The Freedom of Speech Itself (2012) is the first part of Lawrence Abu Hamdan’s Aural Contract, a body of work that examines the role of the voice in the law. A 30-minute audio documentary maps the use of forensic speechanalysis to process asylum seekers in the UK. In lieu of an in-person interview, a short ten to fifteen-minute recording is examined by speech analysts to determine the veracity of a refugee’s story; do their vowels match those of their hometown? Does their vernacular match their origin? If one syllable is mispronounced, an application might be rejected. The ear of the forensic linguist not only then polices but actively produces borders in the same way as iris scanning and other biometrics do.