Doha, Qatar – The School of Social Sciences and Humanities (SOSH) at the Doha Institute (DI) has officially announced a call for papers for its upcoming international conference on “Forensic Linguistics: Theories and Applications,” set to take place on April 28-29, 2025. Organized by the Linguistics and Arabic Lexicography Program, this conference aims to delve into both theoretical frameworks and practical uses of forensic linguistics, a growing field at the intersection of language and law.
The primary focus of this conference is to raise awareness about forensic linguistics by exploring its roots, significance, and evolving branches. By promoting scientific inquiry, the event hopes to stimulate research in this specialized discipline, with a particular emphasis on its applications in legal and judicial settings, communication analysis, and forensic laboratories.
Expanding Interdisciplinary Collaboration
The event will serve as a platform for researchers, legal professionals, and academics to exchange insights, share experiences, and discuss scientific advancements within the field. Dr. Mehdi Arar, Head of the Linguistics and Arabic Lexicography Program, emphasized that one of the main objectives is to foster collaboration between scholars and practitioners from criminology and legal sciences. He noted that the sessions will cover a diverse range of topics, such as:
- Analysis and interpretation of legal language
- Recent advancements in forensic linguistic research
- Applications in judicial contexts
- Linguistic analysis of non-verbal communication
- Historical contributions from heritage scholars to the study of legal language
- Trends and future directions in forensic linguistics research
Bridging Theory and Practice
The background paper of the conference underscores the fact that forensic linguistics remains underexplored in academic institutions and scholarly publications, despite its growing relevance. As the field continues to expand, it now includes investigating issues like verbal abuse on social media, identifying the source of defamatory statements, handling cases of plagiarism, and analyzing police reports, witness statements, and interrogation transcripts.
This branch of applied linguistics also covers specialized areas such as dialectology, forensic phonetics, discourse analysis, the language used in legal documents, and linguistic profiling—tools that can assist in solving criminal cases through language analysis.
Submission Details
Scholars interested in contributing are encouraged to submit their abstracts by December 15, 2024, with final papers due by April 1, 2025. The conference will provide an excellent opportunity for participants to gain deeper insights into the evolving field of forensic linguistics and its critical applications in legal contexts.
A Focus on Research Excellence
The Linguistics and Arabic Lexicography Program at the Doha Institute is dedicated to advancing both Master’s and Doctoral-level research in linguistics, lexicography, and terminology. The program seeks to cultivate a cadre of researchers equipped with rigorous scientific and critical thinking skills, adhering to international research standards. Its overarching mission is to empower scholars to apply their expertise to address pressing issues related to the Arabic language, utilizing the latest theoretical and applied research in lexicology.
By nurturing intellectual independence and equipping researchers with systematic research methodologies, the program aims to meet the needs of the region and contribute meaningfully to the linguistic and legal landscape. The conference on forensic linguistics is another step towards achieving these ambitious goals.
