ABSTRACT
Author specific linguistic patterns are present in unique combinations in the style of every writer. These underlying patterns can often be clearly described by careful linguistic observation and analysis, making author identification * (McMenamin, 1993). This chapter sets out to explore these claims and to provide an overview of the work that has been carried out by forensic linguists to determine whether two texts can be shown to be authored by the same person. It examines the assumption that there are linguistic characteristics which can be said to be unique to individuals, and reviews proposed examples of discriminating indices. The issues of genre and modality are often investigated, as well as requirements for the assessment of reliability of a discriminating index of authorship. In addition, the Cusum technique (Morton & Michaelson, 1990; Morton, 1991) is critically analysed in this context. The chapter makes several recommendations of different research objectives required by this type of research and concludes that even with stringent scientific criteria, it is unlikely that a reliable and valid measure of author identity will ever be established.
