Little attempt is made to discover how foreign names are pronounced, that the former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun who recently committed suicide, for instance, is pronounced Noh. The piece de resistance was a news anchor's conversion of the legendary French artist Gauguin into our very own Gagan! He must be turning in his grave. And no one has apparently informed our TV channels that the surname in Chinese names, unless anglicised, is the first word. The veteran Singapore politician is Mr Lee, not Mr Kuan-yew.

Sometimes, it is difficult to discover the criteria for selecting anchors and reporters. Voice, presentation and ability to communicate are essential ingredients in broadcast journalism. Yet some reporters are barely intelligible and some anchors have such a strong Hindi diction that it is difficult to find out if they are talking in Hindi or English. Here I am writing about English-language commercial television channels because Doordarshan often has other compulsions in appointing staff.

Indeed, the conclusion is inescapable that sloppiness is the rule, rather than the exception. There is no inclination to focus on quality and accuracy in running television channels. It is sloppiness, not 'Indian English', that is responsible for the basic rules of grammar not being followed . Indianisms have a contribution to make in enriching the language of Shakespeare, but there can be no excuse for speaking bad English and shelter behind the slogan of 'Indian English'.

There are, of course, honourable exceptions as anchors who speak impeccable English and know the virtues of voice inflection, rather than relying on belligerence, in seeking information from those they interview. Yet these anchors, even those who have managerial and decision-making functions, treat the distortion and abuse of English with placidity. Our major English-language television channels do not seem to be starved of money. Either they do not bother about enforcing quality or they do not wish to devote resources to running classes for staff to train them in speaking English correctly.

Are we then, a generation hence, destined to see our language advantage frittered away in bad, unintelligible English? Will the breed of Indian writers in English -- God bless them -- remain the only Indians reminding us of a time when Indians spoke English well and fluently and were listened to around the world with admiration?

(25-07-2008- S. Nihal Singh is a former editor and well known media commentator. He can be contacted at snihalsingh@gmail.com)