This course focuses on the role that linguistics and languages play within the rapidly growing field of forensic science; namely forensic linguistics. Forensic linguistics is a diverse field that not only has applications in legal and criminal investigations, but also makes important contributions to the military, government and business, and can contribute to literary, historical and cultural studies.
In this course we go through the various sub-fields and issues of forensic linguistics; for example, voice comparison, speaker profiling, authorship analysis, disputed utterance, plagiarism, transcription, translation-interpreting, interrogation and verballing, while explaining the nature of linguistic evidence and the role that linguistics and languages play in the legal proceedings. We also learn about the use of computational and statistical tools in linguistic analyses. The course has no prerequisites; the necessary basic linguistic and statistical ideas and tools will be introduced and explained.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Understand in what areas and fields forensic linguistics is relevant.
- Understand the different types of linguistic data that can be used as evidence.
- Select and apply basic methods for analysing linguistic evidence.
- Understand the potentials and limits of linguistic evidence.
- Explain the role of language and linguistics in the legal system.
Other Information
This is a co-taught course. Any cap on enrolments in one course applies to both courses combined.
Indicative Assessment
- Online quizzes (4) (20) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
- Group presentation on mini project (1000 words) (20) [LO 2,3,4,5]
- Project report: Individual report on the group project (1500 word) (25) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
- Final exam (2500 words) (35) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
This course requires a total of 130 hours of work, including:
- Weekly two one-hour lectures, in which all necessary background and knowledge relevant to this course will be introduced and discussed.
- Weekly one one-hour tutorial, in which some problems/issues related to the topic introduced will be discussed.
- Nine hours of preparation and review for the contents of each topic; including the readings of the papers for each topic.
Inherent Requirements
Not applicable
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
John Olsson, June Luchjenbroers (2014, third edition) Forensic Linguistics. Bloomsbury. ISBN 9781472569578
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 1
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
First Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3219 | 23 Feb 2026 | 02 Mar 2026 | 31 Mar 2026 | 29 May 2026 | In Person | N/A |
