Practicing Linguistics Without a License

7 Conclusion

The conclusion consists of two parts. The first part gives a summary of the chapters and major findings, the second shows the relevance of our findings (and previous findings) for recent recommendations for reforming the rape trial.

Oratory – the art of delivering a speech to persuade an audience – first appeared in the law courts of Athens centuries ago. But it was Quintilian in Roman court who provided the first systematic study of legal oratory during classical antiquity, even opening a school of rhetoric. In his classic The Orator’s Education (volume 11.3), he inaugurated a quest for the “perfect” (or “ideal”) judicial orator.⁵² As he emphasized, the integration of improvisational gestures and other embodied resources with ...