Using a determiner correctly to make a clear distinction

I once invited readers of this column to ventilate whether we should say ‘my name is’ or ‘my names are’, but very few took the offer, and even then, only in jest. The intention was to find out whether anybody was willing to interrogate some of the things we were taught in school; things that one feels left room for questions to linger because they were not convincingly explained.

I recall, however, that even as one of the respondents thought I was up to some mischief, he posed the question; should one say ‘English teacher’ or ‘Teacher of English’? Then last week, I received a similar question from another reader. Of course, this is not something new; it must have been discussed in different forums over time, not that the discussants were at sea, but because they needed some stimulating discourse. There are times one knows something, but explaining it, putting it across so that the other party gets a clear picture presents a challenge. Sometimes, while trying to justify both expressions, the argument goes that if you know what I mean, why go into unnecessary detail?