LINGUA NON CORRUPTA ESSE: Language codes of criminals as a form of linguistic corruption (non-fiction book)
Text zum Thema Sprache/ Sprachen
von Koreapeitsche
Vorwort
When criminals meet in chatgroups and elsewhere they tend to use their own language codes. This is done to hide criminal plans that not everyone understands what they are talking about. Different findings in forensic linguistics tell us that there are a lot of methods to hide meaning when using language codes. In many cases code words can be word-for-word substitutions or even metaphors, agreed synonyms, hyperonyms, short forms, abbreviations or even phantasy words or neologisms. Classical paroles can be arranged on between two points in a criminal network which always operates like a linguistic network with its own rules. These codes can be that well elaborated that specialist have to take their time to identify the hidden meaning. Sources for investigtions can be letters, emails, chats, telephone calls, recorded conversations, interviews, memory notes and many other forms of communication. On the one hand, criminal plans have to be revealed this way and confessions of crimes have to be identified. On the other hand, doubtful utterances have to be classified whether the law was broken. Coded language can be formulated in our own language with the same grammatical rules and basic vocabularywhich everyone uses. But the exception is that some key elements of the language are substituted, masked, changed, abbreviated, or in another way alienated that the true meaning is hidden and understandable only for insiders. These insiders are among the criminals who familiar with the specific code of the group. Places can be coded, time of day can be coded, street names, names of persons, targets, objects, the way things are done and many more aspects.
When such a criminal language code is implemented it’s always an agreement between sender and receiver who both know the keywords and the rules of the group. But they can make mistakes which are relevant for prosecutors. A criminal network becomes a linguistic network as soon as everyone in the group is familiar with the rules. When they have found a communication chanel where they feel free to comminicate openly a third person might get access to their topics. A third person who is able to decipher the coded language might get a good insight and interfere in the criminal activities.