Linguistics and Social Theory: George Bernard Shaws Pygmalion (1912).

George Bernard Shaw, author unknown, Google Pictures, [acessed 7th October 2012], <http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?hl=en 29,s:0,i:127>

How true George Bernards Shaws assertion is that

it is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him?

The above citation is a statement from the preface to George Bernard Shaws play Pygmalion (1912). Shaw was a prominent writer and linguist, who consciously used the power of language, as he puts it: the English language was my weapon (Shaw, in Peters. 2004, p.6). In the foreword to his play, Shaw (2008) expresses discontent with the usage of English and argues for the phonetics revolution that would improve Englishmens language. The author emphasizes that artworks should be didactic and aims to raise the audiences awareness of the social consequences of linguistics. His statement that it is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him bares some significant social connotations. It may denote that the Englishmans speech reveals his origins and class, what is implicit in the play plot. Shaw indicates that to some extent ones speech is indomitable by ones environment, which points out to his believe in the social constructionism. The statement may also imply that English varies according to the geographical location and is not systematized, what may cause discrepancy in recognizing socially superior speech. While recognizing the social implications of ones class, Shaw encourages people to improve their social position by sloughing off their native dialects and acquiring a new tongue (Shaw, 2008, p. 6). The essay will argue that throughout the decades the issue of social judgment based on linguistics gave rise to the continuous debate. This problem is manifested in numerous theoretical and literary works, which mirror and challenge the major concepts of the identity perception. The essay will investigate Pygmalions main ideas and support them with sociolinguistics theory. To demonstrate the continuity of the debate on relationship between social reality and language, the essay will examine James Kelmans novel How Late it Was How Late (1994). This part of the essay will focus on the linguistics features that shape communication and create borders of social exclusion and inclusion.

Similarly to Shaws other works, Pygmalion aims to alter societies opinion towards particular issues (L.W. Connoly, 2012). Play attempts to demonstrate the bond between the languages form, social class and national identity. The plays main character Higgins a professor of linguistics, who meets Liza, a lower class girl, in the London marketplace accepts her request to teach her Standard English pronunciation. He bets with his friend Pickering, that he can deceive the society to believe that she is an aristocrat. When consulting his project with his mother Higgins states:

You have no idea how frightfully interesting it is to take a human being and to change her into a quite different human being by creating a new speech for her. Its filling up the deepest gulf that separates class from class and soul from soul. (Shaw, p. 78)

The above citation exemplifies Shaws opinion on language importance in constructing ones identity. Higgins not only changes the way in which Liza pronounces words, but trains her in higher class language and manners. In Act III Liza speaks with the proper accent but uses lower class language, which nonetheless impacts the communication process. Although her usual manner of speech is not detectable, she phrases such as, do her in, which are unrecognizable for the upper class (Shaw, p. 72). Shaw clearly exemplifies that the language that we use is class and profession specific. At the same time Shaw is challenging the upper classes status by representing Professor Higgins character as ignorant, who misbehaves and uses speech, which is abrupt, often offensive and provocative, and peppered with swearing and coursing (Martin, 1988, p. 61). Importantly Higgins usage of improper language and manners is treated more lightly by the society than the same conduct of lower class people. Shaw believes that the language is the deepest gulf the fundamental barrier between social classes, which disables people of different backgrounds to communicate. Hudson (2000) distinguishes so called standard dialect, which is recognized as more prestigious and socially accepted in comparison with others and which originates from the group of people that have greater socio-economical influence. By learning how to speak standard dialect and acquiring behavior of the upper classes Liza alters her identity, what allows her to marry an upper class man and open a small business. Subsequently to forgetting her own language Liza loses the part of her identity and moves up in a social ladder (Davis, 2004, p. 226).

The view that ones identity is constructed by its environment is one of the main theoretical approaches to the sociolinguistics. Hudson (2000) argues that there are seven different factors that influence ones speech, which create the sociolects. The first factor that influences the sociolect is the geography. Hudson recognizes that the geographical features that limit travel rigorously, such as mountains, result in construction of distinct dialects. Based on this notion it might be argued that the more culturally homogenous one the region, the less variety of dialects. The next feature that Hudson recognizes is a socioeconomic status. He focuses on Labovs study of the variable postvocalic r pronunciation in New York City, which found that the more prestigious the department stores the more prestigious pronunciations with r (Hudson, p. 460). The subject of speech

and class was already investigated in Shaws Pygmalion, and established similar social dependencies. Hudson also distinguishes the factor of ethnicity and provides the example of Hispanic Americans, European Americans and African Americans differences in phonetic, syntax and grammar. It might be argued that the linguistic dissimilarities range significantly not only amongst English speakers of the different ethnical backgrounds but also within the same ethnical groups. Another factor that Hudson recognizes is occupation, which refers to the language acquired in work relations. He states that occupation not only determines the different words that people use but also the grammar and syntax of the language. It could be argued that language may differ across smaller social groups like family, or even between certain individuals, who use phrases and non verbal language that others would not comprehend. Hudson also distinguished religion, gender and age as factors influence ones speech. It could be argued that there are many other factors that influence ones speech, such as the access to education, personal learning abilities, or the internet access. Ronald Wardhaugh (1986, p. 46) argues that in some places religion is a major factor, which shapes the language. Wardhaugh provides an example of India, where the caste system decides over ones language. Indian caste system, still present in the 21st century, is a complex system of social relationships that determines ones inclusion in the particular class and determines ones present and future social position (Wilson, 2005). Consequently it could be thought that depending on the geographical location different factors have more impact on creating ones language. The fundamental idea about the social factors that shape our language is that they constantly evolve, which causes speech fluidity. It was argued that our language develops with the changes of the environment more rapidly and stays the same when social changes are marginal (Erikson, 2004, p.122). For example if one is working at The University of Oxford and changes departments his speech pattern will change little in comparison with person, who moves to the foreign speaking country.

All of the above mentioned factors, which influence peoples language and speech, bind people together in a variety of specific social groups. By belonging to the same group, for example being a 12 year old girl from English private school in Essex, person acquires a certain characteristics of the language, distant from the other forms. I will now elaborate on the speech community, which is one of the fundamental terms in linguistics theory. The earlier studies on sociolinguistics defined the speech community as a group of people that use the same language or dialect. Nevertheless, this definition posed a lot of inconsistencies, because people who use English language in distinct parts of the word cannot be considered as a one speech community. It was also argued that when thinking about the speech community it is necessary to focus on other social factors, not on language per se (Mullany, 2007). Here the close connection between the social structure and linguistics is explicit one may be thought to belong to the certain community by using particular language and speech pattern. William Labov (1978, pp.120 121) argues that the speech community is not defined by any marked agreement in the use of language elements, so much as by participation in a set of shared norms and that through observations of linguistic behavior it is possible to make detailed studies of the structure of class stratification in a given community. Lebov argues that people belong to the same speech community not so much by using the same language but on the basis of sharing the same norms. Obviously norms and other behavioral patterns are decided by complex social factors describes in the previous paragraph. The second part of Labov citation explores the

issue of social judgment based on linguistics. He believes that it is possible to determine ones class by studying ones language, what is also an argument of Pygmalion.

Rampton (2001) argues that one of the main concerns of the socililinguistic theory, which impacts the understanding of the speech group, is the concept of the community. The author argues that the concept of community is often treated as an ideological construct, which enables researchers to refer to the group of people as an imagined collective. Based on this understanding of the idea of community, it is easier for the linguists to separate one community from the other based on the linguistic evidence. From the other hand, Rampton argues, that many researchers perceive the community as a co-operation of the varieties of communities of practice, where conduct and identity of the society members is more predictable and easier to establish. The idea of communities of practice responds to the trends in the postmodern information society. It was argued that thanks to the modernization of the everyday life, which opened variety of new opportunities, peoples identity is more fragmented than previously (Carroll, 2001). Consequently people belong to many different groups at the same time and interact on different levels in real and virtual space, which enables more specific and tailored online communication and increase the possibility of belonging to the specific online communities. Importantly people belong to many different speech communities, what allows them to communicate with different members of the society. In fact because our language is infinite there is no limit to the possible number of speech communities (Bolinger, 1975, p. 133). Belonging to different speech communities enables people to function within a society by obtaining so called communicative competence:

communicative competence extends to both knowledge and expectation of who may or whom may not speak in certain settings, when to speak and when to remain silent, to whom one may speak, how one may speak to persons of different statuses and roles, what nonverbal behaviors are appropriate in various contexts (Saville- Troike, 2003, p.18).

The above citation refers to the usage of the appropriate language in specific social setting. For example, the way in which we communicate in bank, in church or in private meeting is different. Each time we find ourselves in different situation we adjust our communication by using different verbal and non-verbal language. It could be thought that person, who belongs to the greater number of the speech communities is enabled to communicate across wider social spectrum and person who belongs to the limited number of the speech communities, for example member of the Amazon tribe, is unable to communicate effectively outside his speech community.

As discussed before the language is an important part of our identities and decides over our ability to communicate. Certain language opens many places for one in terms of class and ethnicity, for example knowing certain kind of language allows us to communicate with people from the academia (Cook-Gumperz, 1982; Saville-Troike, 2003; Moyer, 2012). As

mentioned before linguists recognize so called standard dialect, which is considered as more prestigious and socially accepted in comparison with others and originates from the group of people that have greater socio-economical influence. I will now explore the social implications of Received Pronunciation (RP) in order to apply sociolinguistics ideas connected to class in Kelmans How Late it Was How Late analysis. RP is an oral standard in speech of the dominant class of Great Britain. RP was defined as a form of pronunciation that has been considered more acceptable and desirable than others (Williams, 1992, p. 140). In the year 1974, sociolinguist Peter Trudgill, argued that only 3% of the United Kingdom of Great Britain population speaks the RP. In his book from the year 2002, the author explains the way in which he obtained the figure and admits that it was based on the limited sample. Nevertheless, the fact that only around 3 people from every hundred in Great Britain speak RP and that it is most desirable accent across the globe, poses multiple questions. The want of the society to speak RP may originate in the stereotype that the higher ones social class the greater the possibility of one speaking the RP (Honey, 1989, p.53). Trudgill argues that the most exceptional thing about this accent is that it has the highest status amongst English accents and that it is non-regional (it origins in British residential schools for children of the upper classes). The author further argues that while it is possible to recognize origins of people that speak other British accents, it is impossible to do so with the people who speak RP (Trudgill, 2003). Since the RP pronunciation is tied to the social class it is not widely available to other members of the English speaking community. As RP is class specific, it could be argued that even if person learns the RP, he/she will not acquire as high social recognition as the speaker that acquired RP in prestigious educational establishment.

One of the ways to acquire the top most wanted English accent is through the elitist educational organizations, like Eaton College. Consequently PR is elitist and not available to poorer classes, which may cause social exclusion from the prestigious work places such as BBC. It is important that it is the institutionalized power of organizations such as Eaton College and Oxford that determine the standard speech. PR speech is a phenomenon as it constitutes a worldwide standard for pronunciation and all other accents are measured against it (Tracy, 2002). It could be thought that above mentioned organizations impose their power on the society by producing specific language and pronunciation. The relationship between language and discourse is one of the main concerns of Michel Foucault, who argues that the language, which creates discourse, transmits and produces power (Foucault, 1978, p.101). Consequently organizations, by creating a form of language and speech impose the linguistic norms on the society. This in turn influences the social hierarchy and is the reason why people judge others on the basis of linguistics.

Importantly the language causes both, social inclusion and social exclusion. As discussed at the beginning of the essay, improving ones language is able to elevate one up to a higher social position. In Shaws Pygmalion, Eliza acquired a new speech, which also altered her language and manners. Consequently her identity was changed; and she was included into different class and speech community. Language also causes social exclusion, which is a relational process of declining participation, solidarity, and access (Silver and Miller, 2003, p. 3). Different forms of language may exclude one from access to particular social

groups and upper classes, for example RP speech can eliminate one from the access to elitist celebration. At the same time belonging to the upper class and particular speech group may prevent one from understanding dialects of the lower classes. A good example of this is the language of the main character in James Kelmans How Late it Was How Late novel. The novel presents a stream of consciousness narration of the lower class Scotsman. The book uses different narrators omniscient as well as first person, who both use the Glaswegian dialect:

Already for fuck sake Sammy jumped up fast. He hadnay been expecting it so soon. He tapped his way to the top of the steps but the stick was getting wedged man it kept getting wedged: fucking things The driver was giving him every chance too ye couldnay fault him. (Kelman, p. 85).

The above citation represents the language, which is characteristic of a specific speech group of a particular place Glaswegian working-class people. To reproduce the precise language writer uses stylistic tools like comas and full stops, to indicate the manner of pronunciation. Author also uses phonetic spelling, profanities, repetitions and linguistic inconsistency. It was argued (Kronast, 2009, p.3) that the usage of Glaswegian language in the novel is a means of resistance. By altering the Standard English form, the Glaswegian language stands in opposition to the established norms of speech. It could be argued that by challenging the Standard English, Kelman opposes the entire system of the social norms as manifests against the usage of the Standard English. Specific groups of people, for example upper classes as well as foreigners might be excluded from understanding the language and therefore the meaning of the novel. At the same time the main character is unable to communicate outside his speech community and cannot participate in social life and communicate in social institutions. In this case the language constitutes a border of social class and a tool of imposing the social hierarchy on the society.

Over the centuries the relationship between the social reality and language has been the subject not only of linguistic research but also of fiction works, which implicates its significance. The language strengthens the class differences and constructs our identities, which in turn are shaped by the multitude of social factors such as class and ethnicity. Most prominent thinkers of the 20th century explore the ideas of social constructionism based on linguistics. For some linguists, like Eastman, it is evident that in order to change the reality, firstly it is necessary to set up linguistic infrastructure (Eastman, 1983, p. 66). This essay supports Shaws argument that it is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him. The language was and will remain the basics of the social judgment. In Pygmalion Shaw supports the notion of social constructionism while challenging upper classes proper conduct. Shaw represents Higgins, who speaks with a perfect Standard English, as guilty of ignorance and similar to Eliza in the lack of good manners (Brown, 1983). By exploring relationship between linguistics and class, Pygmalion exemplifies Shavian inclusiveness, which refers to the authors interest in otherness and margins and their problems (Reynolds, 1999, p. 21). As

already argued institutions produce particular language, which create discourse according to which social norms are formulated. The usage of the language causes social inclusion and exclusion, which determines ones class. It might be even argued that language constitutes a tool of social power and imposes hierarchy on the society. In How Late it Was How Late, Kelman opposes the social hierarchy by representing the working-class Glaswegian character, whose speech does not respond to the Standard English norm. Kelman also resists the canon of the English literature where majority of the works are written in Standard English. Since the reality is a social construct it can be constructed only with the language, which becomes a metaphor of the reality (Halliday, 1978, p. 191). Linguistics and the social reality are bound together in an everlasting union as the language is changing according to the social reality, which is shaped by the language.

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