Language of Crime and Deviance: An Introduction to Critical Linguistic Analysis in Media and Popular Culture

by David Machin

There is now a long tradition of academic literature in media studiesand criminology that has analysed how we come to think about crime, deviance and punishment. This book forthe first time deals specifically with the role of language in this process,showing how critical linguistic analysis can provide further crucial insightsinto media representations of crime and criminals. Through case studies thebook develops a toolkit for the analysis of language and images in examplestaken from a range of media. The Language of Crimeand Deviance covers spoken, written and visual media discourses andfocuses on a number of specific areas of crime and criminal justice, including mediaconstructions of young people and women; media and the police, ‘reality’ crimeshows; corporate crime; prison and drugs.It is therefore a welcome and valuable contribution to the fields oflinguistics, criminology, media and cultural studies.

257 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 15, 2011