English

Unlike Ms. Villanueva (Errors, The Jakarta Post, July 27, 1994) I am surprised at the generally high standard of English in The Jakarta Post, considering that the editorial and reporting staff are Indonesians and not English native speakers.

Of course, the occasional small error creeps in -- it would be amazing if it did not -- but in general the language is very accurate. Ms Villanueva is not error-free herself. She writes "...the man was referred to by Malcolm, his first name...," whereas it should be "referred to as Malcolm," or "referred to by his first name, Malcolm." But, then, perhaps within her Spanish name, Ms Villanueva is herself not an English native speaker, and so should be forgiven!

RB SAWREY-COOKSON

Jakarta