Course Description
Programme Details 2004-2005
Staff & their Research Interests

Course Description

• Welcome to the Forensic Linguistics course!

Fincham, 103
Digby Stuart College
Roehampton University
December 200

Greetings,

Welcome to the Forensic Linguistics course! The course runs during the spring semester of 2005, on Monday mornings. You will find that classes will include a wide variety of activities, you will, of course, have some lectures but you will also get involved in discussions in small groups and with the whole class about language and law and will informally present part of a research paper. You’ll also have the opportunity to go to possibly the most interesting criminal court in Britain.  I hope you will find the course enjoyable and stimulating.

At the first session of the course you will be given a detailed course outline, a recommended reading list and information about assessment requirements.  There is no set text for the course, but there is a course pack which we will work through together in class. You will need to buy a copy of the course pack. You will be able to get a copy from the School Office, in due course.

If you would like to begin to get a feel for the kinds of topics which we will be covering on this course, and the diversity of approaches which you will encounter, you could have a look at any of the three edited collections below (Each is stocked by the LRC, I don’t particularly recommend that you buy them):

• Levi, J. and Walker, A.  (eds)  (1990)  Language in the Judicial Process  Plenum Press: New York

• Kniffka, H. (ed)  (1996)  Recent Developments in Forensic Linguistics  Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang

• Gibbons, J.  (ed)  (1994)  Language and the law  Longman: Harlow

I look forward to seeing you on Mondays from the beginning of next semester.

All good wishes

Frances Rock (f.rock@roehampton.ac.uk 020 8392 3294)

Module Convener, Forensic Linguistics (ELA020H245S)

http://www.roehampton.ac.uk/emlzone/documents/ForensicLinguistics_001.doc

• General Course Information for BA/BSc English Language & Linguistics

The English language and Linguistic programme addresses a wide range of questions such as: Why don’t BBC news broadcasters talk like Vera Duckworth from Coronation Street or even like Alan Partridge? Why do some people go “mmm” more than others when they’re listening to you? Why do children learning to talk say “I went”, then “I goed”, before reverting to “I went”? Do the ways in which we use language affect the ways in which we see the world? At Roehampton we are distinctive for using ‘real language’ for analysis.

The English Language & Linguistics programme was rated as excellent for the quality of its teaching and for its hands-on approach to linguistics by the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

What’s involved in the first year?
In your first year you’ll study Introduction to Linguistics (looking at the sounds and structure of language), Language, Society and Power (introducing a wide range of sociolinguistic issues), Hands-On Language (a practical project in which you’ll collect and analyse your own linguistic data) and Meaning in Language (an introduction to how words make sense).

What’s involved in subsequent years?
In your second and third year core courses will give you both broad and detailed knowledge of significant areas of language studies, training you in language analysis and in critical evaluation of a range of theories related to the field. Our core courses include History of the English Language, English in its Social Context, Discourse and Conversation Analysis and Phonetics and Phonology. Topic courses focus on specialised areas of language study; those on offer currently include Language Acquisition, Language in the Media, Language and Gender, the Linguistics of Sign Language, Pidgins and Creoles, Forensic Linguistics and Psycholinguistics.

http://www.roehampton.ac.uk/ug/ell/ 

• Undergraduate (English Language and Linguistics at Roehampton) 

Our programme is distinctive in that we emphasise a sociolinguistic approach to language study, because we believe that you cannot understand the workings of language without understanding its relationship with the wider society. 
Staff have a wide range of research interests and these enable us to offer exciting and varied options – Language and Gender, Language in the Media, Forensic Linguistics, Linguistics of Sign Language, Bilingual Language Use, History of the English Language – and many more. 
There are opportunities to study a language from scratch, or develop and improve upon a language you already have. Languages currently on offer include French, Spanish, Italian, British Sign Language and Japanese amongst others. For more information see Languages for All 
There are opportunities to study abroad in Year 2 or 3, either in the European Union or in a number of other countries including the United States and Australia. 
To find out more, follow the links below:

Why study English Language and Linguistics? 
Degree structure 
Prospectus 
Teaching and assessment 
Student experience 
Staff and resources 

http://www.roehampton.ac.uk/eml/courses/undergraduate/english_language/default.asp 

• Undergraduate (English Language and Linguistics at Roehampton) 

Staff and resources 
The English Language and Linguistics staff at Roehampton are committed to both teaching and research and have published widely. Recent publications include Jen Coates’ Men’s Talk. Research informs our teaching and enables us to offer a wide range of option courses that reflect our expertise and enthusiasms – from Language Issues in Multilingual Settings to Forensic Linguistics. 

English Language and Linguistics Research Cluster 

The English Language and Linguistics Research Cluster meets several times per year to hear research presentations by staff, PhD students and visiting speakers. All students are welcome to come along. 

Research Seminars 

The Learning Resources Centre has a good stock of books and journals and offers excellent electronic access as well. All English Language and Linguistics students are given induction by specialist librarians to help you make the most of the resources on offer. 
In addition to the on-site resources at Roehampton, students are encouraged to use what London has to offer – not only its specialist libraries such as the Royal National Institute for the Deaf Library, but also the Houses of Parliament and the High Court.

http://www.roehampton.ac.uk/eml/courses/undergraduate/english_language/staff_resources.asp 

• Postgraduate (Graduate Diploma in Sociolinguistics) 

If you would like to pursue the MRes, but don’t have a linguistics degree, or if you would like to study sociolinguistics for fun, but don’t want to commit to a full degree, you could take our two year part-time graduate diploma. 
What you will study: 
In the first year, you will take Foundations in Linguistics, and Sociolinguistics 1 and 2. These are compulsory modules. 
In the second year you take 3 of the following modules:

Gender differences in Language
Media and Language 
Pidgins & Creoles
Sexist Language
Story Telling in Everyday Conversation
Language Acquisition
Psycholinguistics
Forensic Linguistics
Linguistics of Sign Language
Language Issues in Multilingual Settings 

Programme details 
Research Cluster 
MRes in Sociolinguistics 
Programme Convener Tope Omoniyi 

http://www.roehampton.ac.uk/eml/courses/postgraduate/sociolinguistics/default.asp 

Programme Details 2004-2005 (ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS)

• ELA020H245A or S Forensic Linguistics
  Tutor: Frances Rock
  Assessment: 2 essays (2500 words each)
  This module investigates the way in which linguistic tools and techniques are increasingly being applied to the investigation of crimes and the examination of the legal system.

• ELA020H115S Discourse & Conversation Analysis 2
  Tutor: Dr Tope Omoniyi
  Assessment: Project (5000 words)
  Prerequisite: See Programme Description
  Corequisite: ELA020H113
  This module develops from Part 1, but focuses particularly on the application of approaches to discourse and conversation analysis in relation to institutional interaction. Students are given the opportunity to explore in more depth this expanding field in a range of areas such as critical, medical, therapeutic and forensic discourse analysis.

http://www.roehampton.ac.uk/acprogcont/b/H2004/elac.asp 

Staff & their Research Interests

• Frances Rock - Forensic Linguistics; Institutional Language; Literacy; 'Difficult' Language; Sociolinguistics.

• Linda Thomas - Grammatical Variation; Sociolinguistics3; Language and Education; Forensic Linguistics.

http://www.roehampton.ac.uk/r/english/