Aston Institute for Forensic Linguistics
The mission of the Aston Institute for Forensic Linguistics is to improve the delivery of justice through the analysis of language.
We are one of four Aston University Research Institutes. We study forensic texts and contexts producing academically rigorous, high impact research using insights and methods from diverse areas of linguistics to improve the delivery of justice.
The Aston Institute for Forensic Linguistics (AIFL) was founded in 2019. It is a substantial expansion of the former Aston Centre for Forensic Linguistics, which was founded in 2008. In the autumn of 2019 we appointed a total of 15 new staff to establish the Institute. This expansion was funded via a £6M investment including a £5.4M award from Research England’s Expanding Excellence in England (E3) fund.
E-mail: forensiclinguistics@aston.ac.uk
We are organised into the following Centres:
Research
Our People
- Institute Members
Dr Sarah Atkins
Research Fellow in Forensic Linguistics
Email: s.atkins@aston.ac.ukDr Nadia Makouar
Research Associate in Forensic Linguistics
Email: n.makour@aston.ac.ukDr Nabanita Basu
Research Associate in Forensic Data Science,
Email: n.basu@aston.ac.ukDr Andrea Mojedano Batel
Research Associate in Forensic Linguistics
Email: a.mojedanobatel@aston.ac.ukDr Lucia Busso
Research Associate in Forensic Linguistics
Email: l.busso@aston.ac.ukDr Ralph Morton
Research Associate in Forensic Linguistics
Email: r.morton2@aston.ac.ukDr Emily Chiang
Research Associate in Forensic Linguistics
Email: e.chiang2@aston.ac.ukDr Helen Newsome
Research Associate in Forensic Linguistics
Email: h.newsome@aston.ac.ukProf Malcom Coulthard
Chair of Aston Institute for Forensic Linguistics Advisory Board
Email: r.m.coulthard@aston.ac.ukDr Geoffrey Stewart Morrison
Director of the Forensic Speech Science Laboratory
Email: g.s.morrison@aston.ac.ukDr Felicity Deamer
Lecturer in Forensic Linguistics
Email: f.deamer@aston.ac.ukDr Nicci MacLeod
Senior Lecturer in Forensic Linguistics
Email: n.macleod5@aston.ac.ukProf Lauren Devine
Director of the Centre for Language and Law
Email: l.devine@aston.ac.ukDr Márton Petykó
Research Associate in Forensic Linguistics
Email: m.petyko@aston.ac.ukProf Tim Grant
Director of the Aston Institute for Forensic Linguistics
Email: t.d.grant@aston.ac.ukDr Piotr Pezik
Research Associate in Forensic Linguistics
Email: p.pezik@aston.ac.ukDr Leigh Harrington
Research Associate in Forensic Linguistics
Email: l.harrington@aston.ac.ukDr Stefanie Kreibich
Operations Manager
Email: s.kreibich@aston.ac.ukDr Kate Haworth
Director of the Centre for Spoken Interaction in Legal Contexts
Email: k.haworth@aston.ac.ukDr Emma Richardson
Research Fellow in Forensic Linguistics
Email: e.richardson4@aston.ac.ukDr Annina Heini
Lecturer in Forensic Linguistics
Email: a.heini14@aston.ac.ukDr Tahmineh Tayebi
Lecturer in Forensic Linguistics
Email: t.tayebi@aston.ac.ukDr Krzysztof Kredens
Director of the Centre for Forensic Text Analysis
Email: k.j.kredens@aston.ac.ukDr James Tompkinson
Research Fellow in Forensic Linguistics
Email: j.tompkinson@aston.ac.ukFiona KelcherTeaching FellowEmail: kelcherf@aston.ac.uk- Honorary and Adjunct Members
Mitchell Abrams
Visiting AIFL Researcher
Email: 190205803@aston.ac.uk
FTADr Ewald Enzinger
Senior Research Engineer Eduworks Corporation
FSSLDr Ria Perkins
Email: r.perkins@aston.ac.uk
FTADr Isabel Picornell
Director, QED Forensic Linguistics Ltd
Email: isabel@qedforensics.com
FTA, SILCDr Claudia Rosas
Instituto de Lingüística y Literatura, Universidad Austral de Chile
FSSLProf Yaron MatrasHonorary Professor, Aston Institute for Forensic Linguistics, School of Social SciencesEmail:y.matras@aston.ac.ukPersonal website: yaronmatras.orgFTADr Juliette ScottLegal Translation Practitioner, Researcher & ConsultantEmail: juliette.scott@tiscali.co.ukCLLProf Cuiling Zhang
School of Criminal Investigation, Southwest University of Political Science and Law
FSSLDr Felicity Deamer
Visiting Research Fellow in Forensic Linguistics
Email: f.deamer@aston.ac.uk- PhD Research Students
Holly Anderson
Research Student
Email: andersh1@aston.ac.ukLisa Rogers
Research Student
Email: rogersl1@aston.ac.ukJuliane Ford
Research Student
Email: fordj1@aston.ac.ukDaniela Schneevogt
Research Student
Email: schneevd@aston.ac.ukLiubov Green
Research Student
Email: greenl6@aston.ac.ukMadison Hunter
Research Student
Email: 190185697@aston.ac.ukFiona Kelcher
Research Student
Email: kelcherf@aston.ac.ukNeus Alberich
Research Student
Email: 190184416@aston.ac.ukAndrew Patrick Reczek
Research Student
Email: reczeka@aston.ac.uk
Our Teaching
- Master of Arts in Forensic Linguistics
We run a one-year Master of Arts in Forensic Linguistics programme.
NEW FOR 2022: Study for the MA Forensic Linguistics entirely online. Find more details here.
Members of the Institute teach the undergraduate courses “Language and Law” and “Language as Evidence”.
Potential PhD students should in the first instance make enquiries with the Aston academic staff member with whom they are interested in working. Note that only members with the rank of Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Reader, Associate Professor, or Professor can supervise PhD students.
You may also be interested in:
- Continued Professional Development
Members of the Institute have substantial experience in providing Continuing Professional Development (CPD) training for lawyers, law enforcement investigators, and forensic scientists. This includes open CPD events, and tailored training delivered to law enforcement agencies, government departments, and commercial organisations. Please contact us if you want training tailored to your needs.
Topics we offer training on include:
- General forensic linguistics
- Interpreter-mediated interviewing
- Linguistic investigative skills
- Online identity assumption for undercover police officers
- Forensic speech science
- Forensic inference and statistics
- Casework and consulting
The Institute itself does not conduct casework; however, members of the Institute conduct investigative and evidential casework in the civil and criminal courts in multiple jurisdictions around the world. Our research informs our casework activity, and our casework experience informs our research and teaching.
Members of the Institute also take part in non-casework consulting. This includes advising commercial security organisations, lawyers, and HR departments about risks management.