To the Editor:

Coming’, goin’, doin’, seein’, wantin’, happenin’, jumpin’, makin’, and so on. Sound familiar? This seems to be the vernacular we are heading for in this country.

Every day we are bombarded with this assault on the English language by some television and radio reporters, newscasters, talk-show hosts, and weather meteorologists, to name a few. I have even heard our President and the Secretary of Education take the short cut on many occasions. Why is it so difficult to pronounce the words as they were written?

Why do we have to listen to a repetitious “comin’-up on our news programs” when a substitute of “in a moment” or “shortly” or “next” or “soon” would suffice occasionally; and “right now,” the famous repetitious saying of our weather people, could surely have a substitute of “at the moment” or “as we speak,” from time to time.

On another occasion I counted the word “tonight” 33 times in a 30-minute news broadcast. Where are the script writers? Perhaps we are getting lazy, or maybe we think it is “cool” to talk like it is our way of life.

This is no joke when we entrust the education of our children to teachers who constantly abuse the language as well. I know a number of educators and a lot of them fall into the same hole time and time again.

We pride ourselves in this country that we are so advanced in many ways, but we are failing badly in the education of our coming generations, to teach them the English language as it is written. Of course it does not end with the lost “ing”; there is “gunna” (going to), “howya” (how are you), “I’m telling ya” (you).

One recent White House press conference about the war in Iraq yielded the following four phrases consecutively; I gotta tell ya, we’re don’ it, we’re gettin’ there, we’re gunna win.

So what are we going to do about it? We should all play our part. It is about time that we as parents, as teachers, as reporters, as show hosts, community leaders, and politicians paved the way to a better learning process. Am I perfect? No, but I am going to make an effort in helping to make the change. I am going to read more printed matter as it is a better source of correct language, and I am going to make a concerted effort to improve my oratory skills. What about you?

Alex Aitchison

8 Lake Road, Newtown    July 17, 2006