Relevance of Forensic Linguistic Speech Analysis in Criminal Cases Regarding Threat Incrimination

Abstract

This article is devoted to specific issues of the linguistic semantic and textual speech analysis in criminal cases regarding incrimination of threats. Currently, forensic expert classifies the means of threats identified in the speech message (text) submitted for research at a pragmatic level. In contrast to purely semantic analysis of statements (when information is affirmative), pragmatic approach makes it possible to investigate the speech act as an expression of the will of a person, his emotions and feelings, determine the message illocutionary content, establish the addressee’s reaction to the information expressed by the addressee, etc. The article purpose is to determine the role of linguistic speech analysis in criminal cases regarding the threat incrimination. The objects of such forensic examination include the texts of text messages, e-mails, postcards, conversations (in particular, phone), audio and video messages, public speeches, etc. Illocutions of threats in statements where lexemes are used in direct meanings, and the sentences have a complete form according to the syntactic structure, are established on the basis of general semantic and textual research. Analyzing communicative situations in which incomplete or indirect statements are used, that means phrases expressed in an indirect form, where the illocution of a threat can be determined through speech intentions, communicative intentions, subjective-modal verbalizers, etc., is necessary. Forensic expert  conclusions based on the results of linguistic speech analysis of is one of the powerful means of making a court decision and an important argument during the pre-trial investigation in criminal cases regarding threat incrimination.