Abstract
Rhetorical strategy is relevant in the law domain, where language is a vital instrument. Textual statistics have much to offer for uncovering such a strategy. We propose a methodology that starts from a non-structured text; first, the breakpoints are automatically detected and lexically homogeneous parts are identified; then, the shape of the text through the trajectory of these parts and their hierarchical structure are uncovered; finally, the argument flow is tracked along. Several methods are combined. Chronological clustering of multidimensional count series detects the breakpoints; the shape of the text is revealed by applying correspondence analysis to the parts×words table while the progression of the argument is described by labelled time-constrained hierarchical clustering. This methodology is illustrated on a rhetoric forensic application, concretely a closing speech delivered by a prosecutor at Barcelona Criminal Court. This approach could also be useful in politics, communication and professional writing.
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This work has received support from the Catalan Department of Universities, Research and Information Society (grant 2009SGR688) and Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (grant ECO2012-35584).
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Bécue-Bertaut, M., Kostov, B., Morin, A. et al. Rhetorical Strategy in Forensic Speeches: Multidimensional Statistics-Based Methodology. J Classif 31, 85–106 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00357-014-9148-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00357-014-9148-9