OVERVIEW OF EXPERIENCE; STATUS AS COURT-CERTIFIED LAY WITNESS:
I have spent over 40 years in linguistics. My career is a sequence of three phases (they overlap — I’m not 120).
I am a court-certified lay witness under Rule 701 of the Federal Rules for Evidence. I have an unusual if not unique combination of academic credentials (AB in linguistics, Brown University; MA and PhD in linguistics, University of Chicago) and real-world experience in the effective use of language.
After 13 years of academic research, teaching, and publishing, I used my linguistics training to become, in just four years, one of the country’s leading corporate speechwriters, writing for the CEO and other executives of Burroughs Corporation,[1] General Motors, Philip Morris and Kraft Foods, largely because of my ability to use style analysis to write in the voice of each individual speaker. I ghost-wrote or edited many other works and published four books of my own.
Analyses of language in real life and real time
While writing speeches and doing forensic work, I developed original knowledge and shared my expertise in various venues. My sociolinguistic and pragmatic analysis of buzzwords was published in The Journal of Employee Communication Management[2] and excerpted by The Harvard Business Review.[3]
Books on speechwriting
In 1997 I published my first book on speechwriting, Writing Great Speeches: Professional Techniques You Can Use (Allyn & Bacon). The book, part of the publisher’s “Essence of Public Speaking” series, applies principles of stylistic, syntactic, and content analysis to create a linguistics-based, step-by-step process for composing, editing, and presenting a successful speech.
The section on ceremonial speeches is completely original and was the first account of its kind. One reviewer wrote that “[the] chapter on ceremonial speeches is worth the price of the book.”
In 2006, my second book, Perfect Phrases for Executive Presentations (McGraw-Hill), included original advice, developed from linguistic principles plus real-world experience, on what to say in dozens of kinds of speeches.
The book also tells readers how to speak to employees, avoid gender issues, address audiences who are non-native speakers of English, and vary writing/speaking style to suit the occasion, audience, and context. I also provide a chapter on “the most persuasive words in the language.”
I have published numerous articles in professional publications and given many talks on effective communication.
A lifelong student of language
For decades, I have studied language variation and style, in many roles and contexts, and I have composed, edited, analyzed, and taught others to compose and edit thousands of documents of every kind. I have applied linguistic concepts to the understanding of a wide range of written and spoken data and even to jazz improvisation.[4]
The following sections elaborate on the above:
ACADEMIC/PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS: I have devoted a professional lifetime to the analysis of language and the understanding of language variation and stylistic nuance: Here is how my experience qualifies me for a variety of legal cases.
- Doctoral dissertation (University of Chicago, 1973): an analysis of code-switching (i.e., variation in the speaking style of an individual). Relevant to authorship/plagiarism cases.
- Sociolinguistics and stylistics: Much of my education was in sociolinguistics (language in its social context) and one of its investigatory methods, stylistics — the qualitative, comparative, and contrastive study of texts, at every level of language, to uncover information on authorship (and, in some cases, to gain knowledge of the assumed author). Relevant to authorship, plagiarism/copyright, and contract interpretation cases.
- Thirteen years of teaching English linguistics and composition, devising and teaching graduate seminars in stylistics and in the structure and process of written language, plus my prior coursework in grammar and semantics, have given me extensive and intensive experience in identifying the particular linguistic features and variation patterns favored by individual writers and in analyzing and interpreting ambiguous, ungrammatical, or otherwise obscure words, sentences, and larger units. Relevant to authorship/plagiarism and contract interpretation cases.
- Twenty years as a corporate speechwriter/ghostwriter have provided a deep theoretical and practical understanding of the nature and variation of individual style. Relevant to authorship/plagiarism cases.
- Examination/analysis/editing of thousands of student papers, corporate publications, and countless other written documents is relevant to plagiarism cases and to interpretation of contracts, wills, laws, regulations.
Extensive practice in transcription (in my basic linguistics courses, doctoral thesis, and ghost/speechwriting) qualifies me to accurately transcribe audio texts and to evaluate the accuracy of transcriptions (from handwriting to typing and from audio to writing).
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
1991-2002: Director, Executive Communications (reporting to Sr. VP, Corporate Communications), Kraft Foods, Northfield, IL 60093.
1984-91: Speechwriter, Public Relations Staff, General Motors Corporation, Detroit MI 48202.
1981-83: Manager, Speechwriting, Burroughs Corporation, Detroit MI 48232.
1979-81: Staff Supervisor, Marketing Communications, Michigan Bell, Detroit and Southfield MI.
1965-79: Assistant Professor of English (most recent position: Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan),
1974-79; taught English linguistics and composition at the college/university level; published scholarly articles; organized a composition program and helped establish a graduate program in the theory and structure of writing.
ACADEMIC COURSES TAUGHT: (partial list) History of the English Language; Language and Dialect; Introduction to English Dialects; the Structure of Modern English; English Stylistics; Structure and Process of Written Language; English Composition; Introduction to Linguistics; Phonetics and Phonology.
FORENSIC EXPERIENCE, 1979-present (examples):
Expert opinion on status of compound words (trademark infringement litigation).
Expert opinion on plagiarism of song lyrics (copyright litigation involving musical group The Who).
Authorship analysis of e-mails in Florida internal union dispute.
Expert opinion on plagiarism of online home-study course.
Preliminary analysis of authorship issues in malpractice litigation.
Expert opinion on authorship issues in business partnership dispute involving anonymous writings.
Authorship analysis of anonymous letters of complaint to a corporation’s Board of Directors.
Expert opinion on the semantics of trademark infringement in litigation by an apparel firm.
Authorship analysis of anonymous letters (possibly written by disgruntled employees) for major Midwestern corporation.
Authorship analysis of anonymous emails to website of a “cult deprogrammer.”
Expert opinion on linguistic similarities between plaintiff’s and defendant’s trademarks.
Authorship analysis of defamatory emails written to an individual in a corporation.
Authorship advice on a possibly forged stock transfer document.
Authorship analysis of letters involved in the Son of Sam case.
Analysis to support allegations of plagiarism of online course material.
Analysis to refute charges of plagiarism in various academic settings; defendants range from high school students to university professors.
Interpretation of contract language regarding the disposition of acquired corporate entities.
Assessment of the complexity of equipment rental contract language.
Analysis of chat transcripts to determine whether defendant engaged in enticement or seduction.
Authorship analysis of emails in divorce and custody disputes (numerous cases).
Expert opinion on whether parts of Dan Brown’s novel The DaVinci Code were plagiarized from the client’s writing.
Expert opinion on the meaning of “Ecstasy” in a criminal indictment.[5]
Consultation for Dr. Phil on the accent of the perpetrator of an online catfish scam
Consultation and expert opinion on writings related to the Zodiac and Son of Sam cases.
Interpretation of contract language definition of “family member.”
Expert opinion on authorship of legal documents.
Authorship analysis of verbatim duplication in two police reports to determine who copied from whom.
Interpretation of the phrase “first refusal” in lease provision.
COURT CASES, DEPOSITION, TESTIMONY[1]
Cases listed by law firm (except as noted), case name/number, approximate date of service, contribution (A, “affidavit” [court document]; C, “consultation;” D, “deposition”; E, “expert witness statement” [court document]; R, “written report on the data”; RR, “conduct research and write report;” R/R, “rebuttal report. T, “testimony”).
Deposition and testimony[2]
Laurence Singer, Esq. (New York, NY); re: Passlogix, Inc. v. 2FA Technology, 2FA Inc., Case No. 08 CV 10986 (PKL), Jan. 2010 (D,T)
Lizzi Law Firm (Charleston SC), Christopher Lizzi; re: State vs. Robert McCaffrey, Mar. 2019 (T).
McWherter Scott Bobbitt (Jackson TN), Clint Scott; re Douglas Burka v. Vanderbilt University Medical Center, In the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee at Nashville, Civil Action No. 3:19-cv-00113, Oct. 2020 (R, D).
Seabaugh, Benson Keene & Denny (Shreveport, LA), Todd Benson: re: Jayn Robison v. Cardiology Associates, U.S. District Court, Western District of Louisiana, Shreveport Division, Civil Action No. CV05-1581 S, April 2007 (R,D)
State Bar of Michigan (Lansing, MI), Danon D. Goodrum-Garland; re: State Bar of Michigan v. Elgardo L. Perez DeLeon, Circuit Court for the County of Wayne, 030320403-CZ, April 2008 (R,D).
Tolpin & Partners, PC, Chicago, IL (Mark R. Bagley). UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS, EASTERN DIVISION; re: Deckers Outdoor Corporation v. Australian Leather Pty. Ltd. and Adnan Oygur a/k/a Eddie Oygur, Case No. 1:16-cv-03676, (R/R, D) Sept. 2017.
- Other court cases
Bach Law Firm (Las Vegas NV), Jason J. Bach, Esq.; re: Patel v. Texas Tech, UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT, NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS, LUBBOCK DIVISION, Civil Action No.. 5:17-cv-174, Jan. 2018 (E).
Barshay Sanders, PLLC (Garden City, NY), David Barshay; re: Joshua Paul Tilatitsky, Plaintiff, v. Medicredit, Inc., Defendant, UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT, EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI, EASTERN DIVISION, Case No.: 4:16-cv-00811-JCH, August 2016 (E).
Connolly Sheehan Harris, LLP (Chicago, IL), Terence Smith; re: Garibaldi Versus Anixter Inc. (Case Number 05-CV-60 75L W.D.N.Y.), July 2006 (R).
Denner Pellegrino, LLP (Boston, MA), Vikas S. Dhar, re: Khan v. Klein, Middlesex County Probate and Family Court, Docket No. 06E-0176, May 2007 (R).
Gentle, Pickens and Turner (Birmingham AL), Diandra Debrosse; re: Burgin v. LaHaye, et al., File #4743-1, March 2009 (R).
Kallas and Associates Ltd. (Minneapolis, MN), Michael Kallas; re: Rocco Altobelli v. William L. Anderson et al., State of Minnesota, County of Hennepin, District Court, Fourth Judicial District, Court File No. 27-CV-08-5087, March 2008 (A).
Knox McLaughlin Gornall & Sennett, P.C. (Erie, PA), Bryan G. Baumann; Re: THE FIRST LIBERTY INSURANCE CORPORATION, Plaintiff/Counter-Defendant v. PAUL MCGEEHAN AND ROSANNE MCGEEHAN, HUSBAND AND WIFE, AND ADAM MCGEEHAN AND LAURA MCGEEHAN, HUSBAND AND WIFE, Defendants/Counter-Plaintiffs. CASE NO. 1:16-cv-00199-SPB, July 2017 (R, R/R).
Law Firm of James L. Essenson (Sarasota FL). Re: Essenson vs..Soss/Case No: 2015-CA-005641-NC, June 2016 (R).
Law Offices of Mitchell A. Chester (Fort Lauderdale, FL), Dawn Miller; re: Mercury Insurance Company of Florida, Plaintiff, Versus Marlaina Law and Lincoln Pujan, Defendants (Circuit Court for the 17th Judicial Circuit in and for Broward County Florida, Case Number 04 — 1132 [21]), Nov. 2005 (R).
- Levine Blaszak Block & Boothby, LLP (Washington, DC), Stephen J. Rosen; re: American Bankers Insurance Group, Inc., Plaintiff, v. United States of America, Defendant (United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Case Number 03-21822-CIV-Huck/Turnoff), Feb. 2004 (RR).
Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell (New York, NY), Sara Chen; re: Metropolitan Life Insurance Company v. Guardian Life Insurance Company of America et al., Supreme Court of the State of New York, Index No. 0860046, Feb. 2008 (A).
Middletons (Melbourne, Australia), Stuart Gibson; re: MedEntry & Anor v. Rockefeller Management Corporation & Anor (V1289 of 2004), April 2005 (R).
Notario & Michalos P.C. (Orangeburg NY), John Zaccaria; re: Biofutrura Pharma, S.P.A. (Opposer), v. Day Corporation (Applicant), Application Serial No. 78/541,059, Jan. 2005 (E).
Orange County Public Defender’s Office (Santa Ana, CA), Alisha Montoro, Deputy Public Defender; re: People v. Anthony Garcia, Case #: 20CF2621, Nov. 2020 (E).
Potter, Judy, Attorney at Law (Cape Elizabeth ME); re: Katisha Johnson (P) v. Jared Hartley (D), State of Maine District Court, Docket No. BIDDFM 11-165, Mar. 2018 (R).
David Pearline, Attorney at Law (Virginia Beach, Virginia), David Pearline; re: Dr. Widad Elmahboub, Plaintiff, v. Hampton University, and Dr. Meena Katdare, Defendants; VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF HAMPTON, PART I, Case No.: CL11-2568, Oct. 2012 (R).
Reach, Ranney & Carpenter, P.C. (Ann Arbor, MI), Ian James Reach; re: Kassa v. Washtenaw County et al., Court File # 04-60215, Jan 2005 (C).
Nathan Reitman, Attorney at Law (Salem, OR); re: Oregonians for Honest Elections v. Oregon Education Association et al., in the Circuit Court of the State of Oregon, for the County of Marion, Case No. 08C25088, Nov. 2009 (A).
Rybicki & Blevans, LLP (Santa Rosa, CA), Brandon Blevans; re: Marriage of Greene, Janette and Avery (Superior Court of California, County of Solano (Case No. SF032826), Aug. 2006 (E).
- Seyfarth & Shaw (Chicago, IL), Bart Lazar; re: the Bandanna Co. Inc., Plaintiff, Versus Linens ‘n Things, Inc., Defendant (Civil Action Number 03-CV 211-C), February 2005 (E).
Seyfarth & Shaw (Chicago, IL), Bart Lazar; re: Nygard v. Haggar, United States District Court, Central District of California (Case No. 02-8781-JFW (RCX), Nov. 2003 (E).
Shernoff Bidart Darris, LLP (Claremont, CA), Evangeline Grossman; re: Blue Shield Rescission Cases (first case: Mottaghi vs. Blue Shield, Superior Court for the State of California for the County of Los Angeles [Case No.: B.C351475]), April 2007 (E).
Smith Bigman Brock (Daytona Beach, FL), Horace Smith, Jr.; re: Hawryluk v. Hawryluk, Dissolution (Circuit Court, 7th Judicial District in and for Volusa County, FL; Case No. 2019 30639FMCI; Division: 36), Oct. 2020 (E).
Skadden Arps (New York, NY) Joseph Goodman; re: Appeal of Santiago Batista (BSGB No. 2004-065), March 2004 (R).
Tully Rinckey, PLLC, New York NY (Carol A. Crossett); re: Many Waters, LLC v. Maritimo Offshore Yacht Sales, Inc. & Maritimo (MFG)/International PTY. LTD, Case No. CACE-16-012247 (05), Feb. 2021 (R).
Legal cases, direct client service (examples)
Michael P. Hays, re: Hays vs. Barbee (S05-05-376), June 2005 (R).
Eric and Gail Taylor, re: State of Indiana, County of Marion, Co-Guardians’ Petition to Compromise and Settle Minor’s Claim for Personal Injuries (Docket No. 49 D08 0299), July 2006 (R).
Joel Rabbe et al., Minnesota OLPR Case #45363. Nov. 19 (R).
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA. ECORE INTERNATIONAL, INC. Plaintiff, v. PAUL DOWNEY, CSR INDUSTRIES, INC., and PLITEQ, INC., Defendants, CIVIL ACTION NO: 11-CV-6843, Case 5:11-cv-06843-RBS, May 2017 (R).
[1] Cases with official court designation account for only a fraction of my work. Excluded are many other expert reports and private consultations.
[2] On four other occasions, I was scheduled to testify but proceedings were cancelled because of court- and attorney-related issues.
CONSULTATION WITH ATTORNEYS AND PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS. In addition to cases that went into litigation, I have consulted on numerous occasions and provided forensic linguistic advice to attorneys in cases that sometimes did not go to court, as well as to private individuals and private investigators, under the same circumstances.
EDUCATION
B.A. (1964), Brown University, Providence RI, 1964; linguistics (summa cum laude, High Honors, Phi Beta Kappa).
M.A. (1967), PhD (1973), University of Chicago, Chicago IL; linguistics. Dissertation topic: Grammatical Structure and Style Shift in Hawaiian Pidgin and Creole.
Linguistic Institute, Indiana University, summer, 1964.
Research Assistantships (computer applications to language analysis), University of Chicago, summers, 1966-68.
Russian language (Harvard University; University of Michigan), summers, 1962, 1963.
PRSA/NYU seminars: “The Speech as an Effective PR/PA Tool” (1981); “PR/PA Writing Workshop” (1982).
SEMINARS/WORKSHOPS/PRESENTATIONS
“When a Lawyer Needs a Linguist,” Association of Forensic Document Examiners, Milwaukee, WI, Nov. 8, 2009.
Conducted 35 other workshops, courses, seminars, and presentations on speech writing, stylistic analysis, semantics, rhetoric, word usage, and related subjects (list available at https://www.language-expert.net/seminars-workshops-presentations/ ).
ARTICLES: Numerous articles on forensic linguistics, language, speechwriting, and related topics (list, including academic publications, available at https://www.language-expert.net/articles/ ; also see Blog section of www.language-expert.net for original articles and Internet publications on language and forensic linguistics.
Recent publications:
“Malicious obfuscation” https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/malicious-obfuscation-alan-perlman
“Plagiarism: What it is and what it is not https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/plagiarism-what-alan-perlman
Review of Tom Wolfe’s The Kingdom of Speech
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/review-tom-wolfes-kingdom-speech-alan-perlman
“Another groundless plagiarism charge” https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/another-groundless-plagiarism-charge-alan-perlman
“The most overrated mind of the 20th century” https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/most-overrated-mind-20th-century-alan-perlman
“How not to use PowerPoint” https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20141117182153-169090-how-not-to-use-powerpoint
Other articles at https://www.language-expert.net/pages/notes.html and http://www.experts.com/Articles/By/Dr.%20Alan%20Perlman
BOOKS
Write Choices: New Options for Effective Communication, Charles C Thomas, 1989.
- “It Gives Me Great Pleasure…” — A Guide to Writing Ceremonial Speeches, Ragan Communications, 1992.
- Writing Great Speeches: Professional Techniques You Can Use, Allyn & Bacon, 1997.
- Perfect Phrases for Executive Presentations, McGraw-Hill, 2006.
_______________________
[1] Became part of Unisys via merger in 1986.
[2] Nov.-Dec. 2001
[3] Harvard Management Communication Letter (Tools, Techniques and Ideas for the Articulate Executive), Vol, 5, No. 3, March 2002
[4] (With Daniel Greenblatt) “Noam Chomsky Meets Miles Davis: Observations on Jazz Improvisation and Language Structure,” in The Sign in Music and Literature, ed. Wendy Steiner (Austin, TX: University of Texas Press), 1981. The article now generates over 70,000 Google hits.
[5] UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. CARL BROCK, IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA, SOUTHERN DIVISION, CRIMINAL NO. D3-00241-CB, 2013.
Recent Posts
- “Dog whistle”: what does it mean and why do they use it? - In politics, a dog whistle is the use of coded or suggestive language in political messaging to garner support from a particular group without provoking opposition. The concept is named for ultrasonic dog whistles, which are audible to dogs but not humans. -Wikipedia The dictionary site www.ludwig.guru defines by example: When political parties have... Read more »
- Racism is where you seek it - se•mi•ot•ics, noun, the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation. Ordinarily I would not be much interested in the race for San Jose (CA) City Council. But Chris Escher of OpportunityNow, a San Jose-based website for entrepreneurs, sent me some campaign flyers and public reactions to them and asked for my... Read more »
- What is forensic linguistics? - …linguistics is virtually invisible to most people…Just as physicians are trained to see things in an X-ray that the average person with excellent vision cannot see, so linguists are trained to see and hear structures that are invisible to the lay person. Roger Shuy, xvii, Language Crimes A forensic linguist is sometimes a general practitioner... Read more »
- On “systemic racism” - The truth is what most people believe. And they believe that which is repeated most often Josef Goebbels Political language… is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. George Orwell Linguists have long been fascinated with the question of how language originated. Our... Read more »
- “You have the right to remain silent”: Obstacles to understanding the Miranda warning, Part II — Workaround - In an earlier post, I offered some reasons why the Miranda warning, an 89-word text recited in less than a minute, is so often misunderstood, with the result that defendants give up rights they didn’t know they had. A summary of the obstacles (many of which occur simultaneously): Contains several complexities in vocabulary, grammatical... Read more »
- Musk affirms painful truth about President Puppet - What orators lack in depth, they make up to you in length Montesquieu, 1767 Here comes the orator, with his flood of words and his drop of reason. Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanac, 1735 Now that Elon Musk has dared to say what everyone, including Dr. Jill (who really wanted to be First Lady and... Read more »
- The (barely-) hidden agenda of racial equity glossaries - “When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.” “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.” “The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master—that’s all.” From Lewis Carroll’s “Through the Looking-Glass, and... Read more »
- Language control through perceived offense: how far can p.c. go? - But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought. — George Orwell In these times of language abuse and language control – when a Supreme Court nominee cannot define “woman” (because she is so politically compromised) – I must once again note that manufactured offense knows no limits. There is no end to it,... Read more »
- What’s a “woman”? Supreme Court nominee creates watershed moment in left language lunacy - Not merely the validity of experience, but the very existence of external reality was tacitly denied by their philosophy. The heresy of heresies was common sense. Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past. George Orwell It was one of those moments when history, perhaps time itself, stopped for... Read more »
- How the virus of political correctness spreads: none dare call it “looting” - When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’ ’The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things.’ ’The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master —... Read more »