The “Speaking Out: Tackling Accent Bias at an Elite University” event was held on Friday 4 April at the University of Edinburgh’s Futures Institute.
Advertised as “an opportunity to share experiences of accent bias and linguistic discrimination in higher education,” the conference brought together both leading speakers of language and education and students.
It was co-organised by The 93% Club, which aims to represent the 93% of the UK population who attend state schools, and the Scottish Social Mobility Society (SSMS), founded last year after elitism controversy in October 2024.
Shanley Breese, co-founder of the SSMS, speaking at the conference, spoke of “flagging” – the university’s postcode-based acceptance system for Scottish admissions and highlighted how their society was ensuring that Scottish students “feel seen, heard, and represented, ensuring they can thrive both academically and socially at UoE.”
Christan Ilbury, of Edinburgh’s School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences opened the academic talks, announcing that Edinburgh was at the forefront of training on accent bias – with 500 staff trained in 20 departments across the University.
Edinburgh University has aimed to tackle accent bias and claims of elitism in the past, with a website created on how best to avoid microaggressions, including that of accent bias.
Grace Cark, of The 93% Club, highlighted the relation with accent bias and private school education. Edinburgh is behind only the Royal Agricultural University, Durham, St Andrews, and Imperial London in the percentage of independently educated students admitted.
Gisela Tomé Lourido called for more inter-institutional collaboration after presenting her research from the University of Leeds, which showed that 50 per cent of students “at least sometimes felt at a disadvantage” because of their accents in academic contexts.
The problem of “Linguistic Economy” was raised by Alex Baratta of the University of Manchester, highlighting how power informs a societal standardisation of accent.
Received Pronunciation, commonly associated with the Southeast of England, he explained, is commonly regarded as “good” English. He pushed against this, arguing that “to consider any accent as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ is, from a linguistic point of view, nonsensical.”
Karen Lowing of the University of the Highlands and Islands spoke about Scots language and questioned how different versions of the language emerge in different places.
There was a consistent theme of accent pride, with “I heart my accent” badges and stickers being handed out.
Image via Oliver Paul
