Language Analysis for the Determination of Origin (LADO): An Investigative Study

Language analysis for the determination of origin (LADO) has been used as part of the asylum process since 1993. A language analysis can be requested when the origin of an asylum claimant is unverified or unknown. In most cases, an analysis of the claimant’s speech is conducted in order to determine whether it shows the characteristics expected of a particular place of origin. Today there are five established commercial and government owned agencies based in Sweden, the Netherlands and Switzerland, as well as independent experts, that offer this service. Though it is now 23 years since LADO began, there is minimal research surrounding the use of such language analysis. Detailed information pertaining to the methodologies and practices of agencies who conduct this work remains largely unavailable to the public, direct empirical research on any aspect of the field is scarce, and yet governments throughout the world continue to utilise LADO regularly in problematic asylum cases. Public interest is also growing, with the media questioning the overall validity of the field and the professionalism of practitioners. The aim of this thesis is to take a detailed look at LADO, its history, the research surrounding it, and current issues. It also collates all readily available information on practices adopted by the aforementioned language analysis agencies. Finally, it puts forward suggestions and plans for future research that is desperately needed, both for the field to progress and for LADO to be validated as a worthy contribution to an asylum seeker’s case.