Techniques of Description

This book is a tribute to Malcolm Coulthard who has been remarkably active and influential across a wide range of English Language Studies. He is particularly well-known for his pioneering work in spoken and written discourse analysis and most recently for his work in forensic linguistics. This collection of specially commissioned state-of-the-art pieces by leading international linguists is dedicated to the man and his achievements and provides a showcase for the most exciting developments in applied discourse studies.All the papers share common assumptions about language study: that descriptions should be data-based data-tested and replicable. The collection as a whole contains original and important new research on descriptions with intriuging applications to forensic gender and literary studies.