Letter:Non-U not known

Thursday 01 August 1996 00:02 BST

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Sir: It is misleading to credit Nancy Mitford with the "invention of U and Non-U language" (Obituaries, 25 July) on two counts. No one person invents a language and in this instance the dichotomy was adumbrated by Professor A S C Ross in a 35-page article in the Finnish scholarly journal Neuphilologische Mitteilungen in 1954.

It was Ross who coined the terms U and Non-U, but they failed to gain a firm foothold in the language and are scarcely known to students of English today.

JOHN ATKINSON

Skegness,

Lincolnshire

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Thank you for registering

Letter:Non-U not known

Join our commenting forum

Thank you for registering