14 MAY 1942, Page 14

ALLIES SIR, —Is it too late in the day to offer

a plea fru the proper pronunciation of the word " allies "? M:. Churchill, President Roosevelt and the English Dictionary unite in reminding us that the accent is on the last syllable, not on the first. The derivation of the word from the Latin alligare, to bind; and its kinship with our noble word " allegiance " tell us that the last four letters are " portmanteau " letters, and should receive