This paper reports an initial application of contemporary cognitive stylistics to forensic linguistic contexts. In both areas, a need has been identified for robust analyses. An intercoder reliability study was developed using data from a historic authorship analysis case involving single-authored hate mail. Exploring the applicability of Cognitive Grammar’s notion of construal as a reliable framework for describing salient features of the author’s style, this test examined the accuracy and consistency of descriptions of schematicity and specificity within the corpus, as applied by independent coders. Iterative coding and testing demonstrated that reliability was achievable, but depended upon a protocol developed through considerable definitional work, refining the concepts of specificity and elaboration as taken from Cognitive Grammar. Our findings support the idea that the identification of stylistic features can be rigorous, retrievable, and replicable, but also that a fuller system of coding will require a substantial research programme. Such an approach, bringing together contemporary stylistics and forensic authorship analysis, would be a productive collaboration between both disciplines and a valuable research method for verifiability in stylistics more generally. Content: Readers are advised that the letters analysed for this study contain offensive language, and that short quotes within this paper include racist and hateful language directed at particular groups.

中文翻译：

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迈向认知取证文体：苍鹭行动语料库中可复制特征发现的编码器间可靠性测试


本文报告了当代认知文体学在法医语言环境中的初步应用。在这两个领域，已经确定了对稳健分析的需求。使用涉及单一作者仇恨邮件的历史作者身份分析案例的数据开发了 intercoder 可靠性研究。该测试探讨了认知语法的解释概念作为描述作者风格显着特征的可靠框架的适用性，检查了独立编码人员应用的语料库中图式性和特异性描述的准确性和一致性。迭代编码和测试表明可靠性是可以实现的，但取决于通过大量定义工作开发的协议，完善了从认知语法中获取的特异性和阐述概念。我们的研究结果支持这样一种观点，即文体特征的识别可以是严格的、可检索的和可复制的，但更完整的编码系统需要一个大量的研究计划。这种方法将当代文体学和法医作者分析结合起来，将是两个学科之间富有成效的合作，也是更普遍地验证文体学可验证性的有价值的研究方法。内容：建议读者，本研究分析的信件包含冒犯性语言，并且本文中的简短引用包含针对特定群体的种族主义和仇恨语言。