SPEECH ACTS AND TRUTH MANIPULATION: LINGUISTIC EVIDENCE FROM WITNESS TESTIMONIES IN CRIMINAL TRIALS

Abstract

This study investigates how speech acts are used to manipulate truth in witness testimonies during criminal trials. Drawing on Speech Act Theory and principles of pragmatics, the research analyzes how witnesses strategically employ linguistic devices—such as hedging, indirectness, emotional appeals, and selective emphasis—to influence legal interpretations of events. Data was collected from recorded courtroom testimonies in Pakistani criminal trial proceedings. The findings suggest that truth manipulation is not merely an act of deliberate lying but a “pragmatic performance,” shaped by social pressures, legal stakes, and cultural norms. The study contributes to forensic linguistics by demonstrating how speech acts serve as tools of persuasion, evasion, and self-protection within judicial discourse.