Michael McCulloch (Letters, June 27) touches the tip of the iceberg in his letter this week listing a selection of examples of the mess our language is in. This arises largely and insidiously from the slavish adoption here of virtually all Americanisms - some invaluable, the majority deplorable.

I could not do the subject full justice here so, if only to support Michael, here are two of the many which make my head throb, both propagated by allegedly-literate BBC anchormen who long ago gave up any pretence of respecting the language on which their salaries depend.

"For free." 'For' whether viewed as conjunction, preposition or adjective adds nothing to 'free' except a noise.

"Repeat" has many justifiable uses, including a description of a burp, but to use it where "repetition" is meant is to deprive us of a graceful word which has the advantage of displaying the quality it describes - that is to say, it is onomatopoeic.

But the Beeb, once again, almost invariably talks about "repeats".

Richard Leigh Perkins,

The Mill House, Lastingham.

...FOLLOWING Mr McCulloch's pet hates about misuse of the English language, I should like to add my own.

I cannot abide it when people pronounce the 'h' as haitch. In the dictionary it begins with 'a'.

Also how do some of our population spell 'anything?'when many of them pronounce it 'anyfing or anyfink'. I don't see and 'f' in the middle nor a 'k' at the end.

However, I have to say, that it should be each to his own so 'appen, there's nowt up with a load of flippin' good Yorkshire slang.

Fran Nelson,

The Groves, York.

...WHAT would a McCulloch know about English? (Letters, June 27) Probably more than most English people.

My guess is that Michael N McCulloch teaches, or has taught Latin. No one should be persuaded that Latin is dead. Dormant maybe, not dead. Revived in our schools, it would help everything else fall into place.

What hope is there for our children when their teachers often struggle with English?

Of course, there is hope. It comes in the form of a mouse. Not the kind we find with a computer, but one with whiskers and four paws.

Minimus lives in Vindolanda on Hadrian's Wall and is featured in a set of books by Barbara Bell that makes up a Latin course for primary schools.

Apparently Minimus, published by Cambridge University Press, is rated "cool" in more and more schools.

Ron Willis,

Falconer Street, York