Letter: Land of the dumb

Thursday 04 March 1999 01:02 GMT

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Letter: Land of the dumb

Sir: John Sutherland ("Dumb Britannia", 2 March) argues there is no English equivalent for the American phrase "dumbing down". Might I suggest "vulgarisation"? It has the advantage of indicating that the user is still capable of handling big Latinate words, and has not been dumbed down to a vocabulary of transatlantic monosyllables.

Do I win the "small prize"?

TOBY O'CONNOR MORSE

Bristol BS7 8EP

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