I agree with Mary Lennox (Letters, December 27) our once-lovely language is being ruined. Many children are leaving school barely able to speak intelligibly, let alone read or write.

My son has learned to play the trumpet because he wants to play in a band. He gets very annoyed when he hears singers who do not play a musical instrument being publicised in the media as a "band".

In football (sorry, footie), well-known players and managers constantly say "we got beat" instead of "we were beaten", "it was one of them days" instead of those days and "he done good" instead of "he played well". When many people say goodbye to one another, they intend to say "I'll see you later" but pronounce it as "Ee-oo layer". "Nothing" is pronounced as "nuffink".

"Is" is increasingly being used in place of "are", as in "we is going to the shops". I could go on.

Surveys reveal many school leavers cannot name any members of the Government or the capitals of any European countries. What on Earth happened to Tony Blair's pledge of the Government concentrating on education, education, education?

-June Newton, Penhill Road, Lancing