INTERPRETATION OF PAUSES IN FORENSIC VOICE AND SPEECH ANALYSIS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32782/klj/2026.1.53Keywords:
pause, communicative act, voice, speech, hesitationAbstract
The article considers theoretical views on the category of pauses in oral speech. The importance
of pauses in the analysis of voice and oral speech in forensic examinations of video and audio recordings is
determined. It is established that the characteristics of pauses depend on their phonetic-articulatory, acoustic,
and psycholinguistic nature. The analysis of pauses is important in forensic phonoscopic examinations carried
out using linguistic methods. It has been established that observing the characteristics of pauses in forensic
examinations of oral speech allows individuals to be identified by their voice and speech. The acoustic nature
of pauses facilitates their differentiation into silent, filled, hesitation pauses, as well as breathing pauses and
pauses caused by syntactic and grammatical requirements of oral speech. In the presented study, based on
the scientific works of A. Bagmut, F. Bacevich, E. Zvonik, E. Krivokapich, O. Krivnova, N. Verbych, and others
it has been established that pauses are no less important in speech than words, as they are an integral part
of the communicative act, often taking on the semantic load of conversations. It has been established that
they make speech logical, help to structure it, and highlight meaningful parts. It has been established that they
make speech logical, help to structure it, and highlight meaningful parts. The article pays particular attention
to the theoretical definition of hesitation pauses, or pauses of wavering, doubt, and reflection. It is noted that
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