Malcolm Coulthard
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China.org.cn, August 22, 2011
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| File photo: Malcolm Coulthard |
Professor of Forensic Linguistics,
Director of Research
Room: MB 742, University of Aston
Office Hours: Wed 3-4 pm
Phone: 0121 204 3814
Email: r.m.coulthard@aston.ac.uk
Profile
I studied English Language and Literature as an undergraduate in Sheffield and then trained to be an English teacher in the London Institute of Education. There I became interested in the work of Basil Bernstein on the relationship between class, language ability and educational achievement. In order to pursue this interest I trained as a linguist at University College London under Michael Halliday and then went on to the University of Birmingham to undertake doctoral research with John Sinclair. I spent the next 37 years there, before moving to Aston in 2004, to become the first professor of Forensic Linguistics in the world.
I am probably best known for my work on the analysis of spoken and written discourse and the books An Introduction to Discourse Analysis and Advances in Written Text Analysis. However, since the late 1980s I have become increasingly involved with forensic applications of linguistics. I was the Foundation President of the International Association of Forensic Linguists and the founding editor of the journal Forensic Linguistics, the International Journal of Speech Language and the Law. For the past 20 years I have acted as an expert witness in forensic linguistics and have been commissioned to prepare reports for both Prosecution and Defence in over 200 civil and criminal cases. I have given evidence on author identification in the Court of Appeal at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as well as in lower courts in England, Germany, Hong Kong, Northern Ireland and Scotland.Among my high profile cases are the Birmingham Six Appeal, the Bridgwater Four Appeal and the Ronald Bolden trial, at the conclusion of which, in 1989, the West Midlands Serious Crime Squad was disbanded. I have also worked with the Metropolitan, the Scottish, the South Wales and the Military police on internal investigations. My latest court appearance was at the trial of David Hodgson for the murder of Jenny Nicholl in February 2008
I have taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses in forensic linguistics and language and the law for over fifteen years in Britain and abroad and have supervised seven doctoral students in these areas. Since 2000 I have directed an annual international summer school in forensic linguistic analysis. The next summer school will take place at Aston at the end of June 2010.
Qualifications
• BA in English Language and Literature (Sheffield)
• MA in Linguistics (University College, London)
• PhD in English Linguistics (University of Birmingham)
Teaching
• Introduction to Language Description module of the Distance Masters in Forensic Linguistics
Research Interests
• Forensic Linguistics
• Language and the Law
• Critical Discourse Analysis
• The Analysis of Written and Spoken Discourse
Responsibilities
Associate Dean for Research and Director of the Centre for Forensic Linguistics
Membership in Professional Organisations
International Association of Forensic Linguists
Selected Publications
Books
• Towards an Analysis of Discourse, with J. McH. Sinclair, O.U.P. 1975
• An Introduction to Discourse Analysis, Longman 1977
• Discourse Intonation and Language Teaching, with D.C. Brazil and C.M. Johns, Longman, 1980
• Linguagem e Sexo, São Paulo, Atica, 1991
• Traduçao: Téoria e Prática, Florianópolis, (ed) with C.R. Caldas-Coulthard, Editora UFSC, 1991
• Advances in Spoken Discourse Analysis, (ed) Routledge, 1992
• Advances in Written Text Analysis,(ed) Routledge, 1994
• Texts and Practices: Readings in Critical Discourse Analysis, (ed) with C R Caldas-Coulthard, London, Routledge, 1996
• Discourse and Social Life, (ed) London, Longman, 2000
• An Introduction to Forensic Linguistics: Language in Evidence, London, Routledge, 2007
• A Handbook of Forensic Linguistics, London, Routledge, 2010
Recent Articles
• "Author Identification, Idiolect and Linguistic Uniqueness." 2004
• "The Linguist as Expert Witness." 2005
• "Some Forensic Applications of Descriptive Linguistics." 2005
• "On Plagiarism, Patchwriting and the Problems of Overseas Students in British Universities." 2005
• "... and then ... Language description and author attribution" 2006
• "By their words shall ye know them: on linguistic identity" 2008
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