Questão 67121

A sociolinguistics professor is discussing language variation and prejudice, focusing on the social stratification of language and its representation in popular culture. The case study is the classic musical 'My Fair Lady', based on George Bernard Shaw's play 'Pygmalion'. In the story, Professor Henry Higgins, a phonetician, makes a bet that he can transform Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl, into a lady presentable in high society simply by changing her speech, from her accent to her grammar and vocabulary. The professor wants her students to analyze the play/musical not as a charming fairytale, but as a powerful illustration of 'linguistic determinism' as a social ideology. She presents them with a theoretical framework from critical sociolinguistics: 'Language is a primary marker of social class. The ideology of 'linguistic determinism' is the belief that one's language determines one's social and intellectual potential. In 'Pygmalion', Shaw critically exposes this ideology: Higgins believes that by teaching Eliza 'correct' English, he can literally change her social being. The story demonstrates how linguistic prejudice is not about intelligibility, but about using language as a tool for social gatekeeping and the enforcement of class boundaries.'

Which of the following interpretations of 'My Fair Lady' best reflects a critical sociolinguistic analysis of language variation and prejudice?