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Forensic speech science

York is a leading centre for research and teaching in forensic speech science: the application of linguistics, phonetics and acoustics to legal investigations and proceedings. The research group comprises staff and students at the University of York, members of J P French Associates, and a network of collaborators form linguistics, phonetics, speech technology, law, and other forensic sciences.

Our research covers a wide range of issues in phonetics and sociolinguistics as well as forensic speech science. Current research focuses on:    

  • understanding the sources and parameters of spoken variation within languages, communities and individuals
  • developing population data on phonetic and linguistic features   
  • experimental work on the effects of garments worn over the mouth or face on speech acoustics and intelligibility    
  • the acoustic and phonetic patterns of speech under conditions of distress and deception   
  • effects of recording hardware on the acoustic signal, and variation in results from different acoustic analysis software systems   
  • understanding variation in lay persons' perception of voice, speech and dialect   
  • empirical approaches to LADO (language analysis as used as evidence in asylum claim cases)   
  • statistical modelling of forensic phonetic data.

We welcome enquiries from students interested in postgraduate work with us, and from professionals in forensic speech science or other disciplines interested in research collaborations or educational visits.

Please continue to Forensic Speech Science at the University of York.