Language and Speech Theme Analysis

Shaw's play explores aspects of language in a variety of ways. Higgins and Pickering study linguistics and phonetics, taking note of how people from different backgrounds speak differently. In Act Three, we see the importance of proper small talk in a social situation. And the play also reveals some of the powers of language: Eliza's transformation is spurred simply by Pickering calling her by the name Miss Doolittle, while Higgins' insults and coarse language, which severely hurt Eliza's feelings, show the potential violence of language. The play is most interested, though, in the connections between a person's speech and his or her identity. As we see in the beginning of the play, Higgins can easily guess where people are from based on their accent, dialect, and use of particular slang. How different people speak the same language thus reveals a surprising amount about their identity. However, Shaw also exposes how shallow and imprecise this conception of identity is, how it doesn't actually capture or represent the full person. After all, Eliza's way of speaking transforms over the course of the play. Eliza is able to change her identity simply by learning to talk differently.

In particular, Pygmalion continually displays the connections between language and social class. In the opening scene, we see people from different social strata speaking in vastly different dialects, and Mrs. Eysnford Hill is confused when Eliza calls her son Freddy, not realizing that this is merely a kind of lower-class slang. And most importantly, by changing her habits of speech, Eliza is able to fool people into thinking that she is from an upper-class background. Upper-class characters in the play lay claim to proper or correct English. Higgins, for example, shames Eliza for speaking a poor version of the language of the great writers Shakespeare and Milton. But is there anything inherently correct about one particular version of English? At Mrs. Higgins' home, Mrs. Eynsford Hill mistakenly believes that Eliza's lower-class slang is a new, fashionable form of small talk. There is thus nothing naturally wrong or improper about Eliza's original way of speaking. Rather, language, accents, and slang are all simply habits that people learn to associate with different backgrounds and social classes. The wealthier social classes simply claim that theirs is the right way to speak. While this oppresses and disadvantages lower-class people, the play shows how this system also opens up possibilities for those clever enough to exploit this connection between speech and class. Eliza, Pickering, and Higgins are, after all, able to use this to their advantage, fooling high society and successfully passing Eliza off as a noble lady.