Verbicide

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33874, 20 June 1975, Page 12

Verbicide

Sir, — Your correspondent, “Noo Zeland” may take

heart in the knowledge that he is not alone in objecting to the increasing number of American expressions in our language; he has at least one supporter. It would seem fairly obvious that the villains of the piece are television and radio, and since the big change-over from the N.Z.B.C. to Radio New Zealand, it appears that we may slither even more rapidly down-hill in our use of the English language. Only j recently 1 heard an announcer utter the abomination “skedule” — and that ( was from the usually re- ’ liable national programme' How long will it be before he has sunk to the depths of i saying “skeddle”? “Noo Zei land” and I are probably voices crying in the wilderness, but perhaps he will 1 sleep more easily tonight, knowing that somewhere in Christchurch there is someone who would never refer r to a dollar as a “buck.” — yours, etc.,

AQUARIUS. June 17, 1975.

Sir, —Three cheers for A. D. Harman and his letter about new long words. Add “comm' te”, “lower socioincome” and people who can’t “relate” to each other as a few more stupid examples. I love music, speech and people. I hate dull machinelike words that kill plain speaking, blurr newspaper columns, and nearly choke TV people; (staff and guests). Also, I’m sorrj for the “Wizard” because he obviously swallowed ' a dictionary instead of good sound words that would make him an ordinary man. — Yours, etc,, RUTH THORN. June 18, 1975.