Parameters Affecting Reliability in Dialect Attribution

Abstract

Attributing linguistic behaviour of an individual to a particular dialect can corroborate otherwise unsubstantiated claims as to residential history made by asylum claimants. Equality before the law demands uniformity in matters such as expert testimonies. Given the same linguistic behaviour, the room for variance between different expert testimonies should be minimized. Three parameters affecting the reliability of dialect attribution are discussed: the speech sample, the observations made of phenomena in the sample, and the logic leading from these observations to the attribution.

It is argued that

• While an interview may have advantages in certain respects, and drawbacks in others, the monologue is superior in terms of reliability;

• The foremost requirements for reliability concerning observations are the selection of traits distinguishing the linguistic variety at hand from relevant others prior to using the method, and attention to number of instances and counterexamples;

• The logic deployed to arrive at the conclusion should be complete and consistent with an overall model for discrimination of the linguistic variety.

It is noted that a concomitant to the reliability emanating from adhering to these three principles is a transparency and objectivity that will make it clear which grounds for a challenge can be relevant and which ones cannot. It will thus facilitate the court’s assessment of the relative merits of an attribution being presented by an expert witness and any incompatible statement presented in the same proceedings.

The author is co-owner and has a salary from Verified AB, a commercial company providing i.a. dialect assessments.