“I’ve never met a barrister that sounded like I do”: accents, barristers and Bourdieusian capital

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Braber, N. ORCID: 0000-0003-2611-1190, Ching, J. ORCID: 0000-0002-9815-8804, Jarman, J. ORCID: 0000-0001-5745-0860, Robson, J. and Stevens, O., 2024. “I’ve never met a barrister that sounded like I do”: accents, barristers and Bourdieusian capital. International Journal of the Legal Profession. ISSN 0969-5958 (Forthcoming)

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Abstract

Use of Received Pronunciation (RP) is a proxy for particular kinds of elite social capital, but is also a professional norm and part of the Bourdieusian habitus of the Bar. This article uses the first empirical study of accent discrimination in relation to barristers in England and Wales as a basis for a theoretical consideration of the interaction between barristers and others: clients, jurors, judges and other barristers. In particular it evaluates ways in which understandings about accent, as a facet of social or cultural capital, impact on individual career decisions. It concludes that while considerable progress has been made on diversity of the profession, targeted action by the regulator and the profession is required to address perceptions of discrimination (and manifestations of discrimination itself) in a profession to whose activities speech is foundational.

Item Type:

Journal article

Publication Title:

International Journal of the Legal Profession

Creators:

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

Publisher:

Taylor & Francis (Routledge)

Date:

22 April 2024

ISSN:

0969-5958