NCJ Number
135628
Date Published
1990
Length
144 pages
Annotation
This book explains the science and techniques of forensic phonetics so as to make it accessible to nonphoneticians such as lawyers and police, and it provides guidelines to phoneticians for an increasingly specialized and sophisticated methodology.
Abstract
In the introduction, "phonetics" is defined as "the art/science of the description of the sounds of speech." The introduction further discusses the legal uses of phonetics and some of the problems of introducing evidence whose value relies on phonetic analysis. Following the introduction, a chapter explains the basic principles of phonetics to the layperson. The primary concept presented is that speech has physical qualities that can be analyzed and distinguished through skilled scientific analysis. A chapter on acoustic phonetics focuses on speaker identification, acoustic examinations, the determination of disputed utterances, and the authentication of recordings. This chapter advises that phonetics is a comparative newcomer to forensic inquiry, and techniques are rapidly developing based on continuing research. It concludes, however, that the science of speaker identification will never reach the degree of certainty associated with the matching of fingerprints or DNA profiles. A chapter discusses various aspects of forensic phonetics, followed by a chapter that presents actual cases that illustrate some of the principles and techniques previously explained. Chapter notes, a 27-item bibliography, and a subject index