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Hearsay

Law And Justice
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

An out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth of what it asserts. It is often restricted as evidence because it cannot be tested directly.

Detailed Definition
Hearsay is testimony about someone else’s statement offered for its truth, rather than direct knowledge from a witness. Courts often exclude it because the original speaker cannot be cross-examined, though many exceptions exist. In poetry, hearsay can evoke rumor, oral history, gossip, and inherited trauma. It allows a poem to question who controls a story when facts arrive secondhand, altered by fear, loyalty, repetition, or desire.
Example
Example in poetry:
A dramatic monologue may show a witness admitting, "My neighbor told me he saw the theft," making the statement hearsay rather than direct evidence; A poet can build tension by repeating rumors in a courtroom scene, showing how hearsay spreads faster than verified truth; In a poem about family history, the speaker may call an ancestor's alleged crime hearsay because no record or firsthand witness remains; A judge-character can reject a chorus of village accusations as hearsay, emphasizing the difference between suspicion and proof
Additional Notes
Hearsay is usually excluded because the original speaker cannot be cross-examined, though courts recognize several exceptions.
Also Known As
Secondhand Evidence rumours
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