Reform would lead to pidgin English

Mr Linstead asserts that “people are innately conservative about such matters” with regard to the laughable suggestion that English should be “regularised”. Perhaps the words “realistic” or “pragmatic” would be more appropriate.

Consider the consequences. The word “English” itself would be the first for the chop in this fantasy world.

The most optimistic outcome would be a generation of students denied access to English and instead condemned to waste their time learning a second-tier pidgin.

Here in the Kingdom, people would soon be writing “I am Tie and I speek Inglish”. Once the laughing had died down, their applications to study or work in the real world would be instantly deleted.

Addressing the deficiency in English is long overdue, but proposed solutions need to be sensible and relevant. Many – perhaps most – Thai students pronounce “five”, “file”, “fight” and “fine” without any final consonant sound. Words with consonant “clusters” (where consonants have no intervening vowel) – “milk”, “cream”, “expect”, “find” and so on – are the most problematic.

None of these difficulties in communication would be solved by a “regularised” English spelling system.

Jack Ernest

Bangkok