Well done, John Haden (see [2004] Gazette, 8 July, 16). Another dreadful solecism, beloved in particular of the Inland Revenue, is 'the probated copy of the will'. Language abuse is not yet a crime, but I often think it ought to be. We could then lock up a lot of the people responsible for it.

The serious problem seems to be that English is so poorly taught and so poorly spoken in some of the media that for many youngsters entering the professions these days it is already too late to correct the fault. It cannot be long before ignorance of correct English usage results in negligence claims on a large scale.


Chris Smith, The Parry Sharratt Partnership, Whitstable, Kent