The Link Between Language And Social Class In Pygmalion

Language is as powerful as its ability to shape a person’s individual and collective identity to the extent where the cultural distinguishment of an individual in society into a certain social class can change their perceptions of the world. George Bernard Shaw play, ‘Pygmalion’, presents how a person’s language and speech can reflect one’s own social class thereby highlighting not only how language can act to degrade or elevate a person, but also how the diction of a person could be manipulated, and as a flaw of the social construct they are able to change their identity. Through showing how language is an important part of an individuals identity does Shaw demonstrates how the representation of a person is influenced by their language accordingly. To analyze the link between language and social class, this essay delves into how language acts as a marker of social class and how this is reflected in George Bernard Shaw's 'Pygmalion'.

An individual’s articulation of a language is interchangeable with their social class, where the distinguishment of a culture has the ability to degrade and elevate an individual. George Shaw’s play, ‘Pygmalion’, demonstrates how a person’s identity is influenced by their language where perceptions of Identity vary as a person’s language is transformative. Shaw’s deliberate characterisation of Higgins as a linguistics and phonetics professor who, rightly so, is obsessed with the English language plays to represent the higher class. Where people of the higher end of the social construct is known for their proper articulation of the english language does Shaw, through Higgins corrupt manners, symbolise how even though one’s articulation was proper, it did not need to reach perfection as the character of a person may factor their value as well. The idea that language is intertwined with an individual’s identity is demonstrated at the beginning of the play where Higgins identifies where people are from- revealing their class- from their accents, “I can place any man within six miles. I can place him within two miles in London”. Repetition of words ‘place’ and ‘miles’, emphasises how based on a person’s accent and dialect alone can easily reveal their identity, reinforcing the idea that language is more than just a vessel of communication as it is a representation of one’s self and social class. Unlike Higgins, Liza is a Lisson Grove flower-girl who coupled with a cockney accent is distinguished as a commoner. Throughout the beginning of the play, Burlesque is used in Eliza’s destruction of the vowels and pronunciation, “Aaaaaahowooh!” and “Bucknam Pellis”, as a means of humour through caricaturing the manner and spirit of Eliza through her speech. As a result, Eliza becomes an automatic victim to Higgins in which he says, “A woman who utters such depressing and disgusting sounds has no right to be anywhere”, do we see how the rich views the poor, indicating the wide gap in society, as well as the arrogance of the elite.

Higgins continues to mock and degrade Eliza through the use of simile, “crooning like a bilious pigeon”, does he describe how Eliza’s way of speech only helps in making her look like a fool in their conformed society. Evoked are emotions of sympathy and pity as the reader builds an understanding to how a person can be judged and criticised by their way of speech, as to how important one’s language is as it has the power to elevate and degrade a person. It is then when Higgins offers to help Eliza become a lady, where she,,“could pass you off as the Queen of Sheba”, does Shaw hinges a fairy tale outcome of the flower girl on precisely how she talks however, Higgins who is not accustomed to the life of a working class, as a consequence naturally neglects the position Eliza would be put in. Shaw uses Eliza Doolittle's transformation to show the parallel between language and power and how better speech induces more power in society. Invited as a temporary guest at Higgins house, it is when Eliza experiences her first proper wash and bathe, she transforms into someone decent enough to be passed off into a higher class than she is. The act of Eliza bathing is symbolic of stripping away her identity and embarks the beginning of her transition, from a lowly flower girl from the lower class to a respected lady from the upper class. At her surprising transformation, even her father couldn’t recognise her as he addresses, “Beg Pardon, Miss”. Shaw uses both language and appearance to demonstrate how the working class where not used to the luxuries of the upper class and how appearances can be as misleading as it is transformative.

Where language is a tool of distinguishment between social classes, can it be manipulated, along with a person’s identity, to deceive as much as it can reveal the truth. Within George Shaw’s play ‘Pygmalion’, Shaw affirms how the system where the wealthier social classes claim their way of speaking as the right way, is flawed. Where Pickering hinges a fairytale outcome of a lowly flower girl, “I could pass that girl off as a duchess at an ambassador's garden party” through changing the way she speaks,“do genuine scientific work in phonetics, and a little as a poet on Miltonic lines” does he challenge the common assumption that, “style comes by nature to people in their position”. Higgins choice of diction in which he proposes language as merely a tool for social advancement brings readers to question the true role of language to the representation and revelation of a person's identity. Also disguised is one’s social class through clothes,is it noted how Shaw emphasises the importance of an individual's outward appearance through his detailed descriptions of each character’s outwards appearance like when Eliza was first suited with, “blue cotton kimono printed cunningly with small white jasmine blossoms”. Demonstrating how clothes could act, like language, to transform a person’s existing culture are readers able to reflect on their own identity and how their misinterpretation of others in the same sense can act as a disadvantage in communication. Mr Doolittle is deceived by Eliza’s transformation, and mistaking her for a lady, “Beg Pardon, Miss”, it is only when Eliza says, “Garn! Don't you know your own daughter?” do readers recognise form Mr Doolittle's encounter, how profound and surprising change can be lead from the most superficial adjustment alone. Where readers are shown how the subtleties of the language are used as a nuance in the personality of the character, and where Eliza’s Cockney dialect is presented her dialogue, “Garn”, are readers enlightened to the fact that even a single word could disrupt an extremely powerful illusion. This illusion however, can cause one’s language to be misinterpreted. Although Eliza was warned to limit her conversation to the weather and act appropriately, does she instead fall into her old ways of speech and talks about about coarse subjects. In Eliza’s favour however Freddie, unaware of Eliza's true social position calls it, “The new small talk. You do it so awfully well”. Irony is used in the situation where the given context is humorous as Shaw presents how someone can easily become misconceived from the impression they exhibit alone, where in this case is Eliza’s character influencing her speech accordingly. Eliza contests this as she attends the ambassador party where she eventually meets Higgins' past student, Nepomuk, who claims he can place anyone based on their accent. It is when Nepomuk concludes, “She cannot deceive me…And she is not English”, that dramatic irony is used in his assessment of Eliza; believing that Eliza is originally a Hungarian princess and not a flower girl with a cockney accent, Shaw demonstrates how appearance is a changeable, and powerful thing which can be used as a pedestal in elevating one’s culture hence their social status. It is when Higgins insists how Eliza is, “an ordinary London girl out of the gutter and taught to speak by an expert”, is dramatic irony used yet again through Nepomuk’s dismissal of the truth. As a means of humour towards the readers, Shaw skewers the pretensions of the middle-class. Ultimately by exposing how shallow and imprecise the concept of identity is Shaw demonstrates how individual’s language can be used to bypass social barriers and allow an individual to experience the new.

In conclusion, Shaw’s play ‘Pygmalion’ presents how one’s language is interchangeable with their identity, and through Eliza, Shaw demonstrates how an individual’s language can elevate and degrade them as well as how an individual can transform their identity, solely from changing their speech and appearance, to benefit the individual in the means of manipulating their social status in society and hence, their identity. Through presenting theses ideas readers are able to question their own identity, how it is perceived and draw connections with their culture to better understand themselves as an individual.