Projecting uncertainty: Visualising text-worlds in three statements from the Meredith Kercher murder case

This article uses Text World Theory (Werth 1999; Gavins 2007) in conjunction with VUE (Visual Understanding Environment) concept mapping software to analyze three statements from the trial of Amanda Knox, convicted in 2009 of the murder of Meredith Kercher. We compare the cognitive structures of the statements and use the insights gained to guide an examination of their individual linguistic features and associated potential interpretative effects. In the first two dictated statements, Knox is projected as an actor responsible for the reported actions/events that implicate her in the crime, whereas in the third statement (hand-written in English), she is projected as a sensor, presenting more prominent epistemic uncertainty and indicating bewilderment. We argue that using VUE diagramming software extends the scope of Text World Theory, by increasing its capacity for managing analytically lengthy and complex datasets.