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379361

"Lexical Characteristics and Agency in American Rape Trials: A Critical Discourse Analysis"

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Last updated: 25 Dec 2024

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Abstract

Cross-examinations of rape complainants in American trials have been in question for decades for their perceived grueling nature. Many scholars have argued that a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of rape trials can uncover the power asymmetry and ideological frameworks existing in legal practices. Therefore, this paper aims to employ a CDA approach to analyze the legal-linguistic interactions between opposing lawyers and rape complainants. Cross-examination data were obtained from two American rape cases that were well-publicized. The paper primarily focused on exploring lexicalization and agency and their use by cross-examiners in the rape cases. The Critical Discourse Analysis revealed that agency and lexicalization were strategically employed by cross-examiners to ideologically frame the rape incidents, and to either eliminate or obscure the agency of the defendant's from committing sexual aggression. Finally, based on the findings, the study provides future recommendations and further areas of research. 

DOI

10.21608/herms.2024.379361

Keywords

American rape trials, cross-examinations, rape complainant, lexicalization, agency

Authors

First Name

Yara

Last Name

Zidan

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Faculty of Arts -Cairo University

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Orcid

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Volume

13

Article Issue

1

Related Issue

50305

Issue Date

2024-01-01

Receive Date

2024-09-11

Publish Date

2024-01-01

Page Start

85

Page End

112

Print ISSN

2090-8555

Online ISSN

2974-4695

Article File

HERMS_Volume 13_Issue 1_Pages 85-112.pdf

PDF . 571.4kB

Link

https://hermes.journals.ekb.eg/article_379361.html

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https://hermes.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=379361

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8

Type

المقالة الأصلية

Type Code

1,100

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

هرمس

Publication Link

https://hermes.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

"Lexical Characteristics and Agency in American Rape Trials: A Critical Discourse Analysis"

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Article

Created At

25 Dec 2024