Books by Roger W. (Distinguished Research Professor of Linguistics Shuy

Ambiguity is commonly considered unintentional while deception is considered intentional. Here, Roger W. Shuy describes fifteen criminal cases in which police, prosecutors, and undercover agents used deceptive ambiguity with criminal suspects and defendants, many times giving evidence of being intentionally constructed through the manipulation of the speech events, schemas, agendas, speech acts, strategies, lexicon, and grammar. Although certain types of intentionaldeceptive ambiguity are central for successful undercover operations, the case examples in this book demonstrate how various types of deceptive ambiguity are common not only in undercover operations but also in police interviews and courtroom examinations conducted by prosecutors.

The Language of Fraud Cases describes eight court cases that Roger W. Shuy consulted on, and demonstrates the role of linguistic analysis in defining fraudulent language in the context of law.

Illustrates how linguistic analysis of undercover tape recordings made by law enforcement can help defense attorneys, law enforcement officers, judges, and juries understand the effects of conversational strategies used to give the appearance of criminal activity.