph is an instrument that simultaneously records changes in physiological processes such as heartbeat, blood pressure, respiration and electrical resistance (galvanic skin response or GSR). The polygraph is used as a lie detector by police departments, the FBI, the CIA, federal and state governments, and numerous private agencies. The underlying theory of the polygraph is that when people lie they also get measurably nervous about lying. The heartbeat increases, blood pressure goes up, breathing rhythms change, perspiration increases, etc. A baseline for these physiological characteristics is established by asking the subject questions whose answers the investigator knows. Deviation from the baseline for truthfulness is taken as sign of lying.
Analyzing dialects can be difficult due to the fact that is it hard to transcribe the pronunciation of an individual dialect because English is not spelled the same way it is pronounced. Furthermore, one person’s interpretation of spelling a dialect might not match up with another’s, so the reader might not “hear” the dialect properly. Regardless, written versions of dialects are essential to discussing dialectical differences.