Method

I will identify and describe features of language in the texts using methods of language analysis. In order to study textual variations and representations, I will identify and describe important features of language in the texts. 

Some of the areas I will examine are:

• phonetics, phonology and prosodies - how speech sounds and effects are articulated and analysed
• lexis and semantics - the vocabulary of English, including social and historical variation
• grammar, including morphology - the structural patterns and shapes of English at sentence, clause, phrase and word level
• pragmatics - the contextual aspects of language use
• discourse - extended stretches of communication occurring in different genres, modes and contexts.

Introduction

How the research relates to some theoretical language, including references
Aims and objectives

A comparison of the speech of psychopathic killers with the speech of perpetrators of petty crime.

I chose to do this topic as crime is a topic that covers a wide variety of subjects. From psychology to language, it is researched heavily about its effect on us as individuals. Language and crime is a topic that is less researched yet still interesting and significant. As a psychology and English language student, the subject of criminals is a popular topic of conversation and so, for my English language coursework, I wanted to explore further into the topic of language change and criminals and include aspects of prison speech into the topic.

My topic relates to wider context because of the stereotypes and representations of certain criminals. For example, serial killers are portrayed as being intelligent and smart whereas petty thieves are considered to have a lower intelligence. Intelligence can be portrayed through our language and so I want to investigate whether these ranks and stereotypes are represented through the languages of criminals.

Ethical Issues

There are some issues with various data collection methods. Brief descriptions of each issue are:

Being ethical: any research will have an effect on the people involved with it. Research with participants needs to respect their rights and there are various ethical approaches that must be considered.

Potential harm: research should not be damaging to anyone, this is especially important when working with young children, people with learning difficulties and anyone who is vulnerable.

Informed consent: people who are the subject of research need to know what they are getting themselves into. Informed consent must be obtained by the participant, or their guardian if they are below the age of 18, in order to gain permission to use the data from other research.

Observer's paradox: the paradox that the only way to collect natural speech is to observe it - but the very act of observation is likely to destroy its naturalness. In other words, the presence of a researcher can affect the participant's behaviour or the results.

The right to withdraw: if people don't like the experience they having by participating in the investigation, they have the right to withdraw at any time with no consequences to themselves.

Confidentiality and privacy: no one in the investigation should be recognisable or traceable. To ensure this, their real name, address, access details or personal information should not be shared or made public. People may be happy to grant permission but the facts must be explained before doing so. It is difficult to remove personal information once it is made public.

Collecting Data

There are various ways to collect data for my investigation, some are below:

Random sampling: participants are chosen randomly for no particular reason.

Judgemental sampling: participants are chosen for a specific reason to meet the particular criteria.

Open questions: the respondent will give their view or opinion and will be required to think about their answer. Provides in-depth data but hard to analyse.

Closed questions: likely to give a short and factual response (e.g. yes or no). Easy to analyse but may not represent the respondents whole view.

Loaded or leading questions: a question that doesn't allow for an opinion, where an assumption is built.

Likert scale: a method of gathering information in a questionnaire. Often uses a 1-5 point scale.

Semantic differential scale: an alternative method of gathering information in a questionnaire which often uses 2 words at either end of a particular scale with participants indicating where on the scale they fell.

Data Collection

I will collect my data through a variety of ways to ensure that it is reliable and that there is plenty of diversity in my investigation and analysis. Some of the ways I will collect data are:

Interviews (from the past and present): using interviews from last criminals as well as recent inmates will give me an understanding of how times have changed or stayed the same and represent speech from years ago that may give me an insight into the effect the nature of a crime has on language.

Self-reported usage: self-reports are used by many linguists to gain a speaker's opinion of their own language. People describe their own language as opposed to it being recorded or written down. This method of data collection can reveal interesting insights and avoid interpretations.

Documentaries: I will watch documentaries regarding criminals and analyse the nature of the crime, other people's views on the subject and interviews used within the documentary. This will allow me to explore the language and views of criminals, such as murderers and serial killers, that I would not be able to obtain face-to-face.

Recorded interviews: I will interview criminals who may have recently been in prison and record our conversation. I will then transcribe the conversation and post it to my blog. This method will allow me to get a personal feel of the subject and give me a chance to analyse non-linguistic features.

Articles (online and written): I will do some independent research using textbooks, websites and online articles or information. This will provide evidence to support or disprove whatever points I make about my topic.

Theorists views: I will analyse and evaluate linguists' views and use them as baselines for my evidence and research. I will find these views online or in textbooks.

The Task

Topic choice: language and crime/occupational language
Approach: user-based, documentaries, self-report
Investigation: Does the nature of a crime affect or change our language? An investigation into the linguistic differences in the speech of ........... and perpetrators of petty crime. 

My English Language investigation is questioning whether there is a difference between the language of murderers and psychopaths and the language of perpetrators of petty crime. I will analyse people who committed different crimes, from serial killers to petty theft, and compare their language use. I will also question real-life, petty criminals about their language use and analyse transcripts from TV show interviews such as 'Piers Morgan: Killer Women' and documentaries on serial killers and psychopaths such as Fred West and Bert Spencer to compare if and how their language is different to small time criminals. This will give an insight of how language is or is not changed as a result of a crime.

My investigation is a user-based investigation because I am investigating who uses a particular form or style of language.

I chose to do this topic because I find the area of crime very interesting. As well as being intrigued by the psychology of criminals, how a crime or prison changes a person's language also interests me. I am currently studying media studies and psychology as well as English language. My topic relates to both of these areas of study as I discuss psychopaths and how criminals' language is represented. I also take into account how certain criminals are represented to the public, whether it be through the media or their individual language.

Aim:
1. To use the results of my analyses to compare the speech of criminals and conclude how their crime may affect their language.

References

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbS00O8O_ko 

http://www.livescience.com/16585-psychopaths-speech-language.html - full

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/17549507.2011.578661 - just abstract

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0803706X.2011.652166 - just abstract
http://www.englishproject.org/resources/prison-lingo-language-prison-community - all
http://mentalfloss.com/article/12794/50-prison-slang-words-make-you-sound-tough-guy - full list
http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2013/05/you-talkin-to-me-criminal-language-andy-adams - full
http://sas-space.sas.ac.uk/5241/1/1705-2277-1-PB.pdf - full
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2012/09/the-language-of-criminals/ - full
https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/Abstract.aspx?id=92838 - just abstract, go through
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1068316042000209323?src=recsys - just abstract, go through
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13682820601053977?src=recsys - just abstract, go through