Basic English
SIR,—As the headmaster of a large Indian secondary school, where the teaching of basic English has recently been introduced, with results that have been commended in the official inspection report, I regret very much that Janus is prepared to dismiss the system on such obviously trumped-up evidence as the translation of the "Blood, toil, tears and sweat" passage in Mr. Churchill's famous speech. No one with any competence in basic English, whether an Englishman or a foreigner, could possibly propose such a rendering except as a joke.
If the Minister of Education looks into the affairs of the Basic English Foundation, as he suggests---and I hope that she will—I am sure she will find that it is doing more, in co-operation with the Orthological Institute, to improve the teaching of English as a foreign language than any other institution in this country.—Yours faithfully, M. J. SARGUNAM. 26 Woburn Square. W.C.I.
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