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@Linguist_CIOL JUNE/JULY The Linguist 9 FEATURES of the definite article before names in the Spanish language and the prevalent use of nicknames in Puerto Rican culture. Mr Collazo called his son el nene and his daughter la nena. He knew most of his neighbours only by their nicknames. In grief over the death of his son, he could not refer to him as anything other than the intimate and affectionate el nene, which translates as 'the kid'. There was a mistrial in this case and it is not yet resolved. In our age of mobile phones, a surprising number of crimes are well documented by texts and pictures, not necessarily in English. There are also drug cases where the language evidence, such as intercepted phone calls and wiretaps, is in a dialect, and I usually need to find a dialect specialist to help me understand everything that was said. I have even had cases where the dialect was a variant of English, such as gang vernacular, and I had to learn enough of this argot to translate the evidence into Standard English. Luckily, there are good dictionaries and glossaries. When in doubt, I get help. A CASE OF THE WRONG LANGUAGE Another major category of cases I have worked on involves English proficiency. Suspects are quoted as saying things they are incapable of saying, or sign forms that they could not possibly have understood. In such cases I combine language proficiency testing and analysis of the statements or documents in question. In my experience, mistaken attribution of language proficiency in police matters is common. This was the case in Commonwealth vs. Yan Chow. Mr Chow ran a restaurant in Boston's Chinatown along FALSE POSITIVES Mistakes can be made when police do all the talking and suspects reply 'yes' or 'no' (above); while the case of Yan Chow centred on whether he deliberately hit his wife with a van (left) The rules of evidence in the US originally allowed only scientists to give their opinion in court. This changed with Kumho Tire vs. Carmichael (1999), where the Supreme Court held that an opinion could be based more broadly on scientific, technical or other specialised knowledge. This practice is shared by most judicial systems in the world. Such knowledge is demonstrated by degrees, publications and experience. So if you want to be an expert, start by teaching a class or writing an article. Superior writing and public speaking skills, technical knowledge and scholarship are key, as in academia. BECOMING AN EXPERT with several relatives, including his wife. They had a less- than-ideal marriage but still lived together in the town of Quincy. One day Mr Chow was in their van, waiting for his wife, and he repositioned the vehicle several times. When he got out of the van to find her, he found that he had actually knocked her down and run her over more than once. When the police arrived, he was so distraught that they assumed it was an accident. Mr Chow was taken by ambulance to a clinic. The police went there later to tell him that his wife was dead, and they took his statement. Things did not end there. Ms Chow's brother went to the police to tell them his suspicions. Chow was a gambler and had lost a lot of money. His wife was going to leave him. He killed her for the insurance money. (In the end,