by Tiffany Razzano
Leonard, a professor of forensic linguistics, will speak on the topic at an Oct. 16 luncheon sponsored by the Nassau County Bar Association's Nassau Academy of Law.
"The Nassau Academy of Law is looking forward to a presentation by... Professor Leonard, who will demonstrate the applicability of linguistics to criminal and civil litigation," said Krisel, the Academy's treasurer. "While forensic linguistics is certainly a crucial tool used in criminal investigations, it is equally helpful in disputes over authorship as well as the meaning and interpretation of contracts and other legal documents. In addition, forensic linguistics plays a role in libel, forgery and plagiarism."
Leonard, a 15-year resident of Rockville Centre who grew up in Merrick, graduating from Calhoun High School, ironically enough, initially became interested in linguistics by applying it to contracts for his rock band Sha Na Na. While he led the group as lead singer and bassist, he also attended Columbia University in New York City, where he studied linguistics. He would bring his homework with him to the studio and only take classes on Tuesdays through Thursdays so that the band could travel for concerts on weekends.
This limited schedule also fatefully helped him to choose the language he would fall in love with and choose as his specialization: Swahili. Of over 50 first year language classes, it was the only one that didn't conflict with the band's touring schedule. "I discovered it was one of most complicated and interesting languages on the planet," Leonard said. "It has the equivalent of 13 genders... It's just a fascinating language and very, very rich for someone who is interested in the capabilities of human language."
Eventually, he was offered a Fulbright scholarship to attend graduate school at Columbia all the way through earning his doctorate degree. "I really enjoyed being in rock, but when I got into graduate school... I tried to do both and saw I wasn't able to do both," he said. "I was afraid that if I didn't stop for Sha Na Na, I wouldn't be able to get my doctorate. I had already done so much [with music], so I thought, why not retire at 21?"
Leonard did his research in Lamu, Kenya, an ancient city state. He also spent some time living with the Kamba, long distance traders of the area. "Africa was unbelievably good," he said. "I was brought up on Long Island. I knew nothing about Africa. I was supposed to stay one year; I stayed two years. Then I went back for four more."
Having worked at Hofstra for about 15 years now, Leonard also is an expert in the field of forensic linguistics, teaching people around the country, including law enforcement and the FBI, and consulting on court cases.
"It's nice when you have a science and see how it applies to real life," he said. "I love theoretical sciences and love using them in the real world. The application of these sciences to real life problems is really, very satisfying. You get to see if they are valid principals in real world."
Forensic linguistics can be particularly helpful in legal matters, he said, whether its to discover the meaning of contracts or discover the writer of a ransom note, among many of uses.
"Lawyers are very good at using language, but [forensic linguists] are good at analyzing it in an objective way," he said.
For more information about Leonard's upcoming luncheon, please contact Barbara Kraut, director of the Nassau Academy of Law, at bkraut@nassaubar.org or 516-747-4070
