LETTER : Ignorance has the last word

Sir: May we return to the matter raised by Walter Roberts ("Grammarians Weep", 14 June), about which I have a question: are there any people who, having been taught to speak grammatically, then decide arbitrarily to ignore the rules they learnt and make up their own, and follow the example of those who have not had their advantage? I think not.

The people whose speech is lamented by Mr Roberts (among others) are unfortunate enough never to have been taught the rules in the first place. If we are invited to see this usage as a "rich and fascinating phenomenon" (Letters, 16 June) and adopt it, then ignorance has the last word. A bleak prospect indeed.

SHEELAGH FLAWN

East Preston, West Sussex