‘Is he a barrister or not?’: a study on perceived and actual accentism at the Bar of England and Wales

Tools

Braber, N. ORCID: 0000-0003-2611-1190, Ching, J. ORCID: 0000-0002-9815-8804, Jarman, J. ORCID: 0000-0001-5745-0860, Stevens, O., Robson, J. and Pautz, N. ORCID: 0000-0002-5366-5925, 2024. ‘Is he a barrister or not?’: a study on perceived and actual accentism at the Bar of England and Wales. International Journal of Speech, Language and the Law, 31 (1). ISSN 1748-8885

Text
1889075_Braber.pdf - Post-print
Full-text access embargoed until 22 February 2026.
Download (370kB)

Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1558/ijsll.25886

Abstract

Barristers present formalised legal arguments before courts and tribunals. As a result, considerable focus is placed on their oral skills. However, people are frequently judged by the accent they use. Those with a more standard accent – ‘Received Pronunciation’ (RP) in the UK – can be perceived as more intelligent and eloquent. This creates a barrier to social mobility because accent-based bias can discriminate against those with non-standard accents.

This article examines how the public perceives barristers in England and Wales with different accents and investigates experiences of barristers to establish whether accent discrimination disadvantages certain speakers. It includes an online survey of the general public which found that RP and South-East English accents are still seen as more prestigious. In addition, interviews with barristers illustrate how accent discrimination is widespread and affects career progression.

Item Type:

Journal article

Publication Title:

International Journal of Speech, Language and the Law

Creators:

Braber, N., Ching, J., Jarman, J., Stevens, O., Robson, J. and Pautz, N.

Publisher:

Equinox Publishing

Date:

22 February 2024

Volume:

Number: