PhD Thesis at the University of Basra Examines the Conceptual Meaning and Imagery Schemes of Criminal Texts
A PhD thesis at the College of Arts at the University of Basrah examined the conceptual meaning and imagery schemes of criminal texts: a cognitive pragmatic study.
The thesis, presented by student Saleema Helo Mohammed, aims to analyze 20 criminal texts (10 ransom messages and 10 suicide notes) within a cognitive pragmatic framework, focusing on the role of imagery schemes in shaping conceptual meaning and interpreting implicatures according to relevance theory.
The thesis includes five chapters in which the student discusses how conceptual structures such as container, path, and force are used to guide meaning construction and how texts employ strategic implicatures to achieve their communicative goals. The results show that ransom messages reinforce urgency and control through psychological pressure, while suicide notes reveal meaning constructions that reflect internal conflict and justification. This contributes to the development of forensic linguistics and provides a basis for future interdisciplinary studies linking linguistics, psychology, and legal studies.
Department of Media and Governmental Communication
