its a thoughtful prose by G.B.shaw

1. ‘Spoken English,
Broken English’
- G.B.Shaw
By
Prof.R.R.Borse,
Asst.Prof.,
Eng.Dept.,
BP Arts,SMA Sci,KKC Com.College, Chalisgaon

2. About the Author
George Bernard Shaw
(1856 –1950)
was an Irish dramatist,
literary critic. He won the
Nobel Prize for Literature in
1925 and the Oscar for the
best screenplay in 1938.
G.B.Shaw was also an excellent public speaker.
In his speeches and talks he dealt with contemporary moral and
social problems.

3. About the talk
 Spoken English 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.
G.B.Shaw, in this talk, proposes his view that even
educated native speakers cannot speak perfectly
correct English and broken English is more acceptable
in day to day life than perfectly correct English.

4. “There is no such thing as ideally correct English”
 The talk is specially for those who are foreign
students and wish to study in some English speaking
country or native speakers who speak dialect rather
than standard English.
G.B.Shaw assumes that his listeners wish to learn
“correct English”.
However, he says there’s no such thing as ideally
correct English because no two British subjects speak
English alike.

5.  Two types of English speakers:
Native speaker
&
Foreign speaker
both
Want to speak Correct English…

6. “There is no such thing as
ideally correct English”

7. No two British persons speak exactly alike.
Though English is the mother tongue of England, all
the people of England don’t speak English language
with same style.
There are different local varieties of English
language in England like Cockney English.

8. Shaw was a member of a Committee
established by the British Broadcasting
Corporation.
…purpose of deciding how the
utterances of speakers employed by the
corporation should be pronounced.
Model of correct English speech for the
British islands.

9. Committee members were from different backgrounds :
Irish
Scottish
Welsh
Oxford University
American
…….Asked to prepare a model for correct English…

10. Members do not agree as to the pronunciation of simplest and
commonest words like ‘yes’ and ‘no’.
No two members of the committee pronounce them exactly
alike.
Reason…
The Members differ according to the country in which they were
born.
So….
It is nonsense to say that they all speak correctly.

11. “There is no such thing as
ideally correct English”

12. Shaw : Self example
I do not speak the same way all the time. And No body does….
Example…
Talking with the audience (gramophonists) listening me carefully….putting notes on paper.
I would speak carefully.
And..
If I speak to my wife at home as carefully as I am speaking now, she would think I am going
mad.
Two Types of Using lanugage:
Company Manners (careful use of language) (Formal)
&
Home Manners (careless use of language) (Informal)

13. Coming to London…!
Do not spik korrect Englesh….
In England…99.99% people speak bad English
 If you are a foreigner and..
 If you use correct English….no one help you.
 If you use broken English….everyone would help you.
For example…
“Will you have the goodness, Sir, to direct me to the railway terminus at Charging Cross’,
Pronouncing all the vowels and consonants beautifully, he will not understand you, and
will suspect you of being a beggar or a confidence trickster.
‘Please! Charing Cross! Which way?’
Half a dozen people will immediately overwhelm you with directions.

14. Speak “Broken English”
 In this talk, G.B.Shaw has addressed his foreign
listeners and has advised them not to speak perfectly
correct English but speak presentable English that is
known as “Good English”.
 He has urged foreign (non-native) speakers to speak
with a strong foreign accent, and speak broken: that is
English without any grammar when in England. Never
try to speak foreign languages too well.

15. Thank You….!