Pragmaforensic Analysis of Selected Courtroom Testimonies and Evidence
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47941/ejl.3774Keywords:
Pragmaforensic, Legal Discourse, Forensic Linguistics, Pragmatic Features, Courtroom Interaction.Abstract
Abstract
Purpose: This study critically investigates the relationship between pragmatics and forensic linguistics by analyzing some courtroom evidence and testimony. Pragmaforensics is an analytical model that investigates how pragmatic elements, such as implicature, speech acts, presupposition, and the cooperative principle, shape legal discourse and influence meaning and interpretation.
Methodology: The study data were derived from criminal trials at the Ondo State High Court, Akure. The research examines the identified pragmatic elements with discernible implications for how courtroom participants interpret utterances using a quantitative case study approach.
Findings: The analysis reveals that strategic language choices and pragmatic elements are used for serious communicative purposes, such as creating meaning, obscuring responsibility, or subtly projecting points, rather than merely serving as art for art’s sake. Furthermore, the study highlights how pragmatic resources can be deployed to interpret evidence and testimony. These findings are situated within a pragmaforensic framework.
Unique Contributions to Theory, Practice, and Policy: This research is a major contribution to forensic linguistics, offering a pragmatic model for systematically evaluating the hidden meaning of courtroom evidence, particularly in a multilingual judicial environment such as Nigeria. This study is a significant contribution to forensic linguistics by proposing a structured pragmatic model for analyzing implicit meaning in courtroom discourse. This study shows that a pragmaforensic approach to meaning evaluation offers an important perspective on the dynamics of courtroom interaction. In conclusion, the study advocates for greater understanding of the dynamics of language use in courtroom interactions, especially in a multilingual setting like Nigeria.
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