The Real Professor(s) Higgins: An Overview of British and American Scholars

Introduction

• Overview of British and American Scholars.
• Focus on the figure of Henry Higgins and his real-life counterparts.
• Additional detail: The introduction sets the stage by highlighting key figures and themes that will be explored throughout the note.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• 1.1 Henry Higgins (1912)
• Section 1: "A Professor of Phonetics"
• Section 2: The Pioneers- Past, Present, Future
• 2.1 The Roots of the Study of Language Sounds
• 2.2 Henry Sweet (1845-1912)
  • 2.2.1 Broad and Narrow Roman
  • 2.2.2 The Philological Society
• 2.3 Daniel Jones (1881-1967)
  • 2.3.1 The Cardinal Vowels
  • 2.3.2 The English Pronouncing Dictionary (1917)
  • 2.3.3 The International Phonetic Association
  • 2.3.4 The International Phonetic Alphabet
• 2.4 David Abercrombie (1909-1992)
• Section 3: XXI Century Scholars
  • 3.1 Peter Ladefoged (1925-2006)
  • 3.2 William Labov (1927-2024)
• Section 4: Playing Mr. Higgins
  • 4.1 Praat: a Student-Friendly Program for the Analysis of Speech Sounds
  • 4.1.1 Before Starting: the Praat Windows
  • 4.1.2 Recording, Opening and Saving Sounds
  • 4.1.3 Measuring Waveforms and Spectrograms
  • 4.1.4 Viewing Pitch via a Narrowband Spectrogram
• Conclusion
• Appendix A: The Story of Pygmalion and the Statue
• Appendix B: Pygmalion's (1912) Influence on Movies and TV Series
• References
• Additional detail: The table of contents provides a clear roadmap of the topics covered, from historical figures to modern applications.

The Story of Pygmalion and the Statue

• Originates from Greek myth of Pygmalion and Galatea (Ovid's Metamorphoses).
• Pygmalion, a sculptor, falls in love with his ivory sculpture of a woman.
• The goddess Aphrodite brings the sculpture to life.
• In Shaw's Pygmalion (1912), Mr. Higgins transforms Eliza Doolittle into a duchess through speech lessons.
• Additional detail: This section delves into the mythological and literary origins of the Pygmalion story, highlighting its enduring themes of transformation and creation.

Pygmalion's Publications

• First published in Nash’s and Pall Mall Magazine, November 1914 (Great Britain).
• Published in Everybody’s Magazine, November 1914 (United States of America).
• Additional detail: This section provides specific publication details, offering context for the play's reception and dissemination.

Film Adaptations of Pygmalion

• Pygmalion (1938): Starring Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller.
• My Fair Lady (1964): Starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison.
• Peter Ladefoged was the phonetics consultant for the 1964 movie "My Fair Lady".
• Additional detail: This section lists notable film adaptations, underscoring the play's continued relevance and influence in popular culture.

Henry Sweet (1845-1912)

• Credited as one of the greatest phoneticians.
• Achieved fame in popular culture.
• Preface to Pygmalion mentions Sweet.
• Pygmalion Higgins is not a portrait of Sweet, but there are touches of Sweet in the play.
• Additional detail: This section introduces Henry Sweet, emphasizing his significance in phonetics and his connection to Shaw's play.

Shorthand

• Reference to the patent Shorthand in which he used to write postcards, and which may be acquired from a four and six-penny manual published by the Clarendon Press
• Additional detail: Highlights a specific detail about Sweet's interest in shorthand, providing insight into his diverse intellectual pursuits.

George Bernard Shaw on Language and Phonetics

• English have no respect for their language.
• Impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him.
• The reformer England needs today is an energetic phonetic enthusiast.
• Change wrought by Professor Higgins in the flower girl is neither impossible nor uncommon.
• Additional detail: Presents Shaw's views on the English language and the role of phonetics in societal reform.

Pygmalion Themes: Language

• Language and Speech are major themes in the play.
• Additional detail: Emphasizes the central role of language in Pygmalion, setting the stage for further exploration of linguistic themes.

What Pygmalion tells about language

• The English have no respect for their language, and will not teach their children to speak it.
• They spell it so abominably that no man can teach himself what it sounds like.
• It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him.
• German and Spanish are accessible to foreigners: English is not accessible even to Englishmen.
• The modern concierge's daughter who fulfils her ambition by playing the Queen of Spain in Ruy Blas at the Théâtre Français is only one of many thousands of men and women who have sloughed off their native dialects and acquired a new tongue.
• But the thing has to be done scientifically, or the last state of the aspirant may be worse than the first.
• An honest and natural slum dialect is more tolerable than the attempt of a phonetically untaught person to imitate the vulgar dialect of the golf club.
• Additional detail: Explores the play's commentary on language, highlighting issues of accessibility, standardization, and social perception.

Cockney

• Glottal stop.
• /h/ dropping at beginning of words.
• TH fronting = replacement of /θ/ and /ð/ by /f/ and /v/ respectively: think > f ɪ ŋ k
• L-vocalization of non-prevocalic /l/ ‘milk’ > [mɪʊk]
• DIPHTHONG SHIFT
  • /eɪ/ > /aɪ/ (today = to die)
  • /aɪ/ (buy) > /ɔɪ/ (boy)
  • /əʊ/ (home) > /aʊ/ (pound)
• Additional detail: Details specific phonetic features of Cockney dialect, illustrating the linguistic diversity within English.

Appendix B: Pygmalion's Influence on Movies and TV Series

• Pygmalion (1912) and his characters have inspired numerous productions and adaptations in stage, movies and television series.
• Even the German-American computer scientist Joseph Weizenbaum named his conversational computer program ELIZA after the character Eliza Doolittle.
• Hoi Polloi (1935): a professor plays Pygmalion to three bumbling garbagemen and tries to turn them into gentlemen.
• Educating Rita (1983): a young wife decides to complete her education and take her exams. She meets a professor who teaches her to value her own insights while still being able to beat the exams.
• She's All That (1999): a high school jock makes a bet that he can turn an unattractive girl into the school's prom queen.
• Ruby Sparks (2012): A novelist struggling with writer's block finds romance by creating a female character he thinks will love him, then willing her into existence.
• The Makeover (2013): Hannah Higgins attempts to turn blue-collar Boston beer vendor Elliot Doolittle into a viable candidate.
• Pygmalion (1938): a British movie adaptation directed by Anthony Asquith and Leslie Howard, starring Leslie Howard as Higgins and Wendy Hiller as Eliza.
• My Fair David (Moonlighting's episode): Maddie Hayes makes a bet with David Addison consisting in making him softer and more serious with work.
• My Fair Lady (1964): starring Audrey Hepburn as Eliza and Rex Harrison as Higgins.
• The Galatea Affair (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'s episode): Joan Collins is taught to behave like a lady.
• Pygmalion and Elly (The Beverly Hillbillies episode): Sonny resumes his high-class courtship of Elly May by playing Julius Caesar and Pygmalion.
• My Fair Ernest T. Bass (The Andy Griffith Show's episode): Andy and Barney attempt to turn the mannerless Ernest T. Bass into a presentable gentleman.
• Doctor Who: the character of Leela is loosely based on Eliza Doolittle.
• Ghost Light: the character of Control is heavily based upon Eliza Doolittle.
• iMake Sam Girlier (iCarly's episode) is loosely based on Pygmalion.
• Pigmalian (King of the Hill's episode) describes an unhinged local pig magnate who attempts to transform Luanne into the idealized woman of his company's old advertisements.
• My Fair Steele (Remington Steele's episode): Laura and Steele transform a truck stop waitress into a socialite to flush out a kidnapper.
• Professor Jonathan Higgins (Magnum, P.I.'s episode): Jonathan Higgins tries to turn his punk rocker cousin into a high society socialite.
• One If By Clam, Two If By Sea (The Family Guy's episode): Stewie trying to refine Eliza Pinchley, his new Cockney-accented neighbor, into a proper young lady.
• Someone to Watch Over Me (Star Trek: Voyager episode) in which the plot is loosely based on Pygmalion.
• Pygmoelian (The Simpsons' episode): Moe has a facelift recalling Pygmalion.
• Gambling N'Dictio (The King of Queens' episode): Carrie tries to lose her accent for a job promotion by being taught by Spence.
• Additional detail: Illustrates the broad cultural impact of Pygmalion through a detailed list of adaptations and inspirations.

Pioneers of the Study of Language Sounds

• Henry Sweet (1845-1912).
• Additional detail: Briefly introduces Henry Sweet as a key figure in the study of language sounds.

Henry Sweet (1845-1912)

• Preface to Pygmalion mentions Sweet.
• Pygmalion Higgins is not a portrait of Sweet, but there are touches of Sweet in the play.
• Independent-minded British linguist.
• Areas of interest: Old and Middle English, Old Icelandic, history of English grammar, shorthand, spelling, phonology, phonetics.
• Broad and Narrow Romic distinction.
• The Philological Society: the oldest learned society in Great Britain devoted to the scholarly study of language and languages.
• James Augustus Henry Murray (1837-1915): Editor of the Oxford English Dictionary.
• Strong criticism of his peers often resulted in his isolation.
• Additional detail: Expanded section on Henry Sweet, providing more information about his life, work, and influence.

Daniel Jones (1881-1967)

• Analyze fine acoustic and articulatory distinctions.
• Built up the University College Department of Phonetics.
• Named Britain’s first Professor of Phonetics in 1911.
• The Cardinal Vowels.
• The English Pronouncing Dictionary (1917).
• The International Phonetic Association.
• The International Phonetic Alphabet.
• Additional detail: Details Daniel Jones's contributions to phonetics, including his professorship and key publications.

David Abercrombie (1909-1992)

• Daniel Jones’ Student.
• Established the Department of Phonetics at the University of Edinburgh.
• Additional detail: Adds information about David Abercrombie's academic lineage and his role in establishing phonetics as a field of study.

Peter Ladefoged (1925-2006)

• David Abercrombie’s Student.
• Instrumental phonetic fieldwork laboratory.
• Phonetics consultant for the 1964 movie My Fair Lady.
• Additional detail: Highlights Peter Ladefoged's contributions to phonetic fieldwork and his involvement with 'My Fair Lady.'

William Labov (1927-2024)

• The Father of Sociolinguistics.
• The Atlas of North American English.
• Additional detail: Briefly introduces William Labov and his significant contributions to sociolinguistics.

Praat

• A Student-Friendly Program for the Analysis of Speech Sounds
• Praat (the Dutch word for the English word talk) is a freeware program for the analysis and reconstruction of acoustic speech signals, designed by Paul Boersma and David Weenink of the University of Amsterdam.
• Students could benefit from this software by recording themselves in order to compare their English to other speakers of English (either native or non-native); or they could explore