Forensic linguistics is used to identify the author of a text or the person behind a voice. Author identification (also called stylometry) is based on the analysis of certain patterns of language use: vocabulary, collocations, spelling, grammar, etc. Voice identification is based on speech sounds (phonetics) and the acoustic qualities of the voice.
Author identification can be used, for example, to determine:
- Who wrote an anonymous claim of responsibility posted on the Internet or sent to a newspaper.
- Whether multiple anonymous claims of responsibility were likely written by the same person or group.
- Who wrote a plan describing illegal activities found during a house raid or an arrest.
Voice identification can be used, for example, to determine:
- Who is speaking on a tapped mobile phone or a recording made by a hidden microphone.
- Who called the authorities to make a bomb threat.
On the topic of author identification, see Counteracting Forensic Linguistics[1] and Who wrote that?.
Used in tactics: Incrimination
Mitigations
Name | Description |
---|---|
Biometric concealment | You can conceal your voice by hiding its acoustic properties. |
Masking your writing style | You can counter author identification by masking your writing style. |
Used in repressive operations
Name | Description |
---|---|
Scripta Manent | Texts published by some of the accused comrades were compared with claims of responsibility by the Informal Anarchist Federation, with the aim of proving that the comrades had written these claims[2]. |