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Lecturer in Linguistics, Nottingham Trent University

Dr David Wright is a forensic linguist and lecturer at Nottingham Trent University. His research applies methods of corpus linguistics and discourse analysis in forensic contexts, and aims to help improve the delivery of justice using language analysis. His research spans across a range of intersections between language and the law, evidence, crime and justice. He is co-author of 'An Introduction to Forensic Linguistics: Language in Evidence' (2nd edn) with Professor Malcolm Coulthard and Dr Alison Johnson.

Experience

  • –present
    Lecturer in forensic linguistics, Nottingham Trent University
  • 2011–2014
    PhD student, University of Leeds

Education

  • 2011 
    University of Leeds, MA in English Language
  • 2010 
    University of Leeds, BA in English Language

Publications

  • 2017
    Using word n-grams to identify authors and idiolects: a corpus approach to a forensic linguistic problem, International Journal of Corpus Linguistics 22(2)
  • 2017
    An Introduction to Forensic Linguistics: Language in Evidence, London: Routledge
  • 2014
    Identifying idiolect in forensic authorship attribution: an n-gram textbite approach (with Alison Johnson), Language and Law (Linguagem e Direito) 1(1), 37-69.
  • 2013
    Stylistic variation within genre conventions in the Enron email corpus: Developing a text-sensitive methodology for authorship research, International Journal of Speech, Language and the Law 20(1): 45-75
  • 2012
    The accuracy and motivations of semi-phonetic respellings in ‘Summer Bulletin’ dialect literature, Transactions of the Yorkshire Dialect Society 111(22), 36-44,
  • 2012
    Scrunch, growze, or chobble?: investigating regional variation in sound symbolism in the Survey of English Dialects, Leeds Working Papers in Linguistics and Phonetics 17

Grants and Contracts

  • 2016
    Small Research Grant
    Role:
    Principal Investigator
    Funding Source:
    British Academy/Leverhulme Trust
  • 2011
    AHRC Doctoral Scholarship
    Role:
    Three-year award
    Funding Source:
    Arts and Humanities Research Council

Professional Memberships

  • International Association of Forensic Linguists (IAFL)
  • British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL)
  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)