Is It Ever Permissible to Use Alright?
Authors have penned alright for more than 130 years. Common sense suggests that public acceptance should justify the existence of a word.
However, people have also used ain’t, a frowned-upon contraction, since 1706. And irregardless, a nonstandard adverb despised by editors, appeared in the 1870s. Therefore, we can discard any “common-sense” argument.
I researched the alright debate for a guest post at Chris the Story Reading Ape’s blog. Here’s what I discovered: Is “Alright” ever Alright?
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I cringe every time I encounter the spelling “alright”. I still remember using that spelling back in 1962 when I submitted a short story to my 8th grade teacher. He marked me down for spelling and said the correct term is “all right”. I bowed to his wisdom and have been doing so ever since.
I know that usage and spellings change over time (which is why I’m not impressed with the 1884 statistic, back when “to-day” and “to-morrow” were common spellings), and words even change meaning (e.g., “gay” and “woke”). But I stand by “all right” even though it probably paints me as old and obstinate. I don’t care. Eventually “all right” will go away, but not while I’m alive.
Just my dos centavos…
I, too, have been chastised for using “alright.” That was years ago, John, but I still remember the lesson. You’re an all right guy — not old and obstinate. 😉
Another great lesson. Thanks Kathy. 🙂
Thank you, Debby! I hope you had a great Canada Day weekend.