Discourse of Law: Analysis of Cooperative Principles and Speech Acts in Iranian Law Courts

Authors

  • Amin Mohammadzadegan Khoyi Department of English, East Azarbaijan Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran
  • Biook Behnam Department of English,Tabriz Branch,Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran

Abstract

Judgment is closely connected with language, its questioning, answering, meaning and interpretation. Forensic linguistics for its application in real life and for its involvement in the field that is capable of influencing the course of one’s life has become a very interesting and pragmatic discipline to study; however, one that is still not very widespread in the Iran academic setting.

This paper aims at providing an insight of how language operates in the legal setting by building bridges between cooperative principles and speech acts in forensic linguistics.

This study is an initial attempt to investigate the relationship between violation of Gricean quantity maxim by more than 50 defendants (half of the cases incriminated and half of them acquitted) in relation to different speech acts which are used by interrogators in criminal courts. This study is based primarily on written and terminated documents from judiciary files. Data for this study is collected through Iran's judicial courts.

This study aims to show how maxim of quantity is violated in criminal cases (incriminated or acquitted) in relation to different speech acts. The analysis shows that quantity maxims’ violation has correlation with criminal convictions in relation to different speech acts.

 

Keywords: Judgment, Forensic Linguistics, Discourse of Law, Cooperative Principles, Speech Acts, Criminal Conviction and Acquittal.

Author Biographies

  • Amin Mohammadzadegan Khoyi, Department of English, East Azarbaijan Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran

    Amin Mohammadzadegan Khoyi is a freelance writer and researcher in Forensic Linguistics and Critical Discourse Analysis fields. He is the member of English Association at East Azarbaijan Science and Research Islamic Azad University and also Academy Edu. Online Website. His latest project is journalistic discourse analysis, he is compiling that will be published next year. He is M.A student at East Science and Research Islamic Azad University in Tabriz, Iran.

  • Biook Behnam, Department of English,Tabriz Branch,Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran

    Biook Behnam is Editor-in-Chief at The Journal of Applied Linguistics IJLTR. Member of Editorial Board at Journal of Foreign Language Teaching Research, Member of the Editorial Board at The Journal of ASIA TEFL (The Asian Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language). He is Associate Professor and Representative of Academic Assessment Committee of Tabriz University at Azarbaijan University for Teacher Education, Chairman at Research Assessment Committee of Faculty of Humanities, Tabriz , Iran.

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Published

2014-08-15

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 4 (2014): August 2014

Section

Articles

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How to Cite

Discourse of Law: Analysis of Cooperative Principles and Speech Acts in Iranian Law Courts. (2014). Asian Journal of Education and E-Learning, 2(4). https://ajouronline.com/index.php/AJEEL/article/view/1610