TALE: THE ASSOCIATION
FOR
LINGUISTIC EVIDENCE
THE PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY OF THE
INSTITUTE FOR LINGUISTIC EVIDENCE
INFORMATIONAL MATERIAL
Membership in TALE supports the forensic use of linguistic evidence that relies on inter-disciplinary
teamwork, rigorous research using standard, peer-reviewed, academically-acceptable, proven
methodologies that meet legal standards for admissible scientific evidence and provide linguistic
information, investigative intelligence or actionable leads to investigators in law enforcement, security,
digital evidence, and intelligence.
TALE’s Honorary Fellows include the inventor of the term forensic linguistics, the first scholar who
called for the use of linguistic norms in a Federal case, the first scholar who investigated the reliability of
a very popular police interrogation investigative technique, and a national security expert who retired at a
high rank from the US DOD. TALE’s Leadership Circle includes two research-practitioners with
doctorates in linguistics, an attorney with litigation and case management experience, and a police
investigator with 40 years’ experience and extensive training in forensic sciences. TALE is an outreach of
the Institute for Linguistic Evidence, the first non-profit organization devoted to research and
development in the field of forensic linguistics. TALE activities include:





Annual Winter Conference as a sister society of the Linguistic Society of America
LESLI: Linguistic Evidence in Security, Law, and Intelligence, our peer-reviewed, open-access,
electronic journal published through the University of Pittsburgh
ILE Summer Workshop featuring week-long tutorial interaction
Research Partnerships
Case Referral and Guidance
General Qualifications:
Membership in TALE requires that the applicant






demonstrates professional competence, integrity, honesty and high ethical standards, as proven by
public information records such as sworn testimony and character references;
has made significant and positive contributions to the emerging field of forensic linguistics
through scientific research, litigation support, legal practice, or investigative use;
has in no way harmed the emerging field of forensic linguistics through the misuse of method or
evidence, misrepresentation of qualifications, or other ethical or professional breaches;
meets specific requirements of the track to which applicant is applying;
annually signs TALE Code of Ethics;
annually pays dues of US$50.00 (or annual dues of US$25.00 for student-member or any rankmember from a developing nation).
DETERMINATION OF TRACK AND RANK
There are two tracks in TALE: Security, Law and Intelligence (SLI) and Researcher-Practitioner (RP).
Within each track, there are four ranks: Student, Provisional, Member and Fellow.
TALE: THE ASSOCIATION
FOR
LINGUISTIC EVIDENCE
SECURITY, LAW, AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST TRACK (SLI)
Relevant Academic Disciplines










Criminal Justice, Police Science, Military Science, Legal or Justice Studies
Criminology, Criminalistics, Education
Security Studies, Cybersecurity
Computer Technology, Information Technology, Mathematics, Philosophy
Law, Pre-Law (e.g. History, Government, Political science, Engineering)
Psychology or Behavioral Science
Forensic Science, Physical Sciences (Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Anthropology)
Business Administration, Management, Accounting
Forensic Document Examination
Digital Forensics
SLI Student Member:
1. Education: Current enrollment in A.A.S.,/A.A.,/A.S., B.S./B.A., M.A./M.S./M.J.S., Ph.D., D.Sc.,
Ed.D., Psy.D., M.D., D.O. program of an accredited college or university in relevant academic
discipline, or accredited law school, in good academic standing including on-leave;
2. Three character references.
Student Membership lasts a maximum of eight (8) years.
SLI Provisional Member:
1. Education: A.A.S.,/A.A.,/A.S., B.S./B.A. or M.A./M.S., Ph.D., D.Sc., Ed.D., M.D. or D.O. in
relevant discipline as listed in Student member qualifications, J.D. or POST certification;
2. Experience: five years experience as
 a certified police officer or police trainer, or
 a certified court reporter, or
 a certified court translator or interpreter, or
 a certified fraud examiner, or
 a certified forensic document examiner, or
 an intelligence analyst in business, executive, national security investigations, or
 a litigator, legal case manager, litigation support professional or legal assistant;
3. Three character references.
Provisional Membership lasts a maximum of four (4) years.
A provisional member must apply for promotion to Member, if desired.
SLI Member:
1. Education: A.A.S.,/A.A.,/A.S., B.S./B.A. or M.A./M.S., Ph.D., D.Sc., Ed.D., Psy.D., M.D. or
D.O. in relevant discipline, J.D. or POST certification;
2. Experience: five (5) years experience as a certified police officer or police trainer, or as an
intelligence analyst in business, executive, national security investigations or as a litigator, legal
case manager, litigation support professional or legal assistant;
3. Three character references.
4. Publication in law reviews, journals, professional magazines or Conference Presentation about
evidence, admissibility, forensic science, security, investigation, intelligence and related topics, as
reviewed and accepted by TALE Admissions Committee;
maf:1.142/9/16
2
TALE: THE ASSOCIATION
FOR
LINGUISTIC EVIDENCE
5. Demonstrated and documented ability to litigate, provide litigation support, or lead investigations,
with case-related experience using forensic linguistic evidence.
Membership lasts indefinitely.
A Member must apply for promotion to Fellow, if desired.
SLI Fellow:
1. Application for promotion to Fellow;
2. Member in good standing for five (5) years;
3. Participation in at least three (3) TALE activities, e.g. Annual TALE Winter Conference, Summer
Workshop, White Paper Development, LESLI editing or guest-editing;
4. One character reference.
Fellowship lasts indefinitely.
RESEARCHER-PRACTITIONER TRACK (RP)
Relevant Academic Disciplines









Linguistics (Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology, Syntax, Semantics, Pragmatics, Historical)
Psycholinguistics, Sociolinguistics, Computational Linguistics, Mathematical Linguistics
Linguistic Anthropology, Deaf Education
Modern Languages, English, Technical Writing, Rhetoric
Computer Science, Software Development, System Analysis, Mathematics, Philosophy
Cognitive Science, Psychology, Behavioral Science, Psychiatry
Statistics, Data Science, Machine Learning, Business Intelligence, Business Analytics
Digital Forensics. Engineering
Forensic Document Examination
RP Student Membership:
1. Education: Current enrollment in B.A/B.S., M.A./M.S., Ph.D., D.Sc., Ed.D., Psy.D., M.D./D.O.
program of an accredited college or university in relevant discipline, in good academic standing,
including on-leave;
2. Three character references.
Student Membership lasts a maximum of eight (8) years.
RP Provisional Member:
1. Education: Current enrollment in M.A./M.S., Ph.D., D.Sc., Ed.D., Psy.D., M.D./D.O. program
of an accredited college or university in relevant discipline, in good academic standing;
2. Publication in peer-reviewed journal or conference proceeding or Conference Presentation related
to forensic linguistic evidence;
3. Three character references.
Provisional Membership lasts a maximum of four (4) years.
A provisional member must apply for promotion to Member, if desired.
maf:1.142/9/16
3
TALE: THE ASSOCIATION
FOR
LINGUISTIC EVIDENCE
RP Membership:
1. MA/MS, PhD, D.Sc. or Ed.D. in linguistics, computer science, statistics, mathematics, cognitive
science, engineering, neuroscience or psychology, or Psy.D., M.D./D.O., or five (5) years
experience in data aggregation, data management or software development;
2. Publication in peer-reviewed journals or conference proceedings related to forensic linguistic
evidence;
3. Demonstrated ability to conduct empirical analysis;
4. Litigation support report, or testimony in depositions, trial, investigative inquiries or
Congressional hearings;
5. Three character references.
Membership lasts indefinitely.
A member must apply for promotion to Fellow, if desired.
RP Fellow:
1. Member in good standing for five (5) years;
2. Participation in at least three (3) TALE activities, e.g. Annual TALE conference, ILE Summer
Workshop, White Paper Development, LESLI editing or guest-editing;
3. One character reference.
Fellowship lasts indefinitely.
maf:1.142/9/16
4
TALE: THE ASSOCIATION
FOR
LINGUISTIC EVIDENCE
RECOMMENDER FORM FOR TALE MEMBERSHIP
Please type or print neatly and return to tale promptly. Thank you for your time and service.
TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT
Name:__________________________
Street Address:_____________________________________________
City____________________________
State/Province:_________ Postal Code__________ Country_________
To Which Track Are You Applying?__________________________
For Which Rank?_______________
TO BE COMPLETED BY RECOMMENDER
Print Name:________________________
Telephone:_______________ Email:___________________________
Title/Position:___________________________________
Employer___________________________________
Business Address: ______________________________________________________________________________
City____________________________
State/Province:_________ Postal Code__________ Country_________
Recommender’s Signature
Date________
RECOMMENDER’S KNOWLEDGE OF APPLICANT
Please describe your knowledge of the applicant: how long have you known the applicant? In what capacity? Your
working relationship?
ETHICS
To the best of your knowledge, has the applicant ever been censured for unethical conduct or procedure? Has the
applicant ever conducted him/herself unethically in handling data, privileged information, confidentiality? Has the
applicant ever behaved in such a way to discredit or harm his/her discipline or profession, forensic linguistics or
forensic science? Yes___ No___ If Yes, please explain.
maf:1.142/9/16
5
TALE: THE ASSOCIATION
FOR
LINGUISTIC EVIDENCE
RECOMMENDATION
Do you recommend the applicant be admitted to TALE immediately?
Do you have any reservations or qualifications?
Yes___ No___
Yes___ No___
If No, please explain.
If Yes, please explain.
COMMENTS
Please make any additional comments about the applicant, including character, work ethic, responsibility and
commitment to community.
MAIL TO:
TALE
25100 Trinity Drive
Georgetown, DE 19947 USA
EMAIL TO:
TALE@LinguisticEvidence.org
FAX TO:
Country Code 302-856-9488
Thank you for your time and service.
maf:1.142/9/16
6