Transcription and authentication of recordings in judicial contexts

This article deals with two central aspects in many legal cases that require the use of audio recordings: transcription of the content and authentication of the recording itself. The inherent problems of both processes are discussed and an explanation is given as to how the concepts of forensic linguistics can be applied. Specifically, for the transcription process, we describe the method used to adjust for the orality of the recording and discuss the analysis of disputed fragments. For the authentication of recordings, we present the principal aspects of the three approaches in current use: physical, auditory and acoustic. In the specific case of analogue recordings, we also present the magneto-optical analysis technique.