LISTEN more tolerantly is my advice to Douglas Cowe (Letters, August 11), who jibs at Glasgow presenters for what he'd say is misuse of "went" that should be "gone", and mispronunciation of "December". What about th "'r" sound added to all those 'w'-ending words when London presenters tell us to 'drawer' the curtains or that a football result was a 'drawer'. And (starting a sentence with a conjunction, dear dear!) variously everywhere, the daft failure to substitute "led" for "lead", different of course for "read" where "red" isn't an option.

I suspect there are myriad instances of misuse of language in all its multiple genres or categories. But (not again!) it is prudent to be mindful that language lives with people and isn't in a glass jar in a museum, nor is it the preserve of scholars. Today's slang can be tomorrow's formal usage, individual words forsake their meanings for new ones, standardisation and innovation co-exist in language evolution. Etymologists wouldn't, I am sure, want it any other way, no more than most of the rest of us would.

Ian Johnstone, Peterhead.

FIT’S yon chiel frae Newmachar , Douglas Cowe, complainin’ aboot (Letters, 11 August)? There are many accents and manners of speech in the country which should surely be respected and encouraged.

His letter reminds me of primary school around 65 years ago when a teacher made us pronounce "Bible" round the class by rote, making it clear that something approximating to “bye-ble” was to be achieved; pretty difficult in Leith. I’m also reminded of a play produced, I think in Easterhouse, a few years ago with the long title, “There’s nothing wrong with my accent but there may be something wrong with your ears.”

John C Hutchison, Fort William.