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Class, Language, Morality

 

            
             The relationship amongst social class, language skills, and morality are often underestimated. In a recent survey, the results proved there were no relationship amongst social class, language skills, and morality, but in all actuality there is. Social class defines a person's income, location, occupation, education, friends, and peers. Language skills define a person's speaking skills, arguing skills, and knowledge. Morality defines a person's sense or view of what is right or wrong. The question is asked, Is there a relationship between social class and language skills and is there a relationship between social class and morality? In G. Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion, the play proves a character's social class can be determined by his or her use of language and a person's morality who belongs to a higher class is not necessarily better than a person of lower status. Many characters in the play prove this fact. Eliza shows how a person's social status can be judged by one's command over language and Higgins proves a person belonging to a higher social class is not necessarily more moral than a person of lower status. In the play Pygmalion, the concepts are clear that language skills have an effect on a person's social class and morality is not judged by the one's stature in social class, but this play proves how these concepts are common stereotypes.
             Pygmalion is a play based on a poor flower girl who is transformed into an elegant, classy, and sophisticated duchess by a man of higher status who professionalizes in phonetics. Higgins is a man who teaches Eliza how to acquire sophisticated language skills in order to pass her off as a classy duchess. In the process of disguising Eliza as a duchess, Higgins has no remorse for Eliza's feelings or what will happen to her. Higgins is only excited in succeding in his experimentation to disguise Eliza as a classy duchess. In the play the relationship between language skills and social class is displayed by Eliza's character and the relationship between social class and morality is displayed by Higgins.


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