With the good news that low-cost airlines will soon start operating, the place names of the new destinations will be used in the media very frequently and it is important to get the pronunciation right. I am thinking in particular of Basel-Mulhouse which I have already heard pronounced in some very unusual and comical ways on local TV news. First of all Basel. It is definitely not "basil" as in Basil Fawlty or the herb.

Nor is it "bay-zel" which I have also often heard. The correct way is Ba (as in bar) Zel (similar to pearl without the "r").

The city is in north-west Switzerland on the Rhine border with France and the airport is actually in French territory, hence it is shared with Mulhouse. This is not "mull(dull)-house" as I have just heard on the news. The correct pronunciation is Mul (as in full) Ouse (as in lose or whose). The h is not pronounced.

The pronunciation of foreign names and places on our spoken media leaves much to be desired and can open us up to being ridiculed by visitors to our island. It is a reflection of our generally very low standard of general knowledge and is something which really needs to be addressed by the heads of the local TV and radio stations. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I heard Hail (Halle) Berry on a TV news broadcast not so long ago (it is actually Hal-ee). This is only one of many, many examples occurring daily.