Library Club Café Evening: Mads Christensen: When Words Reveal Murder

DNA and fingerprints are well-known tools in criminal investigation - but language can also catch criminals, and few people know this.

Each person writes and speaks in their own way, and linguistic traces can give police a crucial clue about who, for example, is behind an anonymous threat. The FBI has used forensic linguistic analysis for years, and one of the most famous examples is the Unabomber case - probably the most extensive manhunt in FBI history. Based on authentic Danish and foreign criminal cases, the lecture provides an introduction to this field.

The speaker is Mads Christensen, a Danish linguist with a PhD in Germanic linguistics and owner of ProLing, which offers research-based services in language, communication and culture. He is particularly known for his work in forensic linguistics.