The UST Graduate School and the International Association of Forensic Linguistics (IAFL) hosted the 16th edition of the International Summer School in Forensic Linguistic Analysis (ISSFLA) from July 11 to 14, 2016 at the UST Graduate School Boardroom. Twenty-four participants from the Philippines, the US, Australia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka took part in this four-day intensive training in various areas of forensic linguistics.
Six respected and renowned personalities in the field of forensic linguistics shared their skills and expertise: Dr. Krzysztof Kredens of Aston University introduced the emerging area of forensic linguistics by discussing its legal bases, disputes in meaning, and current issues about the discipline; Dr. Isabel Picornell of QED Forensics Limited presented the principles of authorship analysis and detecting deception in witness statements, while Dr. Ria Perkins of Aston University discussed the principles of sociolinguistic profiling and native language identification. Moreover, Prof. Janet Ainsworth of Seattle University presented her framework for assessing product warning labels and the practice of interpreting unclear laws, while Dr. Nicci MacLeod of Aston University introduced the participants to the principles of assuming another person’s linguistic persona. Prof. John Gibbons of Monash University, Australia delivered this year’s ISSFLA special lecture on providing clearer instructions to jury members.
The ISSFLA was established by Prof. Malcolm Coulthard to explore the role of language in both legal and forensic situations. This year’s summer school was preceded by the 2nd Asian Regional Conference of the IAFL, held for the first time in the Philippines from July 7 to 9, 2016 at the Grand Ballroom of the UST Buenaventura G. Paredes Building.
