Linguistic style may be defined as the way a person speaks or writes that distinguishes individuals from each other.
Forensic linguistics deals with the analysis of linguistic style in a forensic context, to be used as evidence in assisting the direction of an investigation, and/or as evidence in a court or tribunal.
Linguistic style may be defined as the way a person speaks or writes (by incorporating patterns consisting of any number of character, lexical, syntactic and organisation features which have a tendency to occur collectively in that person’s communication) that distinguishes individuals from each other. Although linguistic style is difficult to pin down (particularly in short texts), individuals may be distinguished from each other through the identification of linguistic idiosyncrasies that characterise the language they use.
We have favourite words which we use repeatedly and which we also use in conjunction with other words. We have preferences for certain grammatical constructions, contractions, spelling and punctuation, and repeatedly commit the same linguistic errors and mistakes. Used collectively, these tendencies create a pattern which forensic linguists use to associate or distinguish one author from another. This analysis is called Authorship Comparison.
Linguistic style differs from linguistic content.
Much of our word choices are heavily influenced by the contexts in which our communication takes place, such as: what we are talking about, who we are talking to, and how we communicate (face-to-face conversation, written letter, email etc). These content words convey the information of our message. However, as their selection changes when our communication contexts change, they are not reliable indicators of linguistic style.
The words that best characterise linguistic style are those which appear insignificant but are in fact material to all communication. These are function words - pronouns, conjunctions, prepositions and some verbs and adverbs – the glue that holds clauses and sentences together. Function words are largely information-free, used independent of context or topic. We normally use them subconsciously and therefore they are impossible to regulate. Consequently, function words are important markers of linguistic style.
The identification of stylistic preferences plays an important role in forensic linguistics.
We have a multitude of forms to choose from in the way we say something, yet we have preferences for certain grammatical forms (e.g. I send to you this letter) over another (e.g. I send this letter to you/I send you this letter) as well as particular word constructions (e.g. stand-off) over another (e.g. stand off/standoff). However, as unique style markers are extremely rare, a combination of markers (each of which may be found in another writer’s style) is required for authorship analysis. It is the aggregate use of such recurring preferences that identify linguistic style.
Linguistic style also lends itself to other interesting analyses.
On the basis of the language used, inferences may be made regarding a person’s gender, age and sociolinguistic background, called Authorship Characterisation. Males and females use different strategies when communication, which may be used to identify gender. An individual’s linguistic competence and performance in English can provides indicators as to age, education, and first language (if a non-native English speaker).
The context in which a text was produced leaves styleprints on the language used in the document. Statements pretending to be the product of one context will carry telltale features of having been produced in another. For example, spoken and written language differs from each other; language used in conversation will differ from that of a monologue; and edited or faked conversations will exhibit disruption in lexical linking (when transcripts are analysed).
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