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Monday June 18, 2012

Get it right from the start


MUCH has been said about the decline of the English language. I wish to highlight some of the common errors in words used daily and mispronunciations.

Examples: confirm/conform; EPF/EFF; bed/bad; I don’t/I doesn’t; Punjabi suit/Punjabi “shoot”; while 1st has been written as 1th. The past and present tenses are reversed and so is singular and plural. The list goes on.

It is not my intention to ridicule but we don’t seem to improve. We must stress the importance of correct pronunciation right from primary school, or as soon as children begin to grasp the language.

Obviously this has not been happening and our graduates end up speaking the language improperly.

The Government’s effort to bring in volunteer teachers from abroad is lauded, but more emphasis should be placed on the right training and guidance for our local teachers.

BALJIT SINGH GILL,

Ipoh.

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