LINGUIST List 19.1267
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Mon Apr 14 2008
Diss: Forensic Ling/Phonetics/Socioling: Fadden: 'Prosodic Profiles...'
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1. Lorna
Fadden,
Prosodic Profiles: Suspects' speech during police interviews
Message 1: Prosodic Profiles: Suspects' speech during police interviews
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Date: 14-Apr-2008
From: Lorna Fadden <fadden sfu.ca>
Subject: Prosodic Profiles: Suspects' speech during police interviews
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Institution: Simon Fraser University
Program: Department of Linguistics
Dissertation Status: Completed
Degree Date: 2008
Author: Lorna Fadden
Dissertation Title: Prosodic Profiles: Suspects' speech during police interviews
Linguistic Field(s):
Forensic Linguistics
Phonetics
Sociolinguistics
Dissertation Director:
Nancy Hedberg
Sosa Juan
Murray Munro
Dissertation Abstract:
This dissertation presents a descriptive study of the prosodic characteristics of suspects' speech during investigative interviews with police. During police interviews, investigators direct conversation by asking suspects questions and making assertions thereby placing the suspect in the position of responding. Based on whether the suspect is a first-time or repeat offender, and the type of information suspects produce, responses are categorized and examined for their properties of pause, tempo, and pitch. Response types explored in this study are affirmative, in which suspects confirm information in the investigators' questions or assertions; negative, in which information is rejected; relevant and irrelevant, in which suspects offer information pertaining or not pertaining to the investigators' questions; and confessions. Pausal features - response latency, and pause-to-speech ratio - are found to differ across certain response types in both groups. In general, for example, first time suspects pause more than repeat offenders, both before and during turns, particularly when offering relevant responses. Among the temporal features, first-time suspects' speech and articulation rates are lower when producing relevant information than repeat offenders' rates. Furthermore, first timers' irrelevant temporal rates are higher than relevant temporal rates. Pitch characteristics show less distinction across response types than pause and tempo, although first time suspects' pitch values cluster somewhat more neatly within response types than repeat offenders', whose pitch values vary more widely. The findings noted above are discussed in relation to previous studies that address the prosodic characteristics of discourse and emotion. Furthermore, on the basis of these findings, prosodic profiles of response categories for first time offenders and repeat offenders are created. The potential for forensic application of these profiles is discussed, particularly with respect to deception.
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