Letter: Who says that dialects and grammar do not mix?

IF I WERE an A-level examiner, I too would be alarmed at the slang used by candidates and the banality of thought it represents: Jane Eyre was 'over the top', King Lear 'round the twist', William the Conqueror 'had to let the English know who was boss'.

If I were an education minister, before springing to accuse 'trendy' teachers, I would pause to recall where I had heard this kind of language before. Not too far from home. Cabinet ministers have been sprinkling their speech with expressions like 'loony left', 'double whammy' and 'on yer bike', and talking of giving Saddam Hussein 'a bloody nose' ever since Lady Thatcher set the tone with her own brand of playground machismo.

John Parke

London SW13