My Fair Lady Review

Film Review: “My Fair Lady”

“My Fair Lady” is a classic 1964 film produced by Jack Warner and James Katz and Directed by George Cukor. The film’s protagonist, an ambitious Phonetician, Professor Higgins, promises to transform the life and socio-economic status of a poor flower girl, the female protagonist, Eliza, by teaching her to speak Standard English and the ‘proper’ way to behave. He aspires to “change her into a different human being by creating a new speech for her.” By doing this he suggests he “fill the deepest gap that separates class from class and soul from soul”. His attitude is an indication of the contempt with which speakers of ‘prestigious’ varieties of language treat other speakers of varieties considered to be ‘low’ or ‘bad’. The film addresses linguistic and cultural issues such as language change, regional and social variation and prescriptivists’ and descriptivists’ attitudes toward such variations of language and issues of language and identity and socio-economic status associated with these phenomena.

It brings to the fore attitudes towards linguistic variation in England and around the world and highlights prescriptivists’ perspectives about using the English language. Standard English is presented as a superior model of language. Professor Higgins believes that “the majesty and grandeur of the English language is the greatest possession we have.” He demonstrates attitudes of traditional linguists’ about the proper use of English by asserting that the Bible, Milton and Shakespeare are models of English that should be emulated. Professor Higgins believes that Eliza (or all humans) possess the “divine gift of articulate speech” but is “condemned by every syllable she utters” and should be “hung for her cold- blooded murder of the English tongue.”

Further, he criticises the lower classes of H dropping and incorrect pronunciations of vowels. An Englishman’s way of speaking” he states, classifies him”. His speech may cause others to “despise him.” This shows how Language can have an effect on any society or how society or groups of people can be defined by it. Professor explains that if Colonel Pickering spoke the way Eliza does, he may be doing the same job as she, indicating that there is a relationship between our use of language and our socio-economic status. Social variation or what he calls “verbal class distinctions” should be “antique”. He uses this point also to question the quality of the system of education and points out that certain jobs require “better English.” Deckert & Vickers endorses this notion; different varieties of English are not “held in equal social standing” because of our history and “effects of colonialism”. “Standard and non-standard language labels” are not linguistic but they are “social labels” (33, 38).

Attitudes toward regional variations of language are also highlighted in the film. Professor Higgins expresses outrage at the way people from other nations and from various locations in England use English “as they like.” He advocates for one language rather than variation in language use; he despises the Scottish and Irish for the way they use English and expresses disappointment that there are “places where English completely disappears or varieties have developed (language change or loss).” Deckert and Vickers explain that several varieties of World English have developed. There are differences between the Englishes of Great Britain, Canada, the United States, and any number of other major varieties of the language in other English speaking countries. Even within a given country, there are different varieties of English” (33).

Colonel Pickering has a different attitude however; he seems to represents a different kind of linguist, a descriptivist, one who recognises and appreciates a person’s culture, language and differences and respects and treats them fairly. This is marked in how he is respectful of Eliza and the fact that he is portrayed as the “author of spoken Sanskrit, a record of how people use language as against a prescription of its use. He also seems to have an appreciation for the many dialects and languages spoken in India. This is the way descriptive linguistics treat the study of language. They don’t reject the varieties of language use; they record and commemorate them.

The film does not only show how people can be identified by their speech but also how speech can mask us as well. Eliza is treated with disdain and disrespect by Professor Higgins but in the end, her refined behaviour and speech cause her to gain his approval and honour; she is now masked as a member of the elite, a royal and genteel lady and even an expert linguist is unable to determine her origin.

Works cited
Deckert, Sharon & Vickers Caroline. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics Society and Identity. London: Continuum Int.Pub, 2011. Print.
My Fair Lady. Dir. George Cukor. Perf. Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway, Jeremy Brett and Wilfrid Hyde-White. Warner Bros, 1964. Film.