A chara, - Does Victor Feldman (November 16th), really not know why the English "th" is rarely pronounced, as he would see it "correctly", in Ireland? Is he unaware that, until a few generations ago, most of Ireland (and much of Scotland), spoke a language which did not have this sound? When that language was systematically eliminated by the authorities at the time, a handful of linguistic remnants remained, linking us to our Gaelic past. These remnants give the English spoken in Ireland today a distinctive Irish quality.
Unlike Mr Feldman, I fail to see how this is a "problem" which requires to be alleviated. On the contrary, the problem would seem to be speech and drama teachers, who are unaware of the historical context of what they are doing, when they urge Irish people to abandon even Hiberno-English in favour of a more bland, orthodox variety. - Is mise,
Vincent Riordan, Inverness, Scotland.