Assignment submitted by students of 5EEE of batch 2012-16,Amity University. A thought provoking and interesting journey in the work of George Bernard Shaw. Members: Hanshal Nautiyal - A2324612004 Devavrat Mathur - A2324612036 Gaurav Sinha - A2324612057

1. Group Presentation on:
Spoken English and Broken English
By George Bernard Shaw
Submitted by:
 Hanshal Nautiyal (A2324612004)
 Devavrat Mathur (A23246120036)
 Gaurav Sinha (A23246120057)
Submitted To:
Mr. Parveen Kumar

2. Brief Introduction to the Author
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of
Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which
capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama,
and he wrote more than 60 plays. He was also an essayist, novelist and short story writer. Nearly
all his writings address prevailing social problems with a vein of comedy which makes their stark
themes more palatable.
He is the only person to have been awarded both a Nobel Prize in Literature (1925) and an
Academy Award (1938), for his contributions to literature and for his work on the film
Pygmalion, respectively. Shaw turned down all other awards and honours, including the offer of
a knighthood.
• Notice the use of the word ‘Palatable’ used to describe his writings. Any other flowery word
like understandable, lucid, digestible or clear could have been used.

3. Visible Traits/Behavior Points
a. Socialist
b. Cynic
c. Generally Liberal
d. Fabian
e. Critical
f. Observant
g. Educated
h. Essentially Unorganized
i. Excellent Public Speaker
j. Believer of Class Equality
k. Honest

4. Spoken and Broken English
Incorrectly labeled as a prose by countless people across the millennia, Spoken and Broken
English is a transcript of a radio talk and was recorded in 1927. The talk was broadcast over
Manhattan's radio station WNEW. It was a part of series of talks called A Treasury of the Spoken
World.
In this recording, the first of four sides made for Linguaphone in 1927, Shaw ponders the
difficulties in accurately reproducing an individual human voice given the deficiencies of the
playback technology of the time.
• The original discs feature Shaw's signature scratched into the run-out grooves.

5. The points demonstrated or stressed upon his
recordings can be divided into four basic ideas.
These ideas are:
• Advantages in learning to speak well
• No such thing ideally correct English
• Confession of Bernard Shaw
• Advice to foreign students of English

6. Advantages in learning to speak well:
Bernard Shaw says that when we travel in the
British Commonwealth or in America or when
we meet a native of these countries, we have to
speak English well for enough understanding. If
we speak in a provincial or cockney dialect it may
prevents us from obtaining some employment
which is open to those only speak what is ‘correct
English’.
• Cockney English refers to the accent or dialect of English traditionally spoken by working-class
Londoners
• G.B. Shaw explains the difference between correct and understandable.

7. No such thing ideally correct English:
No two British subjects speak exactly alike. Even
educated persons, the Poet Laureate and trained
speakers do not pronounce of some of the simplest
commonest words in the English language exactly
alike. Members of the committee who are selected
as models of correct speech speak differently. They
differ according to the country in which they were
born.
• Even within a language’s native home, it may be used in different accents and ways.

8. Confession of Bernard Shaw:
Bernard Shaw confesses that he himself does not
speak English in the same way. When he speaks to
audience, he speaks carefully. If he were to speak
carefully to his wife at home, she would think he
was going mad. As a public speaker he has to take
care that every word he says is heard distinctly at
far end of large halls containing thousands of
people. At home he speaks to his wife like
mumbling. His wife also a little careless and so he
sometimes has to say “What?”
• Brings in his own personal example in order to connect with the people and drive home his
point.

9. Advice to foreign students of English:
Do not try to speak English perfectly because native
speakers of English won’t understand. In London
nine hundred and ninety nine out of thousand
people not only speak bad English but speak even
that very badly. No foreigner can ever stress the
syllables and make the voice rise and fall in
questions and answer, assertion and denial, in
refusal and consent, in enquiry or information,
exactly as a native does. Therefore the first thing
they have to do is to speak with a strong foreign
accent, and speak broken English.

10. Analysis
Recorded in the backdrop of 1927’s Politically
unstable yet emerging United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland, G.B. Shaw’s masterpiece further
highlighted the need for simple yet powerful English. Due
to the influx of migrants from different parts of the
empire, even the ‘Mighty’ Politicians(known for their gift
of gab) had forgotten the true essence of the language
and were now not understandable to the people. Neither
were the people understandable to them due to their
meticulous need to speaking ‘Correct English’.

11. Significance in today’s time
Classified as borderline boring or a sheer waste of perfectly good
time by many of the modern day students, Spoken and Broken English’s
relevance in today’s time cannot be more emphasized upon. With
Globalization taking hold of the world and the need of learning multiple global
languages out of which English stands at the very helm, has led people to seek
out the ‘Correct’ form of the language. G.B. Shaw explains to us that although
it is an insult to the native speaker of English who cannot understand his own
language when it is too well spoken, times have changed and we simple have
to accept the fact that Good English is more important than ‘Correct’ English.
India, which carries in it English of different accents and pronunciations, could
very well benefit by adding this piece to its education curriculum in order to
make people realize the true sense of the word language. India is one of the
chief exporters of human resource to the world. Thus, a study of this
recording can help people overcome their obsession for correct and start
focusing on the good aspect of English.

12. “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”
What can a listener take away from it?
• Never try to speak foreign languages too well.
• Foreign (non-native) speakers should speak
with a strong foreign accent, and speak
broken, that is English without any grammar
when in England.
• Emphasize more on the communicating part
rather than the correctness of a language.
• Be free in your ideals and views rather can
conforming to a rigid pattern
“The golden rule is that there are no golden rules.”

13. Conclusion
Although outdated in modern times, this piece
has not yet become obsolete. Today’s modern
times may have impacted our other senses in a
positive way but our language skills have
definitely suffered. A brief study of this piece
can surely help us understand the basics of the
language and help in efficient communication
process.