A forensic pragmatic analysis of defamatory statements in Iraqi criminal courts

Abstract

This paper is going to investigate the defamatory statements that are posted on social media platforms and those statements are considered as a language crime that is usually recognized as a linguistic act. Defamatory statements can be expressed in different ways, including written and spoken words, gestures, or other ways of communication. Consequently, persons who defame others usually base their speech on the words and expressions that constitute their accusation. This paper aims to analyze the language of defamatory messages, which must not only be false but also transmitted to other individuals with the intent of causing harm to the reputation of the targeted person. It also describes how linguists can provide help in defamation cases by applying Shuy's model to investigate the linguistic tools of speech acts, grammatical referencing, discourse structure, malicious language, and the conveyed and intended meaning of the defamatory messages. The data, which are cases, have been collected from The Criminal Court and The Femidemora Court in Babylon.