Discourse

Analysis in Forensic Linguistics:

Defamation as a Linguistic Matter
 Interpretation Relies on Context

EXPRESSION MEANING

CONTEXT
 Interpretation Relies on Context

EXPRESSION MEANING

CONTEXT
CONTEXT
 Expression Helps Balance Contexts

EXPRESSION MEANING

CONTEXT
 Interpretation Relies on Context

John was on his way to school last Friday and was

really worried about the math lesson.
Last week, he had been unable to control the class.
John was on his way to school last Friday and was
really worried about the math lesson.

Last week, he had been unable to control the class.

It was not fair for the math teacher to leave him in

charge.

Robert Leonard, quoted by Jack Hitt, New Yorker 7/23/12

“There is no lawyer’s Paradise where all words have a
fixed, precisely ascertained meaning; and where if the
writer has been careful, a lawyer having a document
referred to him, may sit in his chair, inspect the text,
and answer all questions without raising his eyes.”

J. B. Thayer, A Preliminary Treatise on Evidence at Common Law (1898), 428-29 (par

Sami Jerby, ‫ﺗﻔﺳﯾر اﻟﻌﻘد‬Tafsir Al ’aqd ‘Contract Interpretation,’ 121.)
 Expressions generally have
multiple possible meanings

Expression E 1 Meaning A
2 Meaning B
3 Meaning C
Meaning . . .
Meaning . . .
• No clear, precise boundary encloses text meaning.
• Meaning is not limited to the meanings of a text’s
words.
• Every text must be interpreted by moving the mind
between the text, the context, and world knowledge.
How does context
(co-text, multi-modal representation, world knowledge)
interact with text to convey a defamatory effect to
readers?
—even when every sentence,
considered independently, may be factually true?
How can text itself be manipulated to convey a
defamatory impression while claiming to be true?
 Defamation, Libel and Slander

Defamation—issuing a false statement about another

person, which causes that person to suffer harm

Defamation—term broadly used for both printed medium

(“libel”) and transitory or spoken medium (“slander”)
 Premises for a Linguist
• FL requires attention to context (co-text, world
knowledge, multi-modal representation).
• Advocates tell linguists only selected facts about a
case.
• Expert opinions address only narrow questions--not
basic questions of dispute resolution (or justice!),
which are the prerogative of the finder of fact.
• Experts serve as consultants, not advocates.
• Courts, juries, litigants decide outcomes—not
linguistic (or other) experts.
 Premises for a Linguist
• Just outcomes don’t fall within an expert’s purview.
• Both drafting and rebutting an expert report can
advance methods of analysis and the status of the field,
as well as justice.
• Rebuttal opinions help minimize effects of framing by
advocates and should not be regarded as personal.
• Be wise: imagine a linguist retained to rebut your
analysis and anticipate the critique.
 What’s a speech act?
An utterance/locution that does something
—compliments, declares
—apologizes, swears, congratulates
—impeaches, orders, offers a judgment
—claims, accuses
 Scripted Speech Acts
“Performatives” (J. L. Austin)

• Objection, your honor!

• We find the defendant not guilty.
• Overruled!
• Case dismissed!
• Foul ball!
• Safe!
• Out!
 Grice’s Cooperative Principle

“Make your conversational contribution such

as is required, at the stage at which it occurs,
by the accepted purpose or direction of the
talk exchange in which you are engaged.”
 Maxim of CP: Quality
• Be truthful. Say only what you believe to be
true and have evidence for.

• Speakers are aware that hearers expect them

to honor the maxim of quality.

• That expectation is what makes lying possible!

 Maxim of CP: Quantity
Be appropriately informative
Culturally defined expectations that relevant information will
not be concealed.

In Western cultures, listeners expect speakers to abide by this

maxim. (Also readers/writers)

Speakers rely on the fact that hearers believe the speaker is

acting in accordance with the maxim. (& writers/readers)

Resting on culturally understood expectations, the unspoken

cooperation creates conversational implicatures.
 Quantity
Be appropriately informative

“Do you have any children?”

“Yes, I have two sons.”

Conversational implicature (suggestion): I have only

two sons (not three or four) and I don’t have any
daughters.
Relevance: Be relevant to the exchange
at the time of the utterance

With a seemingly irrelevant utterance, interlocutors

typically strive to understand how it might be relevant
—a joke?
—indicate displeasure with the direction of the
talk?
—how does it fit in with everything else that the
text/speech event and speech act are about?
 Manner: Be orderly and clear!
(Avoid ambiguity and obscurity)

Do 1 and 2 mean the same thing?

1. They got married and had a baby.

2. They had a baby and got married.

Conversational implicature (suggestion): How does the

ordering of the clauses reflect or suggest the ordering of
the events.
Manner: Be orderly and clear!

That’s why #2 seems odd or unnatural!

1. He got sick and died?

2. He died and got sick.
 Conversation:
context dependent, reliant on cultural
knowledge, often indirect

Virginia:(12:15) Have you eaten lunch yet?

Steve: I have to teach at 12:30 …
Virginia: Oh, okay! Another time, then.
 Indirect Speech Acts

Richard: Is the boss in?

Ron: Light’s on in ’er office.
Richard: Oh, okay, thanks!
 Characteristics of indirect speech acts (ISA)

1. Violate a maxim of the cooperative principle (CP)

2. Literal meaning differs from intended meaning
3. How hearers and readers identify ISA:
a) notice utterance violates a maxim of CP
b) assume interlocutor is honoring CP
4. When hearers/readers identify an ISA,
they decipher its intended meaning
with the help of contextual and world knowledge.
A Gricean Application
Attorney James Ragan’s Website
On October 31, 2016, James Reagan obtained a $5.96 million
jury verdict, including an award of $5 million in punitive
damages, on behalf of his client Dr. Sara Silatone. The case, for
malicious prosecution, was filed against Defendants Alex Hee
and Roland Silatone. The case was tried to the jury for over
four weeks and resulted in one of the biggest verdicts for
malicious prosecution in the history of San Antonio County
and one of the largest verdicts for the 2016 year.
 Each statement is true
üOn October 31, 2016, James Ragan obtained a $5.96
million jury verdict, including an award of $5 million in
punitive damages, on behalf of his client Dr. Sara
Silatone.

üThe case, for malicious prosecution, was filed against

Defendants Alex Hee and Roland Silatone.

üThe case was tried to the jury for over four weeks and
resulted in one of the biggest verdicts for malicious
prosecution in the history of San Antonio County and
one of the largest verdicts for the 2016 year.
 In-class activity
• Group A
1. Was the jury’s verdict against Alex Hee?
2. Was the jury’s verdict against Roland
Silatone?
• Group B
1. Did Alex Hee have to pay punitive damages?
2. Did Roland Silatone have to pay punitive
damages?
ü On October 31, 2016, James Ragan obtained a $5.96 million
jury verdict, including an award of $5 million in punitive
damages, on behalf of his client Dr. Sara Silatone.
ü The case, for malicious prosecution, was filed against
Defendants Alex Hee and Roland Silatone.
ü The case was tried to the jury for over four weeks and
resulted in one of the biggest verdicts for malicious
prosecution in the history of San Antonio County and one of
the largest verdicts for the 2016 year.
1. Was the jury’s verdict against Alex Hee and Roland Silatone?
2. Did Alex Hee and Roland Silatone have to pay punitive
damages?

ü … James Ragan obtained a $5.96 million jury verdict,

including an award of $5 million in punitive damages, on
behalf of his client Dr. Sara Silatone.
ü The case, for malicious prosecution, was filed against
Defendants Alex Hee and Roland Silatone.
ü The case was tried to the jury for over four weeks and
resulted in one of the biggest verdicts for malicious
prosecution in the history of San Antonio County …
1. Was the jury’s verdict against Alex Hee and Roland Silatone?
2. Did Alex Hee and Roland Silatone have to pay punitive
damages?

ü … James Ragan obtained a $5.96 million jury verdict,

including an award of $5 million in punitive damages, on
behalf of his client Dr. Sara Silatone.
ü The case, for malicious prosecution, was filed against
Defendants Alex Hee and Roland Silatone.
ü The case was tried to the jury for over four weeks and
resulted in one of the biggest verdicts for malicious
prosecution in the history of San Antonio County …
1. Was the jury’s verdict against Alex Hee?
2. Was the jury’s verdict against Roland Silatone?
3. Did Alex Hee have to pay punitive damages?
4. Did Roland Silatone have to pay punitive damages?

ü … James Ragan obtained a $5.96 million jury verdict,

including an award of $5 million in punitive damages, on
behalf of his client Dr. Sara Silatone.
ü The case, for malicious prosecution, was filed against
Defendants Alex Hee and Roland Silatone.
ü The case was tried to the jury for over four weeks and
resulted in one of the biggest verdicts for malicious
prosecution in the history of San Antonio County …
Tabloids
 Rely on sensational stories about famous people.
(Hollywood stars, television personalities, political
Tabloids figures )
Mesmerizing photos on front page with suggestive
or provocative headlines.
Headlines and photos catch the eye of shoppers at
supermarket check-out counters.
Headlines, stories, and call-outs are linguistic expressions.
Especially when coupled with other modes
(e.g., photography) and interpreted in light of world
knowledge, tabloid stories may convey unfavorable
impressions so harmful that the target deems the article
defamatory and files a lawsuit.
In 1997 Martha Stewart brought a $10 million
lawsuit against the National Enquirer for an article
entitled, “Martha Stewart Is Mentally Ill.”
 The Enquirer quoted "nationally renowned expert"
Dr Leland Heller as calling Martha Stewart
1) a "textbook example [of] borderline personality
disorder”
2) with a proclivity for "self-mutilation and suicidal
threats.”

Eventually, the tabloid admitted defeat and offered a

substantial pay-off to soothe Stewart’s feelings
of “shame, mortification and emotional distress.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/1999/nov/03/tvandradio.g2
Stories are powerful framing devices!
In Adversarial Legal Settings
Stories told from competing points of view will
represent different truths
(and may amount to falsehood).

Not surprising that, in the U.S., litigants on both

sides retain expert linguists
—in civil cases (trademark, defamation, contract
interpretation, authorship analysis)
and criminal cases (authorship, murder)
Aretha Franklin
Perspective for Linguistics Expert “A”
Franklin, 59, has been one of pop music’s
most respected voices, thanks to a slew of hits
dating from the ‘60s including Respect, Natural
Woman, Chain of Fools and Freeway of Love.
She also holds the prestigious distinction of
being the first woman inducted into the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame, in 1987.
Perspective for Linguistics Expert “B”
Franklin, 59, has been one of pop music’s
most respected voices, thanks to a slew of hits
dating from the ‘60s including Respect, Natural
Woman, Chain of Fools and Freeway of Love.
She also holds the prestigious distinction of
being the first woman inducted into the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame, in 1987.
But over time her drinking has gotten out of
control, say pals.
WHICH IS THE HEADLINE?
this?

ARETHA FRANKLIN DRINKING

HERSELF INTO THE GRAVE
or this?

FRIENDS FEAR:

ARETHA FRANKLIN DRINKING

HERSELF INTO THE GRAVE
 The Call-Outs
Call-out:
“Gladys is especially devastated -- at her wit’s end.”

Text
“Gladys is especially devastated at the extent of her
friend’s drinking and she’s at her wit’s end trying
to get her to stop.”
 Los Angeles Times
Nov. 30, 2001

Soul singer Aretha Franklin has filed a $50-million lawsuit

against American Media Inc., the publisher of the Star
tabloid magazine, claiming she was defamed by an article
that said she abuses alcohol.
The lawsuit stems from a … story headlined
"Aretha Franklin Drinking Herself into the Grave,"
which said that the Queen of Soul had an alcohol
problem that caused her to cancel a host of concert
appearances, and posed a threat to her career and
health.
 Overall conclusion by linguistics expert
The Star article conveys a clear and strong impression that
Aretha Franklin has a serious drinking problem, which
threatens her career and her life. The message is
introduced, framed, and underscored in the article’s
headline and articulated throughout in the content.

The repeated use of phrases and expressions that

contribute to the overall impression that Aretha Franklin
has a serious drinking problem indicates that such an
impression was conveyed deliberately and purposefully.
Speech events and their speech acts
are context dependent.

Interpretation relies on cultural knowledge.

Interpretation often indirect—but clear to

ordinary hearers and readers.
Other speech events (genres, registers)
and their speech acts
also context dependent.

Interpretation relies on cultural knowledge.

Interpretation often indirect—but clear to

the ordinary speaker.
An Apology?
 Features of Apologies
and Non-Apologies
Apology
Uses explicit verb of apology
Takes responsibility
Offers an account
Offers to repair situation
Offers promise of forbearance
Uses intensifying expressions
Expresses concern for hearer
Non-apology
Fails to admit wrong doing
Implies other party thin skinned
Belittles other party
Shifts blame (I’m sorry if…)
Claims to be unaware actions
were inappropriate
Appears to apologize under
duress
 ARETHA WANTS RESPECT

1. Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin - who’s made a career

performing breathtaking songs about the affairs of the
heart – also knows a thing or two about not getting
enough R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
2. The Grammy-winning music legend, 59, says our recent
report that friends are concerned about her drinking is
simply not true.
3. In fact, Aretha says she doesn’t even drink at all! She also
says she has not missed any concerts due to drinking.
4. In a statement released by her record company, Arista, the
singing sensation says she was “appalled and shocked” to
hear of the accusations and explains she canceled one or
two appearances out of 50 or more this year for legitimate
reasons.
5. Aretha explains she was “extremely disappointed” that she
couldn’t sing the national anthem for Prince Albert of
Monaco at the Mercedes-Benz Polo challenge kickoff in
Bridgehampton, New York, during the summer
6. “I had forgotten I had a previous commitment,” she says.
7. And on Valentine’s Day, she’ll take the stage at Music Hall
Center for the Performing Arts in Detroit with a 14-piece
orchestra to share her incredible talent and well-earned
reputation as R&B nobility with her hometown fans.
8. A spokeswoman for the polo event says Aretha’s cancellation
presented no problem because she gave them plenty of
notice.
9. In October the soulful diva made her amends to Monaco’s
monarchy when she wowed the crowd by taking the
Waldorf-Astoria ballroom stage for an hour and 45 minutes
during the Princess Grace Foundation USA awards gala in
New York.
10. Her benefit performance a month later at the Chicago
Children’s Museum helped raise more than $400,000 during
their lavish “Be a Kid Again” benefit at Navy Pier’s Grand
Ballroom in Chicago.
11. And on Valentine’s Day, she’ll take the stage at Music Hall
Center for the Performing Arts in Detroit with a 14-piece
orchestra to share her incredible talent and well-earned
reputation as R&B nobility with her hometown fans.
12. Aretha has been one of pop music’s most respected voices for
more than four decades, thanks to a slew of hits, including
Respect, Natural Woman, Chain of Fools, Think and Freeway of
Love.
13. She also holds the prestigious distinction of being the first
woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in 1987.
BOB MICHALS