Communicating Rights: The Language of Arrest and Detention

Abstract

People explain things to each other every day using both writing and speech. Communicating Rights examines the creativity which underpins everyday explanation and its power to influence lives. The rights communication in question occurs in police custody, where explanations shape crucial decisions. Data examined illustrate that when speakers and writers transform texts for others through explanation they work hard to convey meaning. They try to simplify words and grammar and consider the other's perspective and communicative needs. However, although explaining rights seems to be concerned with simply relaying facts it does much more. This apparently tightly-regulated, goal-oriented talk is used by both police officers and detainees to reassure, persuade, distract, challenge, empathise, learn, influence confidence, present identity, prospect intentions, show affiliation, make suggestions and bring formality. The book shows that analysts, institutions, indeed anyone who explains to others, might usefully recognize that their explanations do more than simply convey facts.

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