To the editor,
I was drawn to offer my own perspective on Mr. Claxton's column. He offers two different types of situations: local idiom, local pronunciation and outright error. Whether someone says pop or soda, couch or chesterfield, skim or non-fat milk is largely regional. These run the gamut from A to Z (or is that zed?) You pick the one you like. Pronunciation often seems random, although there is usually some method hiding in the madness. Clique and niche are being as Anglicized as Notre Dame (no-ter dame) and Agincourt (Eh-gin-court) and I don't think we can stem that tidal wave. I do agree with the frustration over the accepted use of errors. I often tell my students that yesterday's errors are today's habits and tomorrow's rules. So "on accident" may eventually get promoted to the position of good in place of well, it's me and ain't.
John Aveline, Vancouver
