I believe one of the great things about language is the variety that is incorporated in the style of speech, as well as how we communicate that style to friends, family members, co-workers, etc. To think that there is one specific style of language that is superior to all others seems impossible, since we use different styles of our own language all throughout our daily lives based on who we interact with and the specific scenarios we find ourselves in.
In Eliza's case, it became nececary for her to learn a new style of language so that she could fit in with a whole new class of people. But I believe that there were both positive and negative sides to both her common English and her proper English. Obviously Eliza was much more elegant when speaking with proper English, but it seemed that it was a type of language that wasn't for social use. When she used "small talk" with Mrs. Higgins, she used more of her common language than proper, which everyone for the most part seemed to like.
I definitely agree with your statement that no one language style is better than the others. I am not sure I understand what you mean when you say that the "proper" English was not the type of language for social use. Also, I'm a little confused, did she use her "small talk" with Mrs. Higgins or Mrs. Pearce?
ReplyDeleteMary Lee, I think what David is saying is that she didn't get very far only speaking proper English around the other high class people as they all thought she was a bore. However, when she started talking the new 'small talk,' everyone had a reaction and the conversation was much more lively. Clara and Freddy really took a liking to it and their mother was even convinced it was in style.
ReplyDeleteWhen reading this I continued to think that referring to proper English as a nonsocial thing meant that proper English limits topics and therefore limits socialization. This would be evident when someone in a formal situation where proper English is appropriate speaks about a "rude" topic and is shunned for it.
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