语言学课堂作业MyFairLady.doc

A Language Analysis of Henry Higgins in the film My Fair Lady CLASS: 0701 NAME: Bonnie 刘伴 NO.Henry Higgins, one character in the film My Fair Lady, is a celebrated phonetic professor. Having a thorough understanding and researching of linguistics, he can not only identify people’s residency by their accents, but also skillfully handle English. The language that Professor Higgins used has a profound impression on me when compared with the language of other character, for his choice of adjectives and constructions of sentences can fully conveys his emotions and attitudes. Continually, dialogues of Higgins mirror his characteristics such as his male chauvinism. To analyze dialogues of Professor Higgins we can find fantastic art in his language. Well educated people often use a sarcastic tone instead of dirty words when they feel annoyed or impatient. In Chinese it is expressed as “损人不带脏字”. In the beginning of the film there is a dialogue between Higgins and the flower girl (Eliza Doolittle): Higgins: See this creature with her curbstone English thatll keep her in the gutter till the end of her days? In six months I could pass her off as a duchess at an Embassy Ball. I could get her a job as a ladys maid or a shop assistant which requires better English. Eliza: Whats that you say? Higgins: Yes, you squashed cabbage leaf! You disgrace to the noble architecture of these columns! You incarnate insult to the English language! I could pass you off as the Queen of Sheba. The phrase “squashed cabbage leaf” indicated Eliza Doolittle was dirty and ugly liked a waste food that could never be taken onto the table. In this case, he unconsciously put Eliza in an inferior class by his ironic definition to her. At the same time, he had exposed his male chauvinism and prejudice to lower class. And in another dialogue, he used another way to express his emotion. See the following dialogue: Eliza: The rine in Spine stais minely in the pline. Higgins: The rain in Spainstays