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Susan Ehrlich, Representing rape: Language and sexual consent. London & New York: Routledge, 2001. Pp. ix, 174. Pb $26.95.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 June 2004

Jack Sidnell
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada M58 1A1, jack.sidnell@utoronto.ca

Extract

In Representing rape, Ehrlich provides a detailed linguistic account of a sexual assault trial. The data for this study come from two sources: a university tribunal and a criminal trial in which complaints were brought against a single man, pseudonym Matt, on behalf of two women. While focusing in each chapter on particular linguistic details, Ehrlich traces their use across several contexts within the legal proceedings – direct testimony, cross-examination and the delivery of judgments. In doing so, the author shows how the details of language use feed into larger frameworks of meaning and legal practice.

Type
REVIEWS
Copyright
© 2004 Cambridge University Press

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References

REFERENCES

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Sacks, H. (1987). On the preference for agreement and contiguity in sequences in conversation. In G. Button & J.R.E. Lee (eds.) Talk and social organization, 5469. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.