The Language of Defamation Cases

Slander and libel cases are largely about how one party uses language in ways that are claimed to defame one another. Linguistic expertise can be central to the case. In The Language of Defamation Cases Roger W. Shuy describes eleven representative lawsuits--involving newspapers television stations religious leaders physicians teachers entertainers unions insurance companies and manufacturers--for which he served as a consultant. Shuy''s linguistic analysis illustrates how grammatical referencing speech acts discourse structure framing conveyed meaning intentionality and malicious language affected the outcome of these cases. The Language of Defamation Cases shows how linguistics can be used to help resolve libel and slander cases. It will appeal to students and scholars of applied linguistics and forensic linguistics.