“We Only Want to Talk..”: Lingua Interviews for Linguistic Analyses for the Determination of Origin (LADO)

Abstract

Language Analysis for the Determination of Origin (LADO) has been used in asylum procedures in several countries since the mid-1990s. For quite some time the discussion has largely concentrated on the quality of the analyses (and sometimes of the analysts) and less on the basis of the analysis, the interview. In this chapter the focus is on the interviews for LADO as a very special kind of interaction. We discuss some of the challenges LADO-interviewers face during their task, and which might lead to different actions depending on which aspect – conversational or forensic – is given more weight. We show that although conversational strategies are important, it might sometimes be necessary to cast them aside in favour of the forensic aspect and the ultimate goal of data gathering. Finally, we also argue that the fact that Lingua analyses are based on two different types of data, even if it does not simplify the task of the interviewer, is an advantage in terms of the usability of the data gathered during an interview.