Forensic stylistics is the application of the science of linguistic stylistics to forensic contexts, a term most widely associated with American linguist Gerald McMenamin (McMenamin 2002: 163). It employs stylistic analysis to reach conclusions and opinions about the authorship of questioned writing within the context of litigation. The approach draws on the scientific study of patterns of variation in written language, focusing on the idiolect of a single individual and describing his or her identifying linguistic characteristics. Analysts identify “style markers,” which are the author’s observable, habitual, and usually unconscious choices from optional forms in the writing process (McMenamin 2010: 488).
Definition drawn from An Introduction to Forensic Linguistics: Language in Evidence (Coulthard, Johnson & Wright, 2nd ed.). Extracted text: /Volumes/mu-not/projects/zodiac/books/an_introduction_to_forensic_linguistics_language_in_evidence/an_introduction_to_forensic_linguistics_language_in_evidence.txt.
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