Sociolinguistic Analysis of Societal Class Differentiation in “My Fair

Lady”

Andrew T. Thren

English Department, Faculty of Humanities, Bina Nusantara University, Jakarta, Indonesia 11480

Keyword: Sociolinguistic Analysis, Societal Class Differentiation

Abstract: The linguistic variables found in the British society of “My Fair Lady” are interesting to analyze in terms of

the social class distinctions between the upper class and lower class. Various phonological variables are

chosen for analysis in the study of the speech of upper and lower-class society in “My Fair Lady” with

several consonantal and vocalic variables as being the most prominent features of class differentiation of

standard and non-standard phonological variables. The most preferred varieties are those which are most

standard, and the least preferred varieties are those which are the most non-standard. The phonological and

grammatical variables can be considered as markers, as they have social significance and are potent carriers

of social information that the upper and lower-class characters of “My Fair Lady” are aware of in

differentiating high and low-class society. After identifying the linguistic variables for analysis, data was

collected concerning its variants, so that certain conclusions could be drawn about the social distributions of

those variants. The occurrences of these variables were tabulated based on social class membership. An

analysis of the linguistic variables depicts differences in linguistic behavior among the upper- and lower-

class characters of the film.

1 INTRODUCTION

In societies all over the world, it is rare to find a

group of people with a uniform speech pattern. Most

societies have linguistic differences, especially today

as people are much more mobile. One’s speech or

dialect is a way to mark oneself off from others with

a different dialect. Various social differences are

marked by one’s speech, such as social class, age,

gender, ethnic group, religion, among others. One’s

dialect or accent is shared with a larger group of

people who have a similar dialect or accent. This can

be used as an identity label to make various

suppositions, conclusions, and stereotypes about

particular social classes. In the film “My Fair Lady”,

such social differences are also prevalent to

distinguish the Standard English of the upper class

and the Cockney English of the lower class.

Differences in power, class, and gender relations,

then, are directly related to one’s sociolect as

portrayed in “My Fair Lady”. The roles of heredity

and environment are intertwined with those of

education and language.

In assigning people to particular social classes,

various criteria can be used. An educational scale,

income level, profession, as well as residential

housing and location are the most obvious criteria

that separate the upper and lower classes in “My Fair

Lady”. As these features are not described in detail

in the film, the most noticeable features for analysis

of the upper and lower classes are through

phonological and grammatical varieties and their

manifestations between the two social groups. Social

class behavior can also be seen as being a reflection

of educational level and social surroundings.

2 STATEMENT OF THE

PROBLEM

The purpose of conducting this research is to

examine the differences between upper and lower

class society of early 20

century England with

special emphasis given to speakers of the RP dialect

and Cockney dialect, as representations of upper and

lower class members. The research

questionsanalyzed are 1) How are sociolinguistic

class behavior and gender differences depicted

through the various social settings? 2) How do

110

Thren, A.

Sociolinguistic Analysis of Societal Class Differentiation in “My Fair Lady”.

DOI: 10.5220/0010003400002917

In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Social Sciences, Laws, Arts and Humanities (BINUS-JIC 2018), pages 110-118

ISBN: 978-989-758-515-9

prominent linguistic social class variables

differentiate high and low class society?

2.1 Language and Society

According to Trudgill (Trudgill P, 2000), there are

two aspects of language behavior which are

important from a social point of view: the function

of language in establishing social relationships and

the role played by language in conveying

information about the speaker. This shows that

language and society are closely connected to each

other. For instance, when two English strangers are

in the company of others, it is commonplace to talk

about the weather or one’s health. This is done to

break the ice and make the atmosphere more

relaxed. This also serves a purpose to establish and

keep relations with others. By engaging another

person to talk, it also facilitates knowing what kind

of a job a person has and what social status or class

the individual has. By listening to how a person

speaks, it can give clues about where a person is

from and what kind of a person he/she is. This kind

of small talk is also seen in the movie “My Fair

Lady” as Eliza learns the art of conversing with

upper class society in a social setting.

Wardaugh (Wardhaugh R, 1993) claims that if a

person has command over a particular dialect or

language, it can show a bond and a feeling of

solidarity with others. In contrast, when a person

does not have mastery over a dialect or language,

then the individual will be considered as an outsider

to a speech community. Although there may be

overlap in speech communities, the film does not

show this too much as the boundaries are depicted as

being more rigid. When Eliza has adopted the RP

dialect, she finds it difficult emotionally to return to

the Cockney dialect. However, Alfred still has the

same Cockney dialect when he is bestowed with a

good monthly income, but he still changes various

behavioral aspects to be in line with upper class

society like he hears a top hat and formal clothes,

gets married, goes to church regularly, has elevated

social status and prestige due to his new found

wealth, and attracts many new friends and “lost”

relatives who want to take advantage of his good

fortune. As Alfred has a limited verbal repertoire, he

will not be able to penetrate upper class society

without some sort of training or education related to

using the RP dialect and having proper social graces.

By viewing one’s particular social networks, it is

possible to see how individuals relate to other

individuals. The more intensive particular social

relationships are, the more individuals will identify

with certain networks. In “My Fair Lady”, the upper

class and lower class only interact out of necessity

not by choice. For example, in a marketplace

environment, the upper class will go there to watch

an opera or theatrical performance in an antiquated

building or to buy something from the market sellers

such as flowers or vegetables. The lower class will

not interact with the upper class in formal social

settings except to provide a particular service such

as a delivery person, waiter, maid, etc., and then

have to maintain a proper social decorum.

Wardaugh defines a speech repertoire as “the

repertoire of linguistic varieties utilized by a speech

community which its speakers, as members of the

community, may appropriately use.”(Wardhaugh R,

1993) He considers one’s verbal repertoire as being

“the linguistic varieties which are at a particular

speaker’s disposal.”(Wardhaugh R, 1993) Therefore,

various aspects of the upper and lower class

characters’ verbal repertoire can be seen to bond

themselves with others in subtle ways. By using

certain sounds, words, or expressions different from

those of another social group, it can identify which

groups particular speakers belong to and what

differentiates them from speakers of another group.

This reveals the degree of inclusion and exclusion

for members of a society.

In comparing a regional dialect with a social

dialect, Wardaugh (Wardhaugh R, 1993) states a

regional dialect “marks off the residents of one

region from those of other regions”. Different from

that, he states a social dialect is “a variety associated

with a specific social class or group, marking that

class or group off from other classes or groups.”

(Wardhaugh R, 1993)

In a metropolitan area, it is often difficult to

make dialect atlases based on concrete boundaries

where one dialect begins and another one ends.

Although Higgins is able to make an isogloss

(line)showing distinct geographical boundaries

between various dialects, in real life it is not as neat

or clear-cut as this, because people are very mobile

and do not necessarily spend their entire lives in the

same location. In “My Fair Lady”, there are no

specific geographical boundaries, but Higgins

groups people together based on their verbal

repertoire and boasts he can pinpoint their

residential areas within a few blocks or miles.

Higgins considers many of the areas as being relic

areas that are unaffected by changes from

neighboring areas through a kind of imaginary

isogloss. He assumes that when people move to

another area, they will adopt portions of that

regional dialect but that the overall regional dialect

Sociolinguistic Analysis of Societal Class Differentiation in “My Fair Lady”

111

that they are moving into will not be affected by an

outside dialect. Higgins prefers to think of

individuals adding to their verbal repertoire when

they move from place to place, but that the speech

repertoire of the various speech communities will

not change.

Various speech communities are seen in the film

“My Fair Lady”, but the two speech communities

most emphasized are those of the RP dialect (upper

class) and the Cockney dialect (lower class). In the

opening scene, as Higgins is able to make accurate

guesses about where the people he encounters in the

market area reside or originate, it reveals that in a

society people are able to make educated guesses

about where other people are from by the way they

speak. People have general impressions about the

characteristics of particular speech communities.

Higgins is able to substantiate this, as he can tell the

origins of the various people he encounters from

places like Lisson Grove, Selsey, Hawkestone,

Cheltonham, Harrow, Cambridge, etc., just by their

accent and lexis. He can determine their

geographical location as well as social class.

Wardaugh (Wardhaugh R, 1993) defines a

community as “any set of individuals united for a

common end, that end being quite distinct from ends

pursued by other groups. Consequently, a person

may belong at any one time to many different groups

or communities depending on the particular ends in

view.”

2.2 Language Behavior and Social

Situations

The working class people are portrayed as being

drunk, lazy, unruly, uncouth, and sometimes

dangerous people. The upper class people are

depicted as being economically and culturally elite.

It can be seen in the style and fashion of their attire

as well as their lavish and extravagant social

gatherings and parties. The upper class people

adhere to particular social principles that members

of their class must abide by. Respectability is an

essential trait that must be portrayed to society in all

instances. That is why Mrs. Higgins occasionally

criticizes her son, Professor Henry Higgins, for not

acting in a respectable manner. These class members

are expected to be respectable in their attire,

manners, speech, and behavior. The male characters

are generally seen as being the breadwinners and

social leaders. However, the women are also

important as protectors of the upper class society.

For instance, at the ball, the Queen of Translvania is

curious about Eliza and instructs Karpathy to

investigate her to confirm her place in their elite

society. Karpathy considers himself as an expert in

detecting frauds, but he will keep societal frauds’

secrets if they pay him enough.

Throughout the movie, the characters are

differentiated by their manners, their wealth, and

their speaking style. The characters do not

necessarily have to possess all of these traits in order

to be considered part of the upper class society, but

the more of these traits they have, the more society

will view them as part of higher class society. For

example, when Alfred wears fine clothes after

inheriting money, he is judged as being an upper

middle class person because of his appearance. Next,

when Alfred goes to Higgins’ house, he does not

recognize his daughter, Eliza, because she is dressed

in fine clothes and has bathed. The same is also true

for the market sellers when they see Eliza dressed in

fine attire, clean, and speaking an RP dialect, they

do not realize who she is. These are all important

determinants of social class distinction.

Professor Henry Higgins can easily tell where

the characters in the film have lived and originated

from by observing their accents and regional

dialects. He carefully listens to the words the

characters say in their conversations and in what

instances they use these particular words. In

characterizing the speech patterns of the upper class

and lower class society members, Henry Higgins is

representative of the upper class with his use of the

RP Standard English. He enunciates his

wordsclearly, as one is supposed to do in using

Standard English. In showing his controlled anger or

displeasure with Eliza, he is also able to combine his

higher level of education with his Standard English

to insult her by saying such things as, “You disgrace

to the noble architecture of these columns”, “You

incarnate insult to the English language”, and “You

squashed cabbage leaf”. There insults are above

Eliza’s head, because she does not have the same

level of education understand the insults being

thrown her way.

As a member of the lower class society, Eliza

speaks the Cockney dialect, which is used by the

poor working class. Eliza has various unladylike

habits that portray her to be a person of lower class

society as well like her howling, uncouth behavior,

refusal to bathe, using her sleeve to wipe her face

instead of the handkerchief given to her by Higgins,

among others. Eliza also shows her lack of social

graces by saying “ahhh” while sticking her tongue

out at her father as a form of disapproval or

rebellion. Cockney English has distinctive

pronunciations and lexical choices in conversation.

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For example, Eliza frequently likes to use the

“Aooow” sound to show her displeasure or anger

about situations. The instances of Eliza using this

“aooow” expression can be seen in Table 1. In the

sentence, “Aooow! I ain’t dirty. I washed me face n’

‘ands afore I come, I did,” she says “ain’t” instead of

“am not”, “me” instead of “my”, “afore” instead of

“before”, and “come” instead of “came”. She also

adds “I did” at the end of her statement to provide

assurance about her action. These characteristics of

her speech pattern are not found in Standard English.

The instances of Eliza adding assurances at the end

of her statements (Table 2) are representative of the

Cockney speaking style.

Table 1. Eliza’s Use of “Aoow” to Show Displeasure or

Anger.

She shows anger to Freddy for bumping

into her at the market.

She displays displeasure to Higgins about

him

uessin

her ori

ins.

She shouts at Higgins after he admonishes

her for “croonin

like a bilious pi

eon”.

She screams at Higgins for saying she

should be “taken out and hung for the cold-

looded murder of the En

lish ton

ue”.

She yells at Higgins for calling her a liar in

the market.

She shouts at Higgins for calling her

She shows displeasure to Mrs. Pearce for

“Do as

ou’re told”.

She is angered by Higgins calling her a

“dra

le-tailed

uttersnipe”.

She is outraged at Higgins who threatens to

ut her in the dustbin.

She yells at Higgins for thinking she can be

ht b

old and diamonds.

She expresses anger at Mrs. Pearce for

forcin

her to take her clothes off to bathe.

She is cross after Higgins says “Oh, so the

creature’s nervous after all”.

Table 2. Eliza’s Addition of Assurances after Conducting

an Action.

“I’m a

ood

irl, I am.” (at the market)

“I’m a

ood

irl, I am.” (at Hi

ins’ house)

“You’re no gentleman, you’re not.” (at Higgins’

house)

“I know what the likes of you are, I do.” (at

ins’ house)

“I’ve always been a good girl, I ‘ave.” (at

ins’ house)

“I’ll call the

olice, I will.” (at Hi

ins’ house)

“I washed me face an’ ‘ands afore I come, I

did.” (at Hi

ins’ house)

“I’m a

ood

irl, I am.” (at the market)

Language use will also change according to

social situations. As Trudgill notes (Trudgill P,

2000), people “do not just respond automatically to

situations. They can also use switching for their own

purposes: to manipulate or influence or define the

situation as they wish and to convey nuances of

meaning and personal intention”. Eliza becomes

talented in utilizing the upper class speech pattern

for her own needs. For instance, at Mrs. Higgins’

house, Eliza says, “Good afternoon, Professor

Higgins. Are you quite well? Of course you are. You

are never ill. Would you care for some tea?” Higgins

replies, “Don’t you dare try that game on me. I

taught it to you.” Eliza, then, is able to manipulate

her relationship with Higgins to achieve her goal of

making Higgins think of her as an equal and not a

sub-class of humanity.

Before Eliza goes to Ascott, she has to learn the

proper way to engage in upper class conversations.

“Conversations are structured, rule-governed, non-

random sequences of utterances.” (Trudgill P, 2000)

Eliza not only has to learn the proper RP

pronunciation, but she also has to master the rules

for the interpretation of discourse, in order to be able

to properly interact with upper class society. For

example, Eliza does not understand the meaning

behind stress emphasis, as shown when Freddy

Eynsford-Hill asks her, “How do you do?” with

emphasis on the first “do” to show he is smitten with

her.

Eliza’s introduction of lower class slang into the

upper class verbal repertoire can be considered as a

linguistic innovation that spreads from the non-RP

dialect to the RP dialect. She is able to do this at

Ascot because she is considered as a part of upper

Sociolinguistic Analysis of Societal Class Differentiation in “My Fair Lady”

113

class society. If she were found out to be a member

of the lower class, she would not have been able to

introduce various terminologies from her regional

dialect, as it is considered inferior to the RP dialect.

2.3 Portrayal of Gender Differences in

Social Settings

In “My Fair Lady”, gender-role stereotyping is

obvious. There is specific acceptable behavior and

language associated with men and women. Terms

used to refer to men and women also differ and do

not necessarily have the same equivalence. Pairs of

words for males and females are generally

gentleman-lady, man-woman, and boy-girl. Even

though Eliza is in her early 20s, because of her lower

class status, she is often treated as a “girl”. Her lack

of proper upbringing makes the upper class people

she encounters consider her as immature and not

worthy of being called a “lady”. For example, Mrs.

Eynsford-Hill admonishes Eliza as a lower class

woman by saying “my girl”. Next, Henry Higgins

talks down to Eliza in the market by calling her a

“silly girl”. Then Pickering refers to her as a “girl”

in the market. Even Mrs. Pearce admonishes Eliza at

Higgins’ house by saying “nonsense girl”. Many

other instances of are found throughout the film of

Eliza being called a “girl” until she has mastered the

manners and social graces of upper class society and

earned the right to be called a “lady”.

Based on Trudgill (Trudgill P, 2000), the first

thing one notices about someone when meeting the

individual for the first time is what sex the person is.

Social differentiation and linguistic differentiation

are also found between the sexes, especially among

the upper class. This can be seen in how men and

women talk to and amongst each other. Gender

differences and social class expectations are also

apparent in “My Fair Lady”. From the behavior of

Higgins and Pickering, it is clear that all a woman

needs to do is have a proper dialect, education, and

social graces. Equipped with those skills, she is

marriageable material. Upper class society considers

marriage as a woman’s ultimate goal to happiness

and fulfillment. In contrast, Eliza is interested in

being self-sufficient and not just selling herself or

being someone’s token wife. She desires to support

herself by opening a flower shop.

The values of a society can also have an effect on

its language and behavior. Trudgill (Trudgill P,

2000) says the most interesting way this happens is

through the phenomenon known as taboo. He

defines taboo as “being concerned with behavior

which is believed to be super-naturally forbidden, or

regarded as immoral or improper. In language, taboo

is associated with things which are not said, and in

particular with words and expressions which are not

used.” Taboo words are also different between social

classes. Many more taboo words are found amongst

women than men, as women being the fairer sex are

supposed to maintain a higher degree of

respectability and polite behavior. In modern British

society, it is traditionally more acceptable for men to

swear and use taboo words than women. Women are

also expected to have better behavior than men. That

is why an upper class woman faints upon hearing

Eliza shout, “Move your bloomin’ arse!” at Ascot,

because it is unheard of language for a lady. Taboo

words and slang phrases among the lower class

include “bloomin’”, “blimey”, “garn”, “bloody”,

“saucy”, “he’s off his chump”, “blighters”, “ruddy”,

“arse”, “done her in”, “pinched it”, “ladling”, “bit

off the spoon”, “sniggering”, etc.

2.4 Language Use and Linguistic

Repertoire

On the basis of how people talk, generalizations can

be made about what social classes they fall into. The

experiment carried out by Higgins and Pickering to

test Eliza’s acceptance into upper class society at the

race track and ball, is similar to an experiment

carried out in Detroit to test recognition of black and

white speech of speakers through tape recordings

(Trudgill P, 2000). Both of these experiments reveal

that by listening to one’s accent, various value

judgments can be made about one’s ethnicity and

social class. The differences between these two

experiments are the film shows language as a

defining characteristic of social-group membership,

whereas the Detroit study deals more with ethnic-

group membership.

At the beginning of “My Fair Lady”, it is clear

that Higgins and the upper class society set barriers

to prevent the infiltration of lower class society

dialect to the upper class society dialect. The upper

class people judge the lower class dialect as a threat

to their culture and way of life. By excluding the

lower class dialect from penetrating their “proper”

dialect, they desire to preserve their political, social,

and economic power. Therefore, language is clearly

tied to power in various social fronts.

Higgins uses various other insults directed at

Eliza such as “bilious” (of or containing bile,

characterized by or experiencing gastric distress),

“guttersnipe” (a very uncouth and insulting word for

a person of the lowest class), “ignoramus” (an

ignorant person), and “sniveling” (to complain or

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whine tearfully). “Tomfoolery” (foolish behavior)

“tosh” (foolish nonsense), “impertinence”, “dashed”,

and “good heavens” are also expressions used by the

upper class.

By using this type of language, Higgins is able

insult Eliza without her knowing what he is talking

about, because he has greater mastery of the English

language, which gives him more power in

conversation. In practicing her enunciation of /ai/

instead of /e/, Higgins instructs Eliza to say “The

rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain” repeatedly.

Frustrated by her inability to perfect this,

Higginsstates, “The majesty and grandeur of the

English language is the greatest possession we

have.” He considers the RP dialect to be superior to

all others and looks down on anyone who speaks

differently.

In comparison, the lower class uses many more

slang and harsh terms such as “Blimey”, which is a

Cockney expletive which is a corruption of

“Gorblimey”, which is a corruption of “God blind

me”. “Off his chump” is said by Eliza, which is

British slang for insane or mad or drunk.

Another aspect which is different between two

linguistic communities is their verbal repertoire.

Trudgill (Trudgill P, 2000) defines this as the totality

of different linguistic varieties used in different

situations and for different purposes. Registers,

which are linguistic varieties linked to particular

occupations or topics (Trudgill P, 2000), will be

different among different social classes as well. This

can pose to be especially challenging for lower class

society when they are forced to engage in an upper

class society activity for which they lack the proper

registers, as is the case with Eliza. Registers related

to a ball or horse race will be quite different from

those in the marketplace. “Registers are an example

of a particular kind of language being produced by a

particular kind of social context.” (Trudgill P, 2000)

Formality is one such aspect which is more closely

related with upper class society than lower class

society. People with an extensive verbal repertoire

will be able to recognize formal and informal

language and the proper contexts. At the opposite

end of the language style spectrum is slang which is

very informal language.

Eliza shows that it is a very difficult task to learn

a different dialect of her own language. She faces

many obstacles in learning the RP dialect, as she can

still communicate with the upper class in her own

dialect and she still has strong ties to her lower class

group identity. In many ways, it is easier to learn a

completely different language than just a different

dialect. By adopting the RP dialect, Eliza is able to

overcome class discrimination among the upper

class society members who are unaware of her true

social class background. Eventually, Eliza is able to

utilize code-switching to switch from one language

variety to another as the situation dictates.

By mastering the RP dialect, Eliza has equipped

herself with more power in social situations.

Wardaugh (Wardhaugh R, 1993) claims that power

is a useful concept that can explain much linguistic

behavior. “Power, as both something to achieve and

something to resist, exerts considerable influence on

the language choices that many people make.”

Therefore, through power, it is possible to examine

the relationships between social classes and

language use.

3 FINDINGS OF LINGUISTIC

ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

In speaking, if a certain pronunciation comes to be

regarded as a prestige feature in a particular

community, then it will tend to be exaggerated

(Trudgill P, 2000). This can be seen in the case of

Eliza at the race track. At Ascot, Mrs. Doolittle asks,

“Will it rain, do you think?” Eliza replies by saying,

“The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain. But in

Hartford, Hereford, and Hampshire, hurricanes

hardly ever happen.” She is very proud of her

newfound ability to enunciate “a” and “h” properly

based on Received Pronunciation that she

exaggerates her pronunciation of “a” and “h” while

reciting the practice lines she learned from Higgins.

This draws much amusement and fascination from

Freddy Eynsford-Hill, as he considers her to be

unique from the other upper-class people he usually

encounters.

Related with this, in proper pronunciation, Eliza

has to enunciate all of her words clearly instead of

running them all together by practicing to say, “How

kind of you to let me come” over and over again.

She also has to say “cup of tea” instead of

“cuppatea”. In addition, she must enunciate “With

blackest moss, the flower pots were thickly crusted,

one and all” clearly with marbles in her mouth to

learn not to combine the words together. She also

exaggerates her enunciation in saying the words

much more clearly than an upper class person may

do in most social situations.

By examining these social-classaccent features,

differences between the socia classes are more

obvious. Various examples of elision are obvious

among the lower class. For example, the lower class

Sociolinguistic Analysis of Societal Class Differentiation in “My Fair Lady”

115

will say “n”’ as opposed to “ng: in words like goin’,

payin’, takin’, sayin’, nothin’, speakin’, makin’,

living’, writin’, leavin’, lodgin’, lookin’, sittin’,

restin’, givin’, mornin’, farthin’, shillin’, talkin’,

bein’, blinkin’, philanderin’, ‘avin’, undeservin’,

deservin’, playin’, swimmin’, etc. From these

examples, it is clear that the lower class has a

preference for using “n” endings as opposed to “ng”

endings for “-ing” words.

Another example of elision is seen in the “h”

variable at the beginning of words for Cockney

dialect speakers. The lower class society members

often leave out “h” at the beginning of “h” words

that are normally pronounced by RP English

speakers. Some examples are ‘e, ‘e’s, ‘im, ‘alf, ‘ere,

‘ow, ‘arm, ‘imself, ‘eat, ‘ands, ‘ead, ‘ome, ‘er, ‘ole,

‘ard, ‘usband, ‘ad, ‘eard, ‘adn’t, ‘andkerchief, ‘ad,

‘ave, ‘ospitality, ‘iggins, ‘uman, ‘avin’, ‘elp, ‘enry,

‘eadache, etc.

Therefore, by considering the “ng” and “h”

phonological variables above, it shows how use of

the variants is related to social class. In analyzing

the variables (ng) and (h), it reveals that the (ng) and

(h) variants at the end and beginning of words are

used more frequently among upper class people.

Social class membership reveals that the lower the

social class, the greater the incidence of non-

standard variants.

An additional feature that separates the upper

and lower classes is in the pronunciation of vowels.

In pronouncing her vowels, Eliza says “ahyee”, “e”,

“iyee”, “ow”, and “you” instead of A, E,I, O, U that

are commonly pronounced by RP English speakers.

Another important grammatical characteristic of

upper-class speakers is the absence of non-standard

multiple negation (ex. I don’t want none) in the

same manner that lower class speakers do.

The use of multiple negations is another

grammatical variable that is marked, because it is in

disfavor among the RP using upper class. This

variant of negation is frequently found among

Cockney dialect speakers.

Another aspect that separates the two classes is

the use of “ain’t” is often used by the lower-class

society. For example, they say such phrases such as

“I ain’t done nothin’ wrong”, “he ain’t a tec, he

ain’t”, “you ain’t been near ‘er for months”, “if that

ain’t worth ‘alf a crown”, “you ain’t ‘eard what I

come for yet”, “I ain’t come here t’ ask for any

compliment”, “but I ain’t got sixty pounds”, “I ain’t

dirty”, “I ain’t got no parents”, “I ain’t a duchess

yet”, etc. The word would never be used by speakers

of Standard English.

The rolling “r” is also used for emphasis on

several occasions by the lower-class society. A

woman in Eliza’s dwelling emphasizes that Eliza

“ain’t been home for three days”. Eliza emphasizes

while singing a song, “Thanks a lot king, in a

manner well-bred”. Alfred says while singing a

song, “kick up a rumpus” for emphasis about

getting married.

Incorrectly used lexical items are frequently

found as well. Pronouns are also incorrectly used by

lower class people such as “me doctor”, “meself”,

“me vowels”, etc. Also, words such as “loverly” and

“absobloominlutely” are frequently said by the

Cockney dialect speakers, even though they are not

found in RP speakers’ linguistic repertoire.

In an investigation of linguistic variation for the

(s) variable, the speech patterns of upper and lower

class characters are also analyzed. The (s) is the

extension of third-person singular verb marking to

all other persons (ex. I knows, you knows, we has,

and they calls). The lower class society uses an

incorrect speech pattern in terms of the (s) variable.

Therefore, a clear correlation can be seen

between variation and social class. Social attitudes

are closely related with the importance of identity.

One’s languages does not only signal one’s social

status but also one’s gender identity. So, it is

pertinent to consider various lexical, phonological,

and grammatical variables to see how they

interrelate to form one’s identity.

The factors determining language boundaries

between groups do not just rely on linguistic items

but also attitudes and social meanings. “Any

enduring social relationship or group may come to

define itself by selection and/or creation of linguistic

features, and a difference of accent may be as

important as one boundary as a difference of

grammar at another. Part of the creativity of users of

language lies in the freedom to determine what and

how much linguistic difference matters.” (Hymes D

H, 1974 ) Interrelations can be seen between

linguistic items and social evaluations through

pronunciation of various words in “My Fair Lady”

like upper class “them”, “of”, “to”, “do”, “and”,

“old”, “what did”, “you”, “about”, “don’t you”,

“flowers”, and “flower” pronounced as lower class

“em”, “o”, “t”, “d”,

“an”, “ol”, “what’d”, “ya”, “ab’ut”, “don’tcha”,

“flow’rs”, “flow’r”. These linguistic differences are

all significant in determining which social groups

the speakers belong.

Furthermore, the rolling ‘r’ can be seen as being

an example of free variation for the lower class

society in “My Fair Lady” as it is used several times

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instead of the standard ‘r’ in speech with no

significant reason for the variance. For instance, a

Cockney woman in Eliza’s living quarters

emphasizes that Eliza “ain’t been home for three

days”. Next, Eliza says “‘Thanks a lot King’, in a

manner well-bred”, in a song. Then Alfred says

while singing a song “kick up a rumpus” about

getting married.

By investigating this range of variables, it

indicates that certain stereotypes and presuppositions

can be made about social class groups or regional

variety groups in considering certain linguistic

evidence. According to Wardaugh (Wardhaugh R,

1993), “a linguistic variable is an item in the

structure of a language, an item that has alternate

realizations, as one speaker realizes it one way and

another in a different way or the same speaker

realizes it differently on different occasions.” For

example, the word “eating” can be realized as

“eating” or “eatin’”, depending on the speaker and

circumstance.

The linguistic variation found between the two

classes reveal the intricacies involved in the social

variation of British society. The language used by

the characters in “My Fair Lady” aptly reflect their

speech community (the same regional dialect that is

spoken as a standard language variation by a group

of people) as well as social and regional variation

according to social class.

In comparing the language of the upper class and

lower class, the upper class uses proper diction,

syntax, pronunciation, speech volume, stress, and

intonation when conversing with others. Meanwhile,

the lower class does not have much concern for

proper diction, syntax, pronunciation, speech

volume, stress, and intonation. For instance, in

referring to Eliza, Higgins says, “Chickens cackling

in a barn just like this one”. He uses lower

intonation. For stress, Higgins states, “How kind of

you to let me come” with emphasis on the first and

last words of the sentence. In contrast, Eliza says the

same sentence with stress given to all the words. For

syntax, Higgins and the other upper class members

use correct sentence structure, while the lower class

members often use incorrect sentence structure.

In “Why can’t the English teach their children

how to speak?”, Higgins is very critical of all the

regional accents of English used around the world

outside of his own Received Pronunciation. Higgins

is also critical of Eliza and her Cockney accent,

because she cannot aspirate the “h” sound properly

in words and instead drops the “h” sound. Rather,

she pronounces an “h” sound on the word “ever”,

which should be absent of an “h”. In criticism of

Eliza’s speaking style in particular, and the Cockney

accent in general, Higgins states, “By right she

should be taken out and hung for the cold-blooded

murder of the English tongue!”

In summary, this movie depicts a clear example

of Cockney English that is considered to be a lower

or harsh form of English by educated English

speakers. The characteristics of the Cockney style of

speaking are easily recognizable by observing the

particular characters who signify this dialect. The

main characteristics of Cockney English are: -“g”

dropping at the end of –“ing” words. There is also -

“h” glottal dropping at the beginning of words to

make them homophonic (a kind of elision marked by

the omission of the /h/ sound). Next, there is the

dipthongization of long vowels like /i:/ “bead” /biːd/

becomes /әi/ in /bәid/ and (uː) “boot” (buːt) becomes

/әu/ /bәut/; a dipthong shift, so /ei/ is realized as /ai/

ex. “lady” (ˈleɪdɪ) = /laidi/, /ai/ is realized /oi/, so

“price” (praɪs) becomes /prois/, /әu/ “load” (lәʊd) is

realized as /l_ud/, and /au/ “loud” (laʊd) is realized

as /a:/ /laid/. Related with this, when Eliza says (ei)

sounds, she pronounces them as (æ i), as in, “The

rine in Spine sties minely in the pline” instead of

saying “The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain”.

She also says, “Will you pie me off then” instead of

“Will you pay me off then”. Besides this, there are

also changes in reflexive pronouns to become

“meself”. In addition, some of Eliza’s /θ/ consonants

are said as /f/ like in the example “But I ain’tdone

nothin”. Furthermore, there is the use of slang and

non-standard forms. Therefore, the characters who

speak with these linguistic ‘deficiencies’ are

stigmatized as being lower class citizens.

4 CONCLUSIONS

By studying linguistic evidence, then, it is possible

to assign a social status to a speaker. It allows for

correlations to be made between a social class and

standard or local linguistic forms. Examining

linguistic evidence can also reveal much about the

social structure of a certain community. The social

barriers between classes will be clearly reflected in

their language. Linguistic evidence can also reveal

the percentage or tendency of certain words being

used or pronounced in a particular way. Even though

the characters in “My Fair Lady” generally adhere to

pronouncing and saying specific lexical items most

of the time, in real society there will probably be

speaker variation in these frequencies. Although the

linguistic variables analyzed in “My Fair Lady” are

fairly clear-cut and representative of the upper and

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117

lower classes, in a real modern society such

distinctions or class labels are much more difficult to

define as more variable are involved. When

considering various linguistic features as a whole, it

can reveal a great deal about a particular social class.

In modern society, egalitarianism amongst ethnic

groups, people of different gender, and various

social upbringings reveal that modern society is

much more fluid and social class membership is not

as rigid as depicted in the film. Modern cities change

rapidly which in turn, have a significant effect on

social change. Finally, in looking at social classes

and changes brought about in them, linguistic

evidence can provide much information about the

processes involved in linguistic change. For

example, in “My Fair Lady”, there is linguistic

evidence about certain expressions regarded as “the

new small talk” by Higgins, which shows that Eliza

can potentially introduce lower-class idioms and

lexical items into the upper class society by

unwittingly fooling them into believing it is actually

part of upper class language with terms such as

“done her in”, etc. Therefore, by investigating

various sociolinguistic variables, conclusions can be

made as to speakers’ social standing and changes to

their sociolect over time.

In short, the speech community that the

particular characters are a part of is reflective of

their social class position. A higher class person will

use more Standard English, while a lower class

person will use more non-standard English with a

local or regional variety. The film can be seen as

being representative of the depiction of social class

variation and stereotypes associated with it in the

real world. As various dialect groups with different

socioeconomic backgrounds can be found in

societies everywhere, the film also brings to light the

significance of having non-standard dialects from

numerous cultural and linguistic backgrounds. These

regional and social class dialects can contribute to

learning about the historic developments of

languages and give insight into cultural differences

between them. Therefore, just because individuals

speak with a particular regional or class dialect,

assumptions or stereotypes should not be applied to

the group as a whole.

REFERENCES

Trudgill P 2000 Sociolinguistics: An Introduction to

Language and Society (London: Penguin Books)

Wardhaugh R 1993 An Introduction to Sociolinguistics

(Oxford: Blackwell Publishers)

Hymes D H 1974 Foundations in Sociolinguistics: An

Ethnographic Approach (Philadelphia: University of

Pennsylvania Press)

“My Fair Lady” 1964 film based on George Bernard

Shaw’s play “Pygmalion” (1912)

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