OXFORD, Miss. — Students majoring in linguistics at the
University of Mississippi expressed excitement Tuesday
after hearing a language expert discuss career
opportunities in the field of forensic linguistics.
Bethany Dumas, professor of English at the University of
Tennessee, delivered the public lecture “Miranda Rights and
Second Language Comprehensibility.” She also shared how she
has used her skills as a forensic linguist expert in more
than 50 court cases since the early 1980s, and explained
that professional opportunities available to forensic
linguists are growing tremendously across the United
States.
The news was exactly what senior linguistics major Rhiannon
Black of Bulgaria needed to hear.
“I’m very excited,” she said. “I didn’t realize it was so
common to bring linguists into court proceedings.”
Forensic linguists examine the relationship between
language, the law and crime, including the analysis of
conversations and documents. In the high profile Unabomber
case, for example, the FBI called in a forensic linguist to
analyze letters that helped identify the suspect, Theodore
Kaczynski.
Dumas’ expertise has been used in a variety of cases,
including an examination of authorship attribution, voice
recognition, transcript accuracy and validation of consumer
product warning labels.
“There’s an increased interest in seeking the advice of
forensic linguists across the country,” she said. “These
types of cases will come up again and again.”
Black is among 14 students enrolled in UM’s forensic
linguistics course. Offered on the Ole Miss campus for the
first time this semester, the course is taught by Allison
Burkette, assistant professor of linguistics.
“Serving as an expert witness in a murder case is a flashy
answer when students ask what they can do with a
linguistics degree,” said Burkette. “The better question
is: What can’t you do?”
Dumas’ lecture centered around the State of Tennessee vs.
Roman Reyes murder trial. The criminal case involved
whether or not Reyes, a native of Honduras, understood the
Miranda warning that was delivered to him. He was
ultimately convicted.
“The process of deciding whether a speaker has understood
the text of Miranda, oral or written, in English or in
another language, necessarily involves detailed linguistic
analysis,” Dumas said. “For an assessment of proficiency to
be made, analysis must take into account all linguistic and
contextual evidence available.”
Dumas said that due to her schedule at UT, she only has
time to participate in two or three court proceedings
annually. Besides a law degree from UT, Dumas holds a
master’s in English and a doctorate in English and
linguistics, both from the University of Arkansas.
Donald Dyer, UM chair of modern languages, said it was
rewarding to bring Dumas, an important figure in the field
of linguistics, to the Ole Miss campus.
“The issue of non-English speakers is a widespread,
troublesome phenomenon occurring across the country in
various court proceedings,” he said. “It’s important for
students to recognize this type of professional opportunity
is available.”
As Black looks toward graduation, she said her plans
include learning more about her career options as a
forensic linguist.
“I want to go into a similar career,” she said. “I think
it’s fascinating.”
For more information about the Department of Modern
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