Summary of George Bernard Shaw's " Spoken English and Broken English"

Introduction

George Bernard Shaw is a famous English dramatist.  He has written many plays.  Most of his plays are called problem plays or social dramas because they deal with social issues.  Shaw tries to give solutions to social problems.  “Spoken English and Broken English” is a speech given by Shaw at BBC.  This talk is about spoken English.  Shaw tries to define and simplify what spoken English is.

 

Shaw’s Views on the BBC Committee

Shaw opens his speech by saying that the target audiences of his speech are foreigners who want to speak English and the native people, who want to speak perfect English.  Shaw says that there is no such thing called as correct English.  No two British persons speak the same way.  Shaw is included in the BBC to show the correct pronunciation of words.  His chairman is a Poet Laureate.  One of the members is an actor, who delivers dialogue in a fine way.  Shaw is selected because he is a playwright and a good speaker.  Shaw says that the committee members differ with themselves in pronouncing words like ‘yes’ and ‘no’.  Shaw himself is from Ireland and other members are from different countries.

 

Spoken English – Broken English

Shaw says that there is a variety of English.  People speak different English in public and different English at home.  In his home, Shaw’s wife would say that he always mumbles.  Shaw asks the listeners to eavesdrop on a couple through a keyhole on how they speak.  After some time we should knock on the door and enter the room and we would see that their language is entirely different.

 

Shaw’s Warning to Foreigners

If a foreigner visits England and he speaks good English, he would not be understood by the native speakers.  His English will have a different accent.  Even when he speaks correct English the native speaker will think him to be a beggar or a trickster.  Shaw advises a foreigner to speak in broken English because he will find many people to help him.  Shaw also warns people not to speak correct English because it would affect the sentiments of the native people.

 

Conclusion

Through this speech, Shaw simplifies English speech.  He proves that there is no correct English but only acceptable English.