Sir, – It does not behove The Irish Times as a progressive and cultured newspaper to publish articles by Miriam Lord mocking Japanese pronunciations of English words in the context of our Prime Minister's visit to the country on an official diplomatic mission (Miriam Lord, Home News, December 5th).
Many of us in Irish cultural, educational and business life are doing our best to enhance our reputation with countries such as China and Japan. Mocking the difficulty Asian speakers have in making L sounds is just one step above references to slit eyes and is totally inexcusable in a grown-up, responsible forum. I would hate to imagine how I or Miriam Lord would sound speaking Japanese.
The derivation of the English word nitwit derives from the English making fun of Dutch refugees replying "Neet weet" (don't know) to questions in English and most of the British stereotypes of Irish stupidity are rooted in the inadequate grasp of English by 19th-century Gaelic-speaking immigrants. We should know better than the English on this subject and Irish Times correspondents should not be writing opinions better suited to red-topped tabloids. – Yours, etc,
PATRICK COTTER,
Artistic Director,
The Munster Literature
Centre,
Douglas Street, Cork.