{"id":413,"date":"2007-11-26T10:51:09","date_gmt":"2007-11-26T16:51:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ezing.me\/transfer\/?p=413"},"modified":"2014-09-23T09:24:48","modified_gmt":"2014-09-23T14:24:48","slug":"lecturer-offers-linguistics-majors-career-insights-in-forensic-linguistics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/lecturer-offers-linguistics-majors-career-insights-in-forensic-linguistics\/","title":{"rendered":"Lecturer Offers Linguistics Majors Career Insights in Forensic Linguistics"},"content":{"rendered":"

\nOXFORD, Miss. — Students majoring in linguistics at the
\nUniversity of Mississippi expressed excitement Tuesday
\nafter hearing a language expert discuss career
\nopportunities in the field of forensic linguistics.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nBethany Dumas, professor of English at the University of
\nTennessee, delivered the public lecture “Miranda Rights and
\nSecond Language Comprehensibility.” She also shared how she
\nhas used her skills as a forensic linguist expert in more
\nthan 50 court cases since the early 1980s, and explained
\nthat professional opportunities available to forensic
\nlinguists are growing tremendously across the United
\nStates.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe news was exactly what senior linguistics major Rhiannon
\nBlack of Bulgaria needed to hear.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I’m very excited,” she said. “I didn’t realize it was so
\ncommon to bring linguists into court proceedings.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nForensic linguists examine the relationship between
\nlanguage, the law and crime, including the analysis of
\nconversations and documents. In the high profile Unabomber
\ncase, for example, the FBI called in a forensic linguist to
\nanalyze letters that helped identify the suspect, Theodore
\nKaczynski.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nDumas’ expertise has been used in a variety of cases,
\nincluding an examination of authorship attribution, voice
\nrecognition, transcript accuracy and validation of consumer
\nproduct warning labels.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“There’s an increased interest in seeking the advice of
\nforensic linguists across the country,” she said. “These
\ntypes of cases will come up again and again.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nBlack is among 14 students enrolled in UM’s forensic
\nlinguistics course. Offered on the Ole Miss campus for the
\nfirst time this semester, the course is taught by Allison
\nBurkette, assistant professor of linguistics.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Serving as an expert witness in a murder case is a flashy
\nanswer when students ask what they can do with a
\nlinguistics degree,” said Burkette. “The better question
\nis: What can’t you do?”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nDumas’ lecture centered around the State of Tennessee vs.
\nRoman Reyes murder trial. The criminal case involved
\nwhether or not Reyes, a native of Honduras, understood the
\nMiranda warning that was delivered to him. He was
\nultimately convicted.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“The process of deciding whether a speaker has understood
\nthe text of Miranda, oral or written, in English or in
\nanother language, necessarily involves detailed linguistic
\nanalysis,” Dumas said. “For an assessment of proficiency to
\nbe made, analysis must take into account all linguistic and
\ncontextual evidence available.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nDumas said that due to her schedule at UT, she only has
\ntime to participate in two or three court proceedings
\nannually. Besides a law degree from UT, Dumas holds a
\nmaster’s in English and a doctorate in English and
\nlinguistics, both from the University of Arkansas.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nDonald Dyer, UM chair of modern languages, said it was
\nrewarding to bring Dumas, an important figure in the field
\nof linguistics, to the Ole Miss campus.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“The issue of non-English speakers is a widespread,
\ntroublesome phenomenon occurring across the country in
\nvarious court proceedings,” he said. “It’s important for
\nstudents to recognize this type of professional opportunity
\nis available.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nAs Black looks toward graduation, she said her plans
\ninclude learning more about her career options as a
\nforensic linguist.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I want to go into a similar career,” she said. “I think
\nit’s fascinating.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nFor more information about the Department of Modern
\nLanguages, visit
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.olemiss.edu\/depts\/modern?languages\/.<\/a>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[222],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nLecturer Offers Linguistics Majors Career Insights in Forensic Linguistics - Ole Miss News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/lecturer-offers-linguistics-majors-career-insights-in-forensic-linguistics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lecturer Offers Linguistics Majors Career Insights in Forensic Linguistics - 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