Accent and class

Is it classist to stop Geordies using the term of endearment 'pet'? After the University of Newcastle sent out guidance to researchers advising they avoid using the word 'pet' as it might feel patronising or sexist to women, people took to social media to claim this was a classist move. It sparked a wider discussion about accents and class. Others claimed accents shouldn't be used as a marker of identity and that speaking with Received Pronunciation could be an equalising tool that could prevent prejudice. So what are the origins of RP and what does the data show about our perceptions of accents?

GUESTS: Jasmine Andersson, writer and journalist Jonathan Meades, writer and critic Lynda Mugglestone, Professor of the history of English at the University of Oxford Dr Christian Ilbury, lecturer in Socio-linguistics at the University of Edinburgh