Re: Barbara Saies' letter (The Weekend Sun, August 25) calls for such a response.

It is very distasteful that she should misrepresent the views of others in order to make an accusation or insinuation of racism. If Ms Saies had read carefully the letters she criticises, she would have seen that none of them expressed any opposition to te reo Maori, just an opposition to the insertion of Maori words into English for ideological reasons. Margaret Downie took more care in reading the correspondence and made the valid point (The Weekend Sun, August 25) that to pepper the Maori language with English words would be totally unacceptable. Perhaps if Ms Saies were to read more, then she might appreciate the English language more and not be so intolerant towards those who really do like their native English language and who believe it should be accorded the same respect as the Maori language.
Robin Rimmer, Welcome Bay.